/* /T^::^^ tihvaxy of Che theological ^emmarjp PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY •3^J)« V^ 7^7?/ / tl^rouglj tl|cm to ttje Baptist Brotl^erlioo!) anb Sisterboob of Illtssourt, tl^ts oolumc is affccttonately bebicatcb by « 3I?c CtutI)or. CONTENTS BY CHAPTERS, I. The Franco-Spanish Period. II. The Territorial Period. III. Beginning of General Association. IV. Completing the Organization. V. A Decade of Progress. VI. A Second Decade of Progress. VII. Trials and Triumphs. VIII. War Decade. IX. Emerging from Darkness. X. A Crisis. XL A Jubilee. XII. Post Jubilee Period. XIII. Agencies and Agents. XIV. Associational Endowments. XV. Sabbath School Mission Work. XVI. Centers of Population. XVII. The Press. XVIII. Auxiliaries and Unification. XIX. Education. XX. Woman's Work. XXI. A Convenient Summary. INTRODUCTION. BY J. C. MAPLE, D. D. Yielding to the request of the author of the History of the Missouri Baptist General Association, I have written a brief introduction. In consenting to do so I claim the privilege of speaking freely about THE AUTHOR. An intimate acquaintance of over a third of a cen- tury has prepared me to speak of him from personal knowledge as well as from the record his work has made. There are lines written deeper in humanity than those recorded by the pen. And Dr. Yeaman has by a long and useful life written his name by works of righteousness and his service of love upon the hearts of the people to whom he has been closely allied and with whom he has ever been in brain and heart in thorough sympathy. But it is of the work of the author in Missouri that I wish here to write. Almost from the very hour of his settlement in St. Louis, in March, i87o, he became completely absorbed in the Baptist interests in the whole state. The people had not yet wholly recovered from the shock of the civil war. Wasted homes had not been rebuilt, or if built, were not replenished after the four years of destruction. Yet christian men and women were all awake to the fact that there was dawning upon Missouri an era of prosperity that would result in the development of her great resources, and therefore in an immense increase of her population. V VI ♦ Introduction. There were strong men in the pulpits and in the pews of the many Baptist churches in the state. In numbers, in talent, in wealth and in educational insti- tutions the Baptists were in the lead. There were many and pressing calls therefore for the man who could, whether upon the platform or in the pulpit, so present the principles of the gospel of Christ, that honor should come to the people he represented. From the very beginning of his work in Missouri, Dr. Yeaman became a leading spirit in the general de- nominational work and a prominent member of the General Association. Circumstances soon placed him in the front as the leader, in connection with all de- partments of the work. He became proprietor of the Central Baptist, then chancellor of the college (William Jewell) and moderator of the General Association, and then secretary and manager of state missions. Upon other men single honors and responsibilities were thrust by the people of like faith, but upon him there must usually be placed double responsibilities; and sometimes triple, and occasionally quadruple offices, all of which required great labor, constant thought and carried with them weighty responsibili- ties. As in the year i876, when he was pastor of a leading church, editor of the Central _ Baptist, chancel- lor of the college and with the latter was included the leadership of the effort to raise the centennial fund for the endowment of our colleges. That the author was well fitted to write this history will be seen when we remember that for twenty consec- utive years he was our presiding officer. The appoint- ment of the committees that prepared the work for each succeeding session was in his hands. And while he was always fair and honorable in the distribution of these committees, and saw that every part of the state, and all the interests of the denomination were repre- sented, yet he did, in the selection of the members of Introduction. vii these committees, to a very large degree, give direction to all departments of the work. There was no time when better work was done for Missouri Baptists than when, in control of the Central Baptist, Dr. Yeaman was in communication with the whole denomination in the state. This journal, from the first number issued at Pal- myra to the present date, has been the faithful friend and uncomplaining servant of our General Associa- tion. And I am glad that I can truthfully add, that all that is here said of Dr. Yeaman in connection with the paper is equally true of every editor from Dr. J. H. Luther to Dr. J. C. Armstrong. In the work of the pastorate, whether as metro- politan, or rural bishop, the same unvarying devotion, to the Baptist churches, to missions and the missiona- ries was manifested. When through various inexplicable circumstances, the work of state missions was wholly paralyzed. Dr. Yeaman was called to take the lead in the resuscitation of this almost lifeless cause, he made a thorough study of the entire state. He did not visit every "nook and corner," but he came so near doing so that he almost sacrificed his life by incessant and unrelaxed labors. As corresponding secretary and financial agent of the Board of State Missions, he toiled with unceasing ef- fort for eight years, and at the same time was the pre- siding officer at all the sessions of the General Associ- ation. He was therefore required to exercise a double watchfulness over every minute of the work. And now having for several years given himself to the care- ful study of the whole field of Baptist history in our commonwealth ; having had better opportunities of be- ing, in every way familiar with the field and the work- ers, than any one who now lives, or who has ever lived, he gives to us this history of the Missoui Baptist Gen- eral Association. VIII Introduction. THE VALUE OF SUCH A HISTORY. It was a great gift from God when it was put into the brain and heart of Rev. R. S. Duncan to collect and arrange such a vast amount of information as his History of Missouri Baptists contains. In fact from the planting of that first church, in 1806, up to the pres- ent date, the gracious Lord has wonderfully blessed and greatly prospered His people. Christian men and women should be just as appreciative of the labors of those who give their lives to the service of humanity as other people. We take great care to preserve the memory of our great men, whether sailors, soldiers or statesmen. But we know that no class of people serve so well their own generation, or do such marked service for the coming ages as those who establish men and women in the prin- ciples of honesty, sobriety and general morality. It may be true that those who are themselves the principal factors in great movements, are not so compe- tent to elaborate the philosophy of the events of which they are a part, as after generations. Those who come after us will have both the past and the results of our labors to guide them ; but without a record of the facts by those who are themselves "eye witnesses" the next generation would be totally ignorant of how their en- vironment was created. It must be conceded by all thoughtful persons that the actors themselves know more of what they are do- ing and have done, and why they have so lived and labored, than any other persons can attain to know. It may be that many of us have not the moral courage, nor the downright honesty, to faithfully lay open to view our own motives, but we do know the facts and we are fortunate in having with us those who possess the ability to clearly state these facts. Coming gener- ations will, of course, regard all records that this age Introduction. ix may make, as simply the stone quarry, out of which they can blast the materials for their own palaces and temples. Yet we should so far imitate nature that we shall lay down for them, in regular strata, the accumu- lation of all our forces, that out of these materials they mav build something that will be more permanent and more beautiful than anything we were able to construct. The value therefore of a history, written by one who has made a thorough study of some one depart- ment of christian effort, and who has taken a leading part in shaping, and making effective that work can scarcely be over estimated. For more than a quarter of the century, now draw- ing so nearly to a close, the author of this history has been the master spirit in all the affairs connected with the General Association. There can be no contro- versy as to the facts narrated in this book. The earlier periods of the history are given as re- corded in the printed proceedings of the various meet- ings. Here will be found a plain statement of what was done, and what plans were devised to advance the cause in hand. And here the fact is made plain to us, that we who are yet alive and are doing even a very little to extend the reign of the Christ in Missouri, are only building ^upon the foundation laid by good men, and men that deserve to be called great. Had we all behaved ourselves as well as did our fathers, we could have accomplished much more. There is much that can be taken as the warnings of providence in our history. There was among the Twelve Apostles a spirit that often asked "who shall be greatest." And, there have been times when the work was hindered by some "croppings out" of this same spirit. But we are learning, and I feel sure, will come more and more to realize that the Great Teacher gave X Introduction. us the true philosophy of the kingdom of heaven, when he said : "He that would be greatest among you let him be servant of all." And we have now and have always had among us those who loved the work of Christ, so sincerely, that the thought of the honor that may accrue to them is forgotten in their absorp- tion in the love of Jesus and the truth. And should this history, written by our brother, help men and women in acquiring an abiding love for the work of "extending the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, especially in this state," then the prayer of the author will have been answered in its behalf and it will be what he desires most of all, his best contribution to the interests of Missouri Baptists. THE TIMELINESS OF THE WORK. There will be only two more meetings of the Gen- eral Association before we enter upon the twentieth century of the christian era. It is a matter of profound thankfulness on the part of all who are in sympathy with Christianity that we have such a large number of young men, who are, in piety, in culture, and in consecration of heart and love of the truth, so well equipped to carry forward the work in our great state. To all these workers it is a great favor that they. have a complete and reliable history of their own people brought down to their own times. They will begin the work of the next century with a full knowledge of what it has cost to lay this great foundation upon which a grand and magnificent structure must be built that it may be in harmony with what has been done. As the foundation has been laid in prayer and ce- mented with the toils and tears of the great and good men who have passed on to the great reward, so they will build, and so God's blessings will give them the increase. Introduction. xi But we must insist upon the thought that only a beginning has been made. The colleges will need greatly increased endowments. The number of mis- sionaries must be increased. Houses of worship must be built in places where now the people of the Lord have no home. In the larger cities the number of churches must be greatly multiplied. In many of the smaller places new and better houses must be erected, while new towns and cities will continue to multiply until in coming ages the great state will be almost one grand manufacturing center for all things useful among civil- ized communities, and every acre of our rich soil will be made to do its best to bring forth abundant crops for the support and comfort of the great population that will here find homes. Before the close of the next century the population of Missouri will be so great that we are afraid to hint at its numbers lest we be regarded as over enthusiastic as to the possibility of the state. And no matter who comes, nor from what portion of the earth they come they will be just as needy as those who came before. The gospel of the Lord Jesus must be preached to them and they must be persuaded to embrace our holy religion or they will endanger our great heritage. There can be no end to this work until the Lord comes again. Rather will there be an in- creased demand for more and better work, because the possibilities of greatly increased usefulness will be given. The scriptures that have been the support and strength of the former laborers will be just as sweet and just as full of encouragement a thousand years hence as they have been in all the past. "Heaven and earth shall pass away ; but my words shall not pass away." Luke 21 :33. "But the word of the Lord endureth forever." I Pet. 1 :25. XTi Introduction. "If ye shall ask anything in my name I will do it." John 14:14. And therefore I here ask to join with the author of this book, in bidding "God speed" to all those who shall be called of God to take up and carry forward to a glorious success the work of the Missouri Baptist General Association. Trenton, Mo., Jan. 24, 1899. FOREWORD. A desire for a history of the Missouri Baptist Gen- eral Association is by no means a recent impulse. As far back as 1845, when the Association was but ten years old, and in session at Columbia, Missouri, the following resolution was adopted : "That the executive committee be requested to prepare, by the next meeting of this Association, a his- tory of this Association from its origin to the present time." More than a half century has been buried in the depths of the ocean of the past since that resolution gave expression of the devotion of the fathers to the organization born of love and rocked in persecution. A count of the names of the messengers to that meeting of the General xA.ssociation, suggests more than a probability that, but one of them survives to this day. That one is Samuel Howard Ford, LL. D., who in 1845 was yet a young man, but his power of thought and eloquence of speech had drawn to him the attention of the denomination. From his youth down to a mentally vigorous old age he has been a fast friend of the Asso- ciation, though not all the while a resident of Missouri, the state in which he began his ministry and in which he chooses to close his active and brilliant and useful career. A few years subsequent to the enactment of the foregoing resolution, the Association adopted a similar though more urgent resolution calling for a history of the beloved organization. Since those early days great changes have marked the track of time. Church yards and cemeteries have claimed the tabernacles of the souls of those who founded and promoted the association that to-day is an XIII XIV Foreword. acknowledged power for good. A sparsely populated state has grown to number its more than three million people. The five thousand Baptists of 1834 have been succeeded by the 130,000 of 1898; the one hundred and fifty churches have multiplied to more than seventeen hundred. Through this period of progress and great change of the conditions of life there has been a continuous and oft repeated wish for a history of the General As- sociation. To meet that desire, and to perpetuate the names and noble deeds of noble men and women, this volume has been written, and by repeated requests of .the General Association is now sent forth with the hope and the prayer that it may not disappoint those in whom favorable expectations have been awakened. To further promote the cause from which the fathers drew inspiration even unto heroic sacrifice; is another motive to the efifort to gather up the fragments of more than three score years, and combine them into an unpretentious volume as a pleasure and a help to the toilers of the present and so far into the future as shall call forth a more worthy tribute and a better contribu- tion to the progress of Truth in Missouri. The worker and the producer of to-day utilizes the capital of yesterday to augment to-morrow's wealth. So the Present, a rich heir of the Past, is the Patron of the Future. A people withput a history are out of the course of progress; neither benefited by the past nor benefiting the future. They who have a history, but are ignorant thereof, or indifferent thereunto, are social parasites, living from the life of others and contribut- ing to the life of none. The chief aim of this book is to accomplish the de- sire of one growing old in the service, to acquaint younger workers of the present, and those who are to put on the armor after he shall have been called from „labor to refreshment, with the spirit and scope, men and Forezvord. xv methods of that christian enterprise that transmits to them a great opportunity and equal responsibility. If a few consecrated followers of the Savior could accomplish the works that we see, surrounded as they were by manifold hindrances, what ought not to be the outcome of the hosts of to-day encompassed as they are by every possible opportunity for doing great things in the name of Christ? What shall the harvest be? It can no longer be said, ''the laborers are few." True the field is great, but so numerous are the laborers that, a little vineyard is never vacated but that scores and scores of viners make application for the vacancy. There seems not to be sheep-folds enough for anxious shepherds. There are thousands of church members and hundreds of churches that have names to live, but, in fact, are dead. If the churches and church mem- bers on the earth would awake and put on their strength, the world would soon be converted to Christ. If all would but "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," instead of first seeking the things that pertain to the life that now is, then the church would be as a city set upon a hill — a light to lighten the nations. The author confesses that yet another motive impelled him to the preparation of this volume: Mis- souri, Missourians and Missouri Baptists have long been shamefully misunderstood, misrepresented and neglected by some people who through ignorant preju- dice have refused to accept the force of patent facts. The advantage of geographical situation, the wonder- ful and practically inexhaustible natural resources, the varied adaptability of soil and climate to valuable pro- duction, the abounding beds and mountains of valuable metals and coal are just now beginning to be fairly ap- preciated. The educational, rehgious and social prog- ress of the people of Missouri are obscured to the will- XVI Foreword. ful blindness of such as prefer the veil of prejudice to the full significance of facts. Missouri Baptists have not that recognition in re- gions beyond, to which their enterprise, attainments and achievements entitle them. Dr. Cathcart's Baptist En- cyclopedia practically gives Missouri the go-by. Even as broad minded and fair a man as Dr. Thos. Armit- age, in his history of Baptists, seems not to have known the geography of the people of whom he wrote. It has been true that Baptists coming into this great state from certain sections of the union have assumed an offensive air of seeming social superiority, asserting right to recognition of assumed wisdom above that of the people among whom they graciously condescended to cast their lot. This book has been written that the facts of Bap- tist life and character and progress in Missouri might encourage Baptists to even greater things, and to inti- mate to the world that Missouri and her people are not in the rear of the procession of progress. No literary ambition has inspired the effort to pro- duce this work, nor is there claim to literary novelty or excellency. This is a plain and unpretentious selection and classification of events, facts and personal inci- dents in the origin and progress of a great work looking to the uplifting of humanity and the glory of God. It does not claim to be a history of Baptists in Missouri. There is no need at present of such work. Rev. R. S. Duncan in his History has done this general work. This is a history of the Missouri Baptist General Asso- ciation. Of course, the prominence and influence of the General Association in the work of progress, are so associated with all the leading enterprises of the denom- ination in the state, that it is a necessary center in the history of the denomination. To know all about the General Association is to be in touch with the active influences at work in the state and to have knowledge Foreword. xvii of antecedent methods and steps for reaching present conditions of the denomination generally within the state. The work is, therefore, a history — not of gen- eral details — of Baptist progress in Missouri. It is a pleasure to acknowledge indebtedness to Armitage's History of Baptists, Dr. Wm. R. Williams' Lectures on Baptist History, Benedict's History of Baptists, Duncan's History of Baptists in Missouri, Hon. W. F. Switzler's History of Missouri, the Semi- centennial Memorial volume, files of Ford's Christian Repository and of the Central Baptist. These sources of information added to complete files of the minutes of the General Association, have given the author as much pleasure as labor in searching out such facts as to him seemed cardinal to the work he proposed to do for his brethren. History of Missouri Baptist General Association. CHAPTER I. FRANCO-SPANISH PERIOD. The progress of Christianity from the days of John the Baptist is so interwoven with the varying conditions of human Hfe that an analysis of history dis- covers the Secular as at once the companion and the ve- hicle of the Sacred. The life philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth interpenetrates the whole of human life, indi- vidual and social. The natural and the Spiritual are coordinate forces, in that Kingdom which is not of this world but which is immanent with all incidents, events and epochs that mark the upheavals, overturnings and revolutions in human society. As the gay light of dawn signals the approach of the full illumined day, so the venturesome and perilous voyage of Christopher Columbus foretold the transfor- mation of a continent of savage darkness into a region of Christian light. The history of Missouri from the time of Louis the XIV of France to the days of Napoleon as first consul of the French empire, and Thomas Jefferson as presi- dent of the United States, thence down to the heated contest in the American congress incited by the appli- 2 Franco-Spanish Period. cation of the Missouri Territory for statehood reveals the handwriting of that providence that extorts praise to God from the wrath of man while it restrains the re- mainder of wrath. It is a story as unique as it is com- prehensive in its relation to the progress of freedom of conscience and civil liberty. It opens to view a field of thought as rich in prospect as it is retrospectively thrill- ing. To note the chronology and personal names, and events and localities and periods and epochs of history without connoting the purposes and methods of Infinite sovereignty is like star gazing without knowledge of the forces and laws of motion of the worlds that adorn the firmament and declare the glory of the Creator ; or like feasting the eyes on the ravishing beauties of the earth without a knowledge of the processes that gave it varied aspects and bedecked it with every display of loveliness from Nature's mysterious botanical labora- tory that it might in voiceless poetr}^ display the hand work of infinite benevolence. Many of the noteworthy conflicts of personal am- bition and national jealousy have been the interpretors of the ceaseless struggles between Truth and Error. There is nothing more definitely certified by the stamp of circumstances than that civil liberty and free institu- tions are the outgrowth of emancipated thought, and that Christianity is the fair but strong hand that breaks the bands that bind thought and conscience to tyranny either civil or ecclesiastical. It may seem paradoxical if not contradictory that the selfish motives of an ambi- tious foreign ruler contributed as largely to the estab- lishment and development of institutions now recog- nized as distinguishingly American, as did the unselfish patriotism of the "father of his country." Napoleon when first consul of France was moved by ambition when he conceived the idea and formed the purpose to Franco-Spanisli Period. 3 transfer the Louisiana country to the United States. It is not at all probable, notwithstanding his sagacious penetration that he comprehended the full impregnation of his great conception. France had ceded her North American posses- sions to Spain as a war indemnity. This was done in 1763 by the provisions of the Fountaine Bleau treaty. In 1800, when Napoleon was at the zenith of his fame as a chieftain and a ruler, and had achieved renown for France as supreme on land, he was filled with ambition to make her Mistress of the Seas. He proposed to the King of Spain that he cede to France the coveted American territory. As a consideration for this pro- posed transfer he proffered the crown of a New King- dom — Etruria — which he was about to establish, to the son-in-law of the Spanish Kmg. To this bargain the King of Spain acceded. Ambition for family power outweighed the pride of domain, and Louisiana passed back to France October i, iSoo. In 1803 Napoleon was involved in a heated con- test with Great Britain. He had not secured for France the long desired command of the high seas. His navy was unequal to that of his great enemy. He received information that Great Britain had dispatched a strong naval fleet to the Gulf of Mexico. This in- formation sent consternation to the brain of the intrepid conqueror. On an Easter Sunday. April 10, 1803, Napoleon was attending such religious service as was peculiar to a Romanized people. But his great mind was ill at ease : he had not visions of Calvary's exhibit of infinite love, nor realization of a world lost in sin for whose redemption a crucified Saviour had conquered death in his own dark domain; but his visions were of a mighty hostile fleet landing on the southern border of his great American possessions. As he sat midst the imposing grandeur of Cathedral architecture and art 4 Franco-Spanish Period. with the pomp of empty ceremony before him, neither the duties of Time nor the awful reaHties of Eternity engaged his perturbed soul. Personal fame and na- tional glory were menaced by a powerful foe. Midst the surroundings of displayful religion he gave his thoughts to schemes of stragetic enterprise. He re- turned to his rooms with a bran new idea : I will dispose of Louisiana to the United States. I can not hold it against the superior force of England, that hated foe shall not make a conquest of my great North Ameri- can possessions. How inscrutable the ways of Provi- dence! A mighty monarch committed by ancestral faith and educational bias to a secular religion that claimed imperial authority and the right to dominate individual consciences, unwittingly conceiving a scheme to enlarge the territory and widen the field selected by Providence for planting the institutions of freedom and a church based upon the broad democratic princi- ples of liberty of conscience and equal rights of the members in particular of the mystic body of the King of Kings. Upon his return from religious service, Napoleon immediately sent for the members of his cabinet. To them he communicated the condition of affairs and his new-formed plan and purpose. He directed that Mr. Robert Livingstone, the United States minister to the French government, be invited to their presence. To him was submitted the proposition that the United States purchase Louisiana. In the meanwhile the government at Washington had become uneasy about the possible interference with United States commerce by reason of obstructed access to the Gulf of Mexico by way of Mississippi river transportation, and Presi- dent Jefferson had sent James Monroe to France as special envov to secure, if possible, a cession to the United States of the left bank of that great river Franco-Spanish Period. 5 where it passes through Louisiana. Mr. Monroe was on his way to Paris at the very time the French author- ities w^ere in consultation with Mr. Livingstone about the transfer of the whole of Napoleon's American pos- sessions. How great Monroe's surprise, and how su- preme his delight to find on reaching Paris that there was not only hope of the success of his mission, but im- mediate prospects for much greater things for his home government. It is quite safe, perhaps, to infer at this late date that neither of the high contracting parties to the Lou- isiana negotiations had any adequate conception of the vast area and inestimable value of the subject-matter of the negotiations. On April 30, 1803, the negotiations were concluded and on the third of May the contract was signed, and the United States became the owner of the vast landed treasure at the price of fifteen millions of dollars (a sum of money much smaller than the private fortune of some of our multimillionaires). The senate of the United States ratified this contract on the seventeenth day of the following October. Now let the reader turn to an accurate and authen- tic map of the United States ; he will see that the thir- teen original colonies and adjacent territory, as recog- nized by Great Britain in 1783 were bounded on the west by what is now the eastern line of the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, and on the south by a narrow strip of the southern ex- tremes of what are now the states of Mississippi, Ala- bama and Georgia, and the whole of Florida. Now look westward from the original boundary and rest the eye upon the wide extended and magnificent region embracing the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, part of Texas, part of Colorado, then all of Kansas, the Indian Territory including Okla- 6 Franco-Spanish Period. homa, all of Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Ore- gon, Washington and the North and South Dakotas — a region of area and natural resources sufficient for a mighty empire or powerful republic. All of this region dotted over by thrifty farms, thriving towns, great manufacturing centers and populous cities, net-worked by thousands of miles of railroads and having the cli- mate, soil, minerals and precious metals for the susten- tation and prosperous commonwealth sufficient for a population far in excess of the present population of the whole Union. This vast area and natural wealth accrued to the United States by the purchase of Lou- isiana. It is proper to note in this connection that subse- quent to the foregoing achievement of consummate statesmanship the United States parted with its Texas possession in exchange for the southern strips of the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and all of Flor- ida. This was in 1819. The manner of the subse- quent annexation of Texas to the United States bears only indirectly upon our subject. Some reader of these pages may be tempted to ask: what has all this to do with the history of the General Association of Missouri Baptists? The an- swer is, as before intimated, much every way. The great English dramatist wrote: "There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we may." The charming poet whose genius was only occasion- ally beclouded by inane melancholy wrote : "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform," and one of America's most eminent Baptist divines wrote: "God times all things in the interest of His Messiah's Kingdom." The great Apostle to the Gen- tiles told the early Christians "All things are yours, Franco-Spanish Period. 7 and ye are Christ's and Christ is God's." All things ! How comprehensive, how all-inclusive is the church's inventory of capital assets ! The utterances of poets, philosophers, orators, theologians and statesmen; the schemes of great and daring adventurers like Co- lumbus, DeSoto, LaSalle, Marquet and Ponce de Leon ; the wars and revolutions of the ages are but the instru- ments of the great underlying and overruling force that impels the car of progress along its tortuous route and voice the sublime purpose that gives impulse and power to that Kingdom which is to have no end, and which is to break into pieces the colossal civil and military in- stitutions born of human wisdom and ambition. They are part of the fulfiUings of that prophecy which de- clares that the King of kings shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. Nothing can stay the stone cut from the mountain side as it dashes itself down declivities against the huge image standing at the base. The powers of Hades can not prevail against the Church of Christ as in its conflict with error it slowly but surely moves on to ultimate triumph and glory. Can any one at all conversant with the history of progress, for a moment doubt that, the United States is to enlighten the nations of the earth? It was more than poetic sentiment assuming shape and proportions of art that placed in one of America's greatest harbors a colossal statue of liberty sending forth lights to sym- bol America enlightening the world, it was an uncon- scious materialization of a prophecy inherent in the his- tory and institutions of the United States. The perfect law of liberty must be inwrought with the thought habit of the nations before the people in the uttermost parts of the earth can or will shake away the shackles that bind the mind and fetter the conscience. Where do we find the principles of human rights intelligently and benev- olently recognized elsewhere than in regions blessed by 8 Franco-Spanish Period. the full light of the precepts of the lowly Nazarene? And who have been so steadfastly faithful in holding forth that light as have Baptists : and is not America the world's Baptist stronghold? God mysteriously util- izes the human mind and the incidents and events of human life to progressively build of lively stones a temple before which the dazzling splendors of Ancient Jerusalem's physical type shall pale. Is it not significant that infidel France was made to contribute to the establishment and expansion of a government founded upon Christian principles? The sympathy of France with the American revolutionists took substantial form in the person and aid of the Marquis de La Fayette; but for the first consul, we can not say that the original American colonies would have expanded into a continent sweeping from the St. Law- rence to the Pacific and from the northern lakes to the southern gulf. And strange to say the conception and materialization of "America enlightening the world" is of a Frenchman and from France. When Lifidelity suc- cors Faith, does not God make the wrath of man praise Him, and will He not restrain the remainder of wrath? Imagine the United States limited to the thirteen original states and adjacent territory recognized by Great Britain in 1783; now imagine a French or Span- ish empire covering the immense region embraced by the Louisiana purchase, and having control of the mouth of the Mississippi river. Then think of Eng- land's Canadian provinces lying hard against our northern border. You at once have a picture of a feeble republic walled in by foreign and alien powers. Endless hostilities and an absorbing standing army would have been the lot of a small and comparatively helpless population, with whom American ideas would have lived in feebleness without power or opportunity of expansion. The acquisition of the Louisiana Ter- Franco-Spanish Period. 9 ritory without sacrifice of blood and at a meager price in money seems providential and part of a great and far-reaching plan. ]\lissouri was carved out of the vast domain added to the United States by the wisdom of Jefferson and the alarm of Napoleon. Missouri is nearly geograph- ically central to the vast and varied region now under the jurisdiction of the United States. She lies west of the east and east of the great west. A combination of natural conditions makes her the center of a world conquering civilization. Her wonderful natural re- sources, and her great metropolis washed by the "Father of waters" eminently qualify her for her high destiny in the schedule of a beneficent Providence. So far as numbers and wealth are factors in the forces of progress, Baptists have preeminence in this wonderful state; and it may be at least an interesting coincidence that, the president of the United States under whose far-seeing statesmanship the United States became the owner and possessor of ihe vast re- gion of which Missouri is a part, perfected his theory of a civil democracy from his acquaintance with Bap- tist theory and practice of church polity. He was not slow to reason that the mind accustomed to individual tliought and free and independent action in ecclesias- tical matters would not be long in asserting, nor tardy in maintaining the same liberty in civil affairs, and that minds thus trained to soul liberty would be the fast friends of a constitutional democracy. In this connec- tion recurs another fact of history singularly and sug- gestively in keeping with the foregoing. By article in of the contract for the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, written by Napoleon's own hand, it was especially covenanted that : "the inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated in the union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible, lo Franco-Spanish Period. according- to the principles of the Federal constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages and im- munities of citizens of the United States, and in the meantime they shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property and the re- ligion which they profess." The foregoing are some of the suggestive facts that naturally associate themselves with the history of an organization that in no small measure represents the spirit and the progress of the great state, that give spe- cial significance to the crowning act of Jefferson's able administration of the affairs of the young republic and that help to write his name preeminent in the nation's history; and now without entering into detail of the history of the adventures of DeSoto and other historic characters in connection with Missouri in its relations to Spain and France up to the beginning of the present century, we will give our attention more especially to the conditions of that portion of the purchase which is now Missouri, during the Franco-Spanish period. In the year 1800 the entire population of what is now the State of Missouri was a little in excess of six thousand; more than half of this population was dis- tributed as follows : St. Genevieve 949, St. Louis 925, St. Charles 875, New Madrid 782. The remainder was scattered through the southeastern part of the state. This small population was made up mainly of adventurers who had crossed the Mississippi river either as fur traders or in quest of silver and gold which were supposed to be concealed in fabulous quantities beneath the surface of Missouri's fair lands. It was this search for the precious metals that brought DeSoto, who landed at Tampa Bay in Florida in the year 1539. nearly a half century after the landing of Columbus. He found his way through many perils from his land- ing on the shores of the land of flowers, to the Ozark Franco-Spanish Period. 1 1 mountains of Missouri, but finding no treasures, he made his way with depleted forces and exhausted vi- taHty back to the Mississippi river, where after weary months and toilsome years he found a watery grave — and so Peru's conqueror and bespoiler sank in disap- pointment, certifying to the vanity of wealth and re- nown ill gotten by oppression and cruelty. In 1682, LaSalle, a Frenchman from Canada, ex- plored the Mississippi river to its mouth. He took formal possession of the whole country in the name of Louis XIV, and in honor of him, he named the country Louisiana. In 1719 the interior of Missouri was ex- plored by the French, by authority of the French dep- uties at New Orleans. In i720 Spanish forces were organized at Santa Fe in what is now New Mexico, to repel the French. This outfit was called the "Span- ish Caravan." This movement was unsuccessful. The French therefore eft'ected permanent settlement in what is now Missouri. The first settlement was at St. Genevieve in 1735, the next was at St. Louis in 1764, then followed at about the same time the settlement at St. Charles. The reader will have no difficulty in in- ferring the religious condition of these settlements. Though Roman Catholicism was the dominant and dominating religion, infidelity, immorality and oppo- sition to protestant Christianity were the prevailing sentiments, and this was carried so far as not only to disregard the sanctity of the Sabbath, but French infi- delity openly declared that there should be no Sabbath. This state of things particularly characterized St, Louis in the days of its French history. It was about this time that, as a result of the battle of Quebec. France parted with her American pos- sessions in the south and west to Spain. The manner of France's recovery of the territory from Spain has been given in preceding pages. 12 Franco-Spanish Period. During the Franco-Spanish period of our history some Baptists ventured to leave their homes and the protection of the Stars and Stripes and seek fortune in the wilds of the forest west of the Mississippi. So far as the facts may be verified it appears that Baptists were the first non-Roman Catholic white residents of the great territory. These came in 1796 and settled a few miles south of where the town of Jackson, in Cape Gi- rardeau county, is now located. These adventurous christians made their humble homes in the forest. Be- sides these few settlers there were in that immediate sec- tion no other human beings except the savage red man. The institutions of Christianity had not found a home in the forest and the few Baptist settlers were not favored with the privilege of assembling themselves together for worship and christian communion except as they occasionally met for scripture reading, song and prayer in the rude cabins where they made their lowly and perilous homes. But in 1799 J^y came to their hearts and homes in the person of an aged Baptist preacher, by name Thomas Johnson. This messenger of light and comfort came from the state of Georgia where he had been a missionary among the Cherokee Indians. His coming into the "Territory" — as it was now gener- ally called — was doubtless a voluntary missionary tour undertaken at his own charges and risk, perhaps, of his life. To the few settlers he preached the gospel in violation of the law then established for the govern- ment of the territory, for the "home government" of the territory forbade, under severe pains and penalties, any heretic from public teaching in the name of Jesus Christ. His preaching was a great comfort to the faithful and the means of the conversion of others. He was no doubt the administrator of the first Christian baptism in what is now our great state. The subject Franco-Spanish Period. 13 was a Mrs. Ballow, and the water was that of Randall's Creek. A Baptist church was constituted in this neighbor- hood in the year 1806. This organization took the name of Bethel Baptist Church. In this instance the name was eminently appropriate. It was a place of rest to the waiting, longing souls that composed the little band of God-fearing men and women. The con- gregation soon erected a house of worship made of huge hewn poplar logs. The organization and the house are long since extinct. In 1875 the Rev. Dr. J. C. Maple and Rev. James Reid obtained a piece of one of the original logs of this primitive structure, and caused to be made of it a beautiful gavel for use in the meetings of the General Association. This gavel was beautifully mounted with silver bands and a silver plate bearing an appropriate inscription by the giver. In an elegant and pathetic address Dr. Maple pre- sented the gavel to the General Association at a regular meeting held at St. Joseph in October, 1875. The gavel is still in use, and has been often examined and admired by many a devout brother and sister who loved to think of the consecration and deprivation of Missouri Baptist pioneers. Leaving the extreme southeast quarter of the state we come up to the St. Louis region. In 1797 Nortli Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky made contri- butions to the Baptist garden to be planted in the wil- derness. Some of these immigrants settled in what is now St. Louis county. Others, including members of the family of the historic Daniel Boone, moved with their ancestor, the hero pioneer of Kentucky, farther up the river and settled in what is now St. Charles county. These pioneer Baptists, like those in the southeast part of the state, were denied the privileges of the sanctuary and a preached gospel for the first year or two after 14 Franco-Spanish Period. settling in their new homes. But in 1798 a messenger of the Lord came to them. Jolm Clark was without reasonable doubt the first preacher of the uncorrupted gospel of the Son of God that set foot on Missouri soil. Mr. Clark was a Baptist preacher who severed his con- nection with the Wesleyans in 1796. He was a Scotch- man by birth. His ancestors were Presbyterians, whicli perhaps explains in part his liberal education for the period in which he lived, as well as his rigid though genial morality, while, perhaps, his connection with the Wesleyans accounts for his zeal, or perhaps it was a zealous nature that led him into that connec- tion. His becoming a Baptist indicates his independ- ence of thought, candid investigation and loyalty to the Truth. This man was from choice a pedestrian — he made all of his many appointments on foot, and al- though often put to great straits by muddy roads and swollen streams, he is not known to have failed to reach a preaching appointment. His preaching in Missouri was frequently interrupted by edicts of the government influenced by, and for execution committed to the Ro- man church. During his missionary labors in St. Louis county (that now is) he established societies at Coldwater and Spanish Pond settlements. These so- cieties afterwards became Baptist churches. About this time there came to this part of the ter- ritory a Baptist preacher, by name James Kerr. He first came on a visit in 1^99, and afterwards perma- nently settled in the territory. He came from Ken- tucky. Not much information concerning his work is oljtainable. In 1 80 1 Thomas Music came from Kentucky to the territory. He was, however, a native of Virginia. He was an earnest, pathetic preacher, whose sympa- thetic temperament and upright life were elements of Sfreat usefulness. He was the organizer of Fee Franco-Spanish Period. 15 Fee Church in what is now St. Louis county. The church still exists and is affectionately designated the "mother of us all" — Baptists in Missouri. This much revered church was constituted in i8o7. But for these early settlements and the struggle and fidelity of Baptists during the days that tried men's souls, we know not that there should have been anv Missouri Baptist General Association. But be this as it may, the Baptists of the state who love their state organization are tenderly interested in the simple his- tory of their pioneer fathers and mothers in Israel. CHAPTER 11. THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD. The Senate of the United States ratified the pur- chase of Louisiana from France in 1804; from that time until the admission of Missouri into the union as a state, is here designated the territorial period. Soon after the transfer to the United States, the purchased domain was divided into two parts ; all of that portion embraced by the boundaries of what is now the state of Louisiana, was called the Territory of Orleans. To the other part the name of District of Louisiana was given ; but in less than a year the name was changed to "Territory of Louisiana" and included what is now the State of Missouri. For the convenience of civil gov- ernment, this territory was added to what was then known as the Territory of Indiana. The people of Mis- souri were dissatisfied with this arrangement and pe- titioned the Federal government for separation from Indiana. In response to this petition the Territory of Louisiana was made a territory of the lowest grade under the Federal schedule for territorial government. The first governor under this order of things was General James Wilkerson. In 1812, when General Benjamin Howard was governor by appointment of President Madison, the congress passed an act by which Louisiana became a Territory of higher grade and the name changed to Mis- souri — Missouri was the name of a peculiarly shaped canoe used by a tribe of Indians that came from the east side of the Mississippi river and penetrated the country west as far as the Missouri river, bringing their canoes 16 The Territorial Period. 1 7 with them, and from these canoes the river took its name, and the tribe was called the Missouris. About the time of the erection of the "Territory of Missouri," there were in what is now the State of Missouri about 10,000 people exclusive of Indians. Of this number about 2,000 were negroes, mostly slaves. In this sparse population there were — as we have seen — a few Baptists, subjected to the inconven- iences of worship imposed prior to United States rule, by Roman Catholicism. As the knowledge of the cession of Louisiana to the United States slowly spread among the people of the states, a new era dawned upon American life. It may seem to the merely practical man that, the States and Territories of the Union, prior to the acquisition of Louisiana were a field sufficient for the needs and en- terprise of the inhabitants. But it is interesting if not comprehensively suggestive that, the Anglo Saxon race is by nature and tradition, a restless, adventurous and enterprising people. It is questionable if progress were possible without these somewhat troublesome characteristics. It is perhaps, not accidental that, in the course of events the most intelligently aggressive, and therefore the most progressive division of the human race became the people who are to carry the gospel enterprise to its destined triumph. The gospel committed to a people without the spirit of intellectual improvement and ma- terial progress, must have failed for lack of enlightened enthusiasm. A feeble people who could wrest liberty from the hands of a tyrant backed by a parliament and revenues and navies and armies, can be relied on to push to ultimate success any great enterprise looking to the betterment of the conditions of human life. 1 8 The Territorial Period. The spirit that moved the Puritans who settled New England and the Cavaliers of the south, and who became British- American subjects; and then contended for representation, and fought for independence, is the spirit to have promptly made the best of such an oppor- tunity as the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory af- forded. The emigrants that moved westward from the states had by inheritance and the influence of environ- ment the elements of character suited to the propaga- tion and maintainance of a religion consonant with natural right of freedom of the individual conscience and the civil liberty of the citizen. Fresh in the mem- ories of the Baptists to emigrate to Missouri after the adoption of the Federal constitution were the struggles of the Virginia Baptists for religious liberty. Many of these emigrants were Kentuckians — the descendants of Virginia families. The few who came in earlier days from Tennessee and the Carolinas were not ig- norant of the sufferings and heroic struggles and brilliant achievements of their Virginia brethren. In coming to a new country they did not leave behind them their religion nor its traditions. The action of the Virginia Baptists in securing the first amendment to the constitution of the United States was a part of their cherished inheritance. The small collection of treasured books, carefully stored in emigrant wagons, contain well preserved copies of an'^Address of the com- mittee of the United Baptist Churches of Virginia as- sembled in the City of Richmond eighth of August, 1789, to the President of the United States" in which the memorialists earnestly and respectfully appealed to the President to use his influence in behalf of meas- ures to further guarantee to American citizens full protection against state interference with conscience and the free worship of God. This address was offi- The Territorial Period. 19 cially signed by men whose names every Virginia Bap- tist, whether on the native heath or enroute to the "far west," revered as precious household words, associated with the most trying experiences and grandest tri- umphs in the history of progress. These names were Samuel Harris and Reuben Ford, one the chairman the other the secretary of the meeting that petitioned the president. They had with them as equally precious heirloom memorials, copies of President Washington's respectful and cordial response, addressed to the "Gen- eral Committee representing the United Baptists of Virginia." In this communication to the Virginia Baptists, Washington made grateful mention of the steadfast friendship of Baptists to the principles and struggles of the revolution, and closed by saying: "I rejoice to assure them — the Baptists — that they may rely upon my best wishes and endeavors to advance their prosperity." It was but a month after this cor- respondence when James Madison, afterwards presi- dent of the United States, with the approval of Wash- ington, brought before the congress a proposed amend- ment to the Federal constitution providing that : "Con- gress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This became the first amendment to the constitution. It was ratified by eleven of the thirteen states between Noevmber 20, 1789, and December, iTqi. New Jersey was the first to ratify and Virginia was the last. This seeming tardiness on the part of Virginia would seem unaccountable inasmuch as she was the prime and in- fluential mover for the amendment. But acquaintance with religious conditions in the state will suggest that the very conditions that provoked opposition to the amendment were the same that inspired the movement to procure the amendment. The Cliurch of England — Episcopalian — was the law-established church in Vir- 20 The Territorial Period. ginia. All citizens were taxed to support the establish- ment. Baptists and all other nonconformists were taxed to support a clergy (?) and an organization that had no sympathy with them and for whom they had but little respect. The "clergy" and the estab- lished church vigorously opposed the ratification of the amendment, and brought to bear upon the legislature every possible influence for its defeat. It was the claim, if not the theory of the established church that, forms of religion should be prescribed and enforced by the state. The vote in the Virginia legislature on the question to ratify the amendment to the Federal con- stitution was a close one — the amendment came near being rejected. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Patrick Henry gave the proposition to ratify their hearty support, but even this trinity of talent and learning and influence barely outweighed the money and social influence of the establishment. While it is historically verified that, Baptists orig- inated the movement for religious liberty and were the sufferers in its behalf, it is yet true that Virginia Pres- byterians rallied to their support, but for which the measure might have been lost, or at least greatly de- layed. The proceedings of Baptist Associations and conventions gave Presbyterians an opportunity to make a fight for which by themselves they were not sufficient. But their devotion to soul liberty was as decided and as pronounced as that of the Baptists. Contemporaneous with the movement by Virginia Baptists for religious liberty were the vigorous and in- defatigable efforts of the Baptists of Massachusetts. In that state Congregationalism was fostered by state patronage. Baptists and all others were taxed to sup- port Congregational churches. Isaac Backus and Noah Alden, historic Baptists, made heroic and timely effort for religious freedom. John Adams, great statesman The Territorial Period. 2 1 as he was, opposed them with a bitterness Httle short of mahgnity. He regarded the abrogation of the law of gravitation as much within the Hmits of the natural and the possible as separation of church and state. But Backus and Alden, aided by Dr. Manning, a learned Baptist minister, educator and statesman, were not to be repelled by the prowess of the great political leader and master statesman. Noah Alden, a descendent of the Plymoth settlers, was a member of the Massachusetts constitutional con- vention in i78o, and at the same time pastor of the Bap- tist church at Billingsham. As a member of the Mass- achusetts convention he made an unsuccessful effort to relieve the people of the state from state taxation for the support of the state church. He was afterwards a member of the convention that formed the constitution of the United States. The influence on the individual mind of religious conviction and church habit is so well attested by the facts of history that controversy is precluded. One trained to servile submission to ecclesiastical dictation and sacredotal supervision of conscience will readily submit to state regulation of religion, particularly if his religion has state recognition. On the other hand, the mind trained to independence of religious thought and individual participation in church business will never consent to state interference, though his church should be proffered the hand of the state. Baptists have been wooed by the state, but the suit was rejected. With this spirit of freedom of conscience and love of liberty Baptists came to Missouri in its territorial days; they came the heirs of heroic ancestors and in- spired by the consciousness of an honorable tradition. Heredity and educational bias gave trend to individual character ; and as a community life is the expression of the units that compose it, it is not difficult to account 22 The Territorial Period. for the independent spirit and democratic views of Mis- souri Baptists. Their heroism, their steadfastness in the faith and their exaltation of the church as the inde- pendent and sole representative of the Christ are the emphasizings of ancestral history and tradition. The Missouri Baptist of to-day reviews the history of his denomination in the happy consciousness that the pioneer fathers and mothers were his people. With delight he recounts their deeds of heroic sacrifice. He gladly fellowships the "Prairie Schooners" that slowly made their way through forests and across the prairies of Indiana and Illinois bearing their precious cargoes of lively stones for the spiritual temple to be founded and builded in the great west. The streams of emigrants in territorial times were to the present Baptist stronghold in Missouri as are the mountain streamlets to the great river, over which the forefathers had to cross to reach the land that invited them from their homes in the states. The churches of the state, and the General Association are among the high places of progress and prosperity from which the Missouri Baptist looks back upon the train of slow-moving wagons drawn by trained horses or faithful oxen, bearing dauntless men, courageous women and wondering children to the region of the deer and the buffalo, and more impressively, to the home of the red man, there to found homes and plant the garden of the Lord. The Baptists of to-day have builded and are build- ing upon foundations laid by workmen who encounter- ed difficulties and hardships to which they are stran- gers. The heritage of the present had for its price a sacrifice that the worker who builds on that founda- tion is not required by present conditions to make Families and preachers and deacons of our early his- tory defied the tangled forest and the trackless prairie The Territorial Period. 23 with their wild denizens, that they might open up a field for future cultivation and development. These christian immigrants came not to improved lands where homes and fields and orchards and open highways and schools and colleges and church edifices tempted them to lives of ease and comfort. They came to do the first work of transforming the wilder- ness into a land of homes and civilized enterprise. . Houses must be built. Saw mills and brick kilns and builders and masons are not yet features of the new busy life. Rude log cabins constructed of unhewn timber from the generous forest are hurriedly piled without architect or skilled joiners, such home force as is capable of using the axe for felling the timber and cutting the logs into proper lengths, and then the house raising — a festive occasion when neighborly spirits and helping hands make a joyous recreation of gratuitous labor; thus homes dotted the wilds at the hands of fellow pioneers. Chimneys of sticks and mud built upon rough stone base must answer the purpose of draft and flue. Board floors are out of the question. Puncheons made by . splitting logs in twain, with the flat side upturned must keep the feet of the dwellers from the ground — tapestry, three-ply, Brussels and Axminster floor-coverings are not so much as visions of night dreams. The roof of the house is made of clap-boards rived from native oaks and held on to horizontal pole rafters by skids, or wooden pegs. A small "clearing" is made for the beginning of agricul- ture. Bread stufif and a few vegetables are all that is contemplated. The forest and the prairie aflford food for live stock, and meat for the family. It is not in the least degree improbable that these crude and physically rude cabin homes of the territory were the abodes of as ereat contentment and as much 24 The Territorial Period. domestic love, purity and happiness as are to be found in many of the palatial residences that have supplanted them. Material progress is an essential feature of a progressive civilization, but the experience of ages has demonstrated that human virtue and happiness are not necessary sequences of physical prosperity. It is not improbable of demonstration that pioneer civiliza- tion has more of the resources for domestic felicity than has the physical display incident to opulence. The older inhabitants of our own state who can from memory recall the earlier days of Missouri life love to dwell upon the good old days when hospitality and neighborly good will gave real pleasure to social in- tercourse. One sad inconvenience of pioneer life was the in- frequency of the mails, and the remoteness of post- offices from the "Settlements." It is within the recol- lection of men not older than many who live to-day in Missouri, when a journey of sixty or eighty miles had to be made to reach a postoffice. To receive a letter in a settlement was an event of far greater interest than the arrival of the daily paper to-day. The letter was talked about; neighbors called to hear from the old Kentucky home, or from the Blue Ridge or Shenandoah Valley. Frequently these letters were the occasion of great joy, and occasionally of sorrow and sadness. The writer of the letter would tell all the items of inter- est concerning acquaintances and friends left behind by the adventurous pioneers. This gave to these epis- tles a general interest. The ministers of the gospel devoted their Sab- baths, and such other time as could be spared from the struggle for existence, to ministering to the spiritual wants of their fellow pioneers. In the winter season the cabin homes of the settlers must serve as sanctu- aries for worship and for dispensing the word. In The Territorial Period. 2 5 summer and early autumn religious gatherings were in the shades of the forest. The coming of a preacher into a settlement was an event of social as well as relig- ious interest. No palace car carried him forty miles an hour, to be met at a station with an elegant "rig" to con- vey him to a place of preaching, and thence to a man- sion for sumptuous dining. He traveled, if not on foot, on a faithful saddle "nag" that had learned pa- tience from afflictive experience. The preaching was not an exhibit of "much learning ;"not a studied display of elocution and artistic gesticulation; not the reading of a literary essay ; not a display of oratorical pyrotech- nics, nor an "improvement of the latest sensation ; but a plain, earnest and affectionate presentation of the Old Old Story." He spoke for the comfort and the edification of the believer, and to warn and persuade the unbeliever. These old time sermons were enriched by the personal experience of sin and grace from the preacher's own heart. Men and women were moved to seek and serve Christ. Services were seldom closed without giving the penitent believer an opportunity to confess Christ before men. The singing was not done by a chosen few who esteemed it an infringement of their "copy right" for others to praise God in sacred song. No soloist with more of art than of music claimed a monopoly of song service, but all the people praised God, making melody in their hearts, unto the Lord. These primitive meetings led on to the building of houses of worship. These edifices were not monu- ments to architectural aesthetics and builders' skill. No arched portals nor ponderous domes nor cloud- kissing spires adorned these temples to the living God. No paneled ceilings from which were pendant massive chandeliers, no massive pews with hard-wood carved ends and backs, and upholstered seats tempted to luxu- 26 The Territorial Period. rious worship. These church houses were"home made." The stately trees of the forest were felled by the hands of the disciples of Him who stood on Judea's hills and on Gallilee's shores to proclaim himself the way, the truth and the life. These trees were worked into hewn logs of given dimensions by the followers of the carpen- ter's son. The brethren and friends gathered for a house raising, and a house was builded unto the Lord. The roof was of clap-boards, its seats were puncheons with peg-legs, its windows were not of gorgeous cathe- dral glass, its illumination was from candles held in tin holders hung to wooden pegs or nails in the side walls or in the columns that supported the roof girder. No grand organ pealed forth its tremulous notes in long and solemn prelude, but celestial notes from God-made harps offered praises unto the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world. When services were held at night, and there was no moon to light up the out doors, the dismissed congregation, in wagons, on horse back and some a foot would follow the beaming light from blazing torch carried by some sturdy young man who took pleasure in driving off the hide- ous darkness, that returning worshippers might not be lost in the tangled forest. Thus our forefathers in Israel builded better than they knew. The heritage they left to the workers of to-day is a wealth of generous opportunities and mag- nificent possibilities. As population increased, and the preaching force was reinforced, churches increased in membership by letter and by experience and baptism. New settlements were founded, and as a result church organizations were multiplied. This progress suggested the organ- ization of associations. The missionary spirit was neither prevalent nor forceful. It is something of a puzzle to a student of the Bible that anti-missionaries should desire an association of churches. What can The Territorial Period. 27 be the aim of such associations is a riddle. Perhaps they are "Baptistic," and that is regarded as sufficient explanation. Howbeit, associations were formed; first, Bethel Association in Southeast Missouri; the next was Mis- souri, now St. Louis Association, then came Mt. Pleas- ant. These were soon followed by others. But it is not the plan of this work to give a history of district associations. The foregoing are barely mentioned as indicating the progress of the work in the territorial period, and as indicating the steps that led up to the organization of the General Association. It is pertinent to this part of our subject to remind the reader that during the territorial period there came into the state Baptist General Missionaries. Promi- nent among these were John M. Peck and James E. Welsh. These were remarkable men. The physical and mental characteristics of these men — though widely different in some respects — eminently fitted them for pioneer missionaries. The hardships to be endured, the rebuffs to be encountered, the hindrances to be tactfully manipulated and the obstacles to be over- come required more than mere preaching talent. These men were not aided in their work in and about St. Louis by an atmosphere of christian thought, they were not supported by an educated respect for the sanctuary, nor by reverence for the protestant min- istry. French infidelity in St. Louis had decreed that the Sabbath should not cross the Mississippi river westward. In the southeast part of the state the anti-mission- ary spirit was unfavorable to an aggressive work. But these men of God, undaunted by the multiplicity of stubborn obstacles, pushed forward their work, and to them in no small measure is the Baptist cause in Missouri indebted to-day for strength and influence of the denomination. CHAPTER III. THE BEGINNING OF THE GENERAL ASSOCIATION. We have hurriedly driven over a long road of varied scenery to reach the point from which it is hoped we may drive in a more direct line to the end of our historic excursion. The civil conditions have some- what changed — Missouri has become a state. In 1818 the legislature for the territory of Missouri made application to the congress of the United States for admission into the United States as a state. The for- mal presentation of this application to the congress was the signal for a long and heated and accrimonious con- test which continued until August 10, 1821, when Pres- ident Monroe issued a proclamation declaring the ad- mission of Missouri as a state. The controversy in congress incited by Missouri's application for state- hood was the occasion of much excitement, indignation and suspension of progress of general material interest in the waiting territory. The controversy grew out of the slavery question. Though the beginning of the General Association of Missouri Baptists was in 1834, thirteen years after Missouri's birth as a state, social and religious condi- tions had not made material advance upon the territo- rial conditions. The white population of the state at the time of its admission into the Union was about 50,000. The total population in 1824 was 62,000, about 5,000 of which was in St. Louis. In 1832 the population of St. Louis was about 7,ooo. In 1834 the population of the whole state did not exceed 250,000, estimated on the basis of population in 1840, which 28 The Beginning of the General Association. 29 was 381,102. The larger part of the population of the state outside of St. I.ouis, was in the central coun- ties, now known as Howard, Boone, Callaway, Cooper, Randolph, Chariton and some others. This fact of population may explain why Callaway county has the honor of the natal home of the General Association, and Cooper county the honor of the christening of the or- ganization, as it now is. The progress of religion and the growth of the churches in Missouri from the time of application for statehood in 1818 up to the organization of the "Cen- tral Society" (now General Association) in 1834, was retarded not only by the bitter agitation of the slavery question throughout the United States, occasioned by the Missouri question, but also by the trotiblesome presence of wandering Indian tribes, the presence of the IMormons and the Mormon war, the visitation of chol- era in 1832 that raged with fearful fatality in St. Louis and created much alarm in the rural districts Never- theless, during these perilous times such intrepid sol- diers of the cross as Jeremiah Vardeman, Fielding Wilhite, Thos. Fristoe, Wm. H. Mansfield, Ebenezer Rogers, Anderson Woods, James Suggett and others were boldly fighting the battles for the Truth and holding forth the word of Life. At the time, of which we now write, conditions had not materially changed from the territorial condi- tions. Mails were still infrequent and postoffices re- mote from many of the settlements, modes of convey- ance were limited to such as meager private fortunes could provide. Homes were primitive and methods of living were simple and unpretentious, churches were few in number and at considerable distances one from the other. The reader of to-day can scarcely realize the disadvantages and hardships to which the preach- ers of the earlier davs of our historv in Missouri were 30 The Beginning of the General Association. subjected. Indeed there are persons, not a few, out- side of our state who are still in unblissful ignorance of the wonderful progress the state has made in all condi- tions that make social and material civilization. These — though intelligent — know but little of our magnifi- cent cities, our thousands of elegant homes, and mag- nificent farms in every part of the commonwealth, our numerous and, in many instances, commodious and elegant church houses, our thriving and useful col- leges, our magnificent State University and unsur- passed common school system, and 7,ooo miles of rail- road. A striking illustration of the misapprehension of Missouri by the people of the Eastern States is in con- nection with the writer's own experience. In 1884 he called upon a pastor recently settled in one of our cities, from the east. He had just completed his course at Rochester, and was fairly settled in his work in Mis- souri. The writer urged that the new comer from the east put himself en rapport with Missouri Baptists ; telling him that eastern people were misinformed as to the spirit and manner of westerners. He said to him that they were a generous, hospitable, enlightened and progressive people. He replied, "you are right; the eastern people have a low estimate of Missouri and Missourians." "Why" — says he — "I wrote to my mother in the east that I had accepted a pastoral call to the church in this city, and would have to proceed to my work without making my proposed visit to her. She wrote to me in reply, expressing surprise and sorrow that I had decided to go to the wild west, and in- sisted that I should not proceed farther than St. Louis without a safe body guard, lest the Indians should capture me." He further said that he had written to a college classmate that he would go to Missouri to take a pastorate. That friend answered : "Why ! what The Beginning of the General Associatio)i. 31 has possessed you, after a long college and seminary course, to begin your work among Missouri heathen?" "Exactly," said the writer, "that's just the reason I want you to know the west. I know what eastern people think of us — we suffer great injustice through their enlightened ignorance. I want you to attend the General Association at Marshall next October, and then tell me your impressions." He promised he would do as was requested. He kept his promise. At the closing of that meeting he freely bore this testi- mony: "I am ready to give you my impressions of Missouri Baptists." "Well, let's have them." "I am," said he, "surprised, and I confess it. I have never seen in New York or in New England, a more magnifi- cent body of men, nor such manly dignity and genuine courtesy in the members of any deliberative assembly." People afar off have not kept pace with Missou- ri's rapid strides in the march of progress, and even to- day Missouri and Missouri Baptists are not understood by the people who complacently wrap themselves in the mantle of their own conceits and flatter themselves it is wise not to know. For some years prior to 1834 there were some Baptist preachers in Missouri — some of whose names are given in this chapter — who traversed large sections of the state preaching the gospel at their own charges. These men, in the early thirties, became impressed by frequent observations of the religious condition of the sections visited that, measures should be taken to more effectually supply the religious destitution. Anderson Woods and Wm. H. Mansfield, who labored much to- gether, frequently discussed this matter between them- selves and eventually brought the subject to the atten- tion of others. In 1833 Thos. Fristoe. Fielding Wil- hite and Ebenezer Rogers met at the house of John Jackson, in Howard county, to confer together as to 32 Tlie Beginning of the General Association. some plan for supplying the spiritual wants of a people ready to hear the message of love, redemption and sal- vation. The hearts of these men of God were bur- dened. "What can be done? We are insufficient for these things !" Together they bowed in fervent prayer seeking, in tears, wisdom and guidance from the Great Head of the church. Out from Jackson's log cabin these three consecrated servants came with new hopes and fresh vigor. They had determined to more thor- oughly explore the field and themselves do what they could to save sinners and persuade the churches to consider ways and means for a more general and ef- fective preaching of the gospel. They went forth in couples. Fristoe and Rogers went north and east to, at least, as far as Paris in Monroe county. Wilhite as- sociated with him A. J. Bartee and traveled south and west. After these tours of investigation and work, they met again and resolved upon preliminary steps for an organization. They wrote letters to leading Baptists of the state. This was at that date a slow method of intercommunication. Delay was inevita- ble. As a result of the conference and correspondence a meeting was called for the twenty-ninth of August, 1834, at Providence church in Callaway county. At this date — 1898 — such a meeting would be called for at some city or town church accessible by railroad passenger transportation. To travel horseback or in a vehicle for fifty or a hundred miles would be regarded as a hardship. The general conditions of life have much to do with the estimates of labor and sacrifice. The human mind with all of its wonderful capabilities and conscious dominion is unconsciously subordinated to environing conditions. Could the reader mentally walk the path of the past for sixty-four years and place himself in the forest The Beginning of the General Association. 33 on the gentle slopes a few miles from the town of Ful- ton, in Callaway county, and observe grave elders and hopeful youths approaching on horseback — a few in vehicles — a neat church house constructed of native wood and nestling in the shades of stately oaks and elms and maples and wild cherry, and then watch these men as they dismounted and assist the few faithful women from their saddles, and carriages and then tie the horses to leaning boughs and near by saplings, and receive the hearty greetings of the waiting members of the rural church, he would ask himself: "what means this unusual commotion? It is not a funeral occasion, surely not a prayer meeting, there are no indications of a Avedding and no semblance to a political gather- ing, and yet it is a week day." He could scarcely cast his mind forward half a century and behold a great throng of people gathering in the town of IMarshall to be greeted by a noble pastor and generous people to a celebration of the scene upon which he was gazing ; nor would he then and there forecast the mighty results of that little gathering, upon the social, religious and ed- ucational development of an empire state and prosper- ous commonwealth. In the evolutionarv forces of the Kingdom that is to have no end, it is ever true that the grain of mustard seed shall develop into the shelter- ing tree. There is possible danger that in days of vast movements, rapid changes and sudden results, even christians may learn to despise the day of small things, and thereby overlook the law of, first the blade, then the stalk and then the full grown corn in the ear. This inherent principle of expansion is even in this day of progress overlooked by some good brethren who fret themselves because of the comprehensive work ot the General Association and the benevolent enterprises 3 34 The Beginning of the General Association. of the local churches. But it should never be forgot- ten that the church of Christ is in the world for the world's enlightenment and uplifting. The meeting at Providence effects an organization by calling Rev. Jeremiah Vardeman to preside. This makes that wonderful man of God the first Moderator of the Missouri Baptist General Association. This en- titles the Association from its very beginning to most respectful and reverential recognition in the history of a great state. Mr. Vardeman was by birth a Virginian. He was born in that state July 8, i775. His ancestors were natives of Sweeden. When he was four years old his parents moved from Virginia to Kentucky. The circumstances of his early life inured him to toil and hardships. The conditions of life were such as to develop a self-reliant spirit in a child and youth of good natural endowments. The new home of the Var- deman family, like that of others in the earlier settle- ment of Kentucky, had to be defended against the murderous hostility of the red man. Young Varde- man was frequently left at home while his older broth- ers were away to resist the threatened assaults of the savages. He, himself, was frequently sent as a scout during the wars which were brought to a close by the victories of General Wayne in 1794. When about seventeen years of age Jeremiah Var- deman made an open profession of faith in Christ, and soon became a member of a Baptist church. This was during a great revival of religion which began in Kentucky in 1792. Coincident with his conversion he had strong impressions to preach the gospel, but with- out education he felt himself insufficient for the work, and set about to overcome his impressions of dutv. To deliberately resist such impressions requires a sup- pression of conscience, and this once accomplished as to any one sense of duty opens the door to a compro- REV. JEREMIAH VARDEMAN, First Moderator, 1834-5. The Beginning of the General Association. 35 mise with conscience as to many other questions. So it proved with Young Vardeman. Step by step he became the leader in all manner of frivolous amuse- ments in the rustic neighborhood. He joined, as a pupil, a dancing class. In his — to him — slight de- partures from christian rectitude he was encouraged by the unchristian youths of the neighborhood. He, being naturally gifted in music, soon became an expert violinist. His services were now in general demand. His hilarious and generous nature made of him an easy victim to the designs of his sinful associates. Church members who were more prompt to censure than to recover, made haste to predict his utter down- fall. But his faithful and loving mother said "No ! I know Jerry will be reclaimed; God is faithful, and he will answer my prayers." Eternity alone can open the records of the fruits for Christ from the faithfulness and prayers of loving mothers. If it were not for their steadfastness of hope and perseverance of faith it can not be told the wrecks of human character the awful future would reveal. This recession from christian integrity lasted three years, when the young backslider was brought to remorseful repentance by the pungent preaching of one Thomas Hansford, an unlettered Bap- tist preacher. Speaking of Hansford's sermon in after years, Vardeman said to J. M. Peck: "If Bro. Hans- ford had poured coals of fire over my naked body it would not have burned me worse than that sermon did." Following this reclamation was a return of con- victions to preach the gospel. These impressions troubled the young man. He craved an experience of pardon for his sinful wanderings, but he did not want to devote his life to preaching. But the hour had come, God's time for using him was at hand. After mucli agony of soul he yielded to the heavenly mandate. Out Tlic Beginning of the General Association. of the rough ashler God was carving a poHshed shaft. Soon after this trying experience the young man was at a prayer meeting. The spirit constrained him to speak. To his former associates he confessed his short-com- ings and sinful waywardness, and with flowing tears exhorted them to repent. At a second prayer meeting- he was requested to speak. The hearers were soon in tears and a number of the unconverted earnestly be- sought him to pray for them. He had never attempted prayer in public, but the sobs and moans of the peni- tent overcame his timidity, and he cried at the mercy seat for his friends. Following these evidences of the divine dealings with the returned prodigal, the church was not slow to restore him to fellowship and to license him to "exer- cise his gifts." He did not delay his new work. God greatly honored his preaching. In Kentucky, at Lex- ington, Louisville and Bardstown ; in Nashville, Tenn., where there was no Baptist church, the young preacher went, and with power rarely given to man, he pro- claimed the glad tidings. Men of professional distinc- tion and women of culture and social prominence were swayed by his pathos and brought to cry for salvation. There were four hundred converted at Nashville. As results of his meetings at each of the places above named, a church was constituted, and at each place from that day to this the Baptist cause has flourished. After much affectionate and effective work in Kentucky, Mr. Vardeman moved, in 1830 to Missouri, and founded a home in Ralls county. He threw him- self with his lingering energy into the work in this state. The great name that preceded him hither and his de- vout zeal soon drew to him the love and veneration of his Missouri brethren. His labors were blessed and his name was honored. The Bcginn'mg of tJic General dissociation. 37 On the twenty-eighth day of May, 1842, the mighty man of God called his family around him, gave some directions as to business matters, bade his loved ones farewell, and as a child falling asleep went to see Jesus and meet Hansford and the old blind preacher, David Thomas, and 8,000 whom he had baptized. Rev. R. S. Thomas was chosen secretary of the meeting at Providence Church in 1834. Concerning this man of God, Dr. W. H. Burnham, in an address delivered at the semicentennial of the General Associ- ation in 1884, says: "He graduated at Transylvania University and afterwards at Yale College. He was born June 20, 1805, and came to Missouri in 1824. He immediately proceeded to consecrate all of his talents to Christ. Although he filled successfully the positions of professor in the Columbia College and the chair of English Literature in the Missouri University, yet the great desire of his heart and the great work of his life was to preach Christ to the perishing multitudes. In company with his brethren in the ministry he planned missionary campaigns, and mostly at his own charges he went among the destitute, visited the poor churches, labored to encourage the desponding, to strengthen the feeble, to reclaim the backslider, to in- crease the spirituality and devotion of the churches, and above all to win the dying sinner to Jesus. He was a man of deep piety, warm and gushing sympathies and continually prompted by an earnest, disinterested love for those who were perishing out of Christ. . . . Thomas was president of William Jewell Col- lege from 1853 to 1855, when he resigned that position on account of the financial embarrassment of the insti- tution. He then removed to Kansas City and organ- ized a Baptist church in that place. He continued the beloved pastor of this flock until a short while before his death, which occurred in the summer of 1859." 3S The Beginning of the General Association. With such a moderator as Vardeman, and such a clerk as Thomas, and with such members as a Hurly, a Rogers, a Flood, a Longan, a Scott, a Wilhite, a Woods, a McQuie and a Suggett (each of whom will receive becoming attention further along), it may be said without vanity or presumption that, no convention or association of equal numbers — be it civil or ecclesi- astical — in the history of any country can boast a more cultured, able and worthy personnel. While the successful work and honorable name of the Mis- souri Baptist General Association are the work of God, His wisdom is seen in the selection of instrumen- talities for its inauguration. Besides the ministers present at this initial meet- ing there were several men not of the pulpit, one of whom was Jeremiah B. Vardeman, a son of the moder- ator. This brother was permitted to attend the semi- centennial meeting in 1884, and as a survivor of the original meeting and in honor of his venerated father he was invited to a seat beside the moderator of that meeting. A few years subsequently the dear brother was taken to his father. So far as known, or can now be ascertained, the only surviving attendant at the first meeting of the be- loved General Association is Mrs. Mildred M.Williams, of Kansas City, Missouri. • At the age of twelve years she accompanied her parents in a trip from Paris, Mis- souri, to Providence Church to attend the great meet- ing. This excellent lady who is now about seventy-five years of age has a vivid and pleasing recollection of the journey. She has kindly furnished the author with the following notes : "When a child of only twelve years of age I went with my parents to the first meeting of the Missouri Baptist General Association held at the meeting house known as Providence Church, in Callaway county. MRS. MILDRED M. WILLIAMS, The only survivor of the Brick" Providence meeting, held [^ August, 1834 — See chapter III. TJie Beginning of the General Association. 39 Missouri. Although 1 was so young I well remember to-day many of the incidents of that long, tedious and hot journey across the grand prairie, beneath the blaz- ing rays of an August sun and over an almost trackless region. In my mind's eye I can now reproduce the appearance of some of those most prominent, deter- mined, hopeful ones while on this journey of self-sacri- fice and trials. "Their work, their memory, and their mission should never be forgotten. They were strong men, and true, full of faith in God and the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They possessed cour- age and went forward, ready and willing to make any sacrifice for the cause. "The work of this grand old body of pioneers has entailed upon us, the duty and privilege, of working and praying for Missions and the cause of ministerial ed- ucation both at home and abroad. "On a journey of so many miles, at that season of the year, we had to resort to every stratagem to break the monotony. There were many little pleasantries and surprises constantly occurring. It was a jolly, happy crowd of people. In the party there were several who were exceedingly fond of playing all sorts of prac- tical jokes and telling funny anecdotes. I can remem- ber very well how heartily all laughed at Brother Noah Flood who always had something interesting and jolly. And among others I remember the eccentric but gifted Rev. Wm. Hurley, an Englishman and a bachelor who rode a roan horse named Trojan. He was constantly teasing and joking old Brother Peck of Illinois, who was a Colporteur and who had a wagon load of tracts and bibles he was taking to the Associa- tion. One memorable instance to me of the trip was that after we had gone some distance in my father's carriage I was put into old Brother Jeremiah Varde- 40 The Beginning of the General Association.. man's fine cushioned carriage and given the front seat — he being very fat had the back seat all to himself. His son, Jerry, sat outside and drove. I remember how exceedingly uneasy the old gentleman was and how fearful he was of being shaken up, and how he kept putting his head out of the window, calling to Jerry not to drive over the gopher hills and buffalo wallows which abounded on every side. From the car- riage we saw, now and then, herds of deer and some elk, but the buffalo trails were all that remained to re- mind us that they had once roamed over the whole country. We had some old fashioned hymn books along, and when Ave stopped for lunch under shade trees in the sight of some running stream, we enliv- ened the scene by singing some good old hymns. "Among the laymen whose names I now recollect were our family physician. Dr. G. M. Bower, Wm. Carson, Wm. Wright, and these ministers : Rev. Robt. S. Thomas, Fielding Wilhite, Peyton Stevens, Noah Flood, Brother Duncan, Anderson Woods (who in 1839 married myself and my dear husband), and many others whose names I can not now recall. There were a large number of youths and young men along, all on horseback. 'T can now distinctly recall the appearance of this large crowd of people, most all of whom were on horse- back, each one wearing leggings and carrying saddle bags on their horses. As this large company traveled along winding through the woods and along the dim paths over the prairie, laughing and talking, fording rivers, joking each other, most all of them covered with dust, here and there dispersed in the crowd carriages filled with ladies, as I think of it now it presents a ver}- funny picture. How different, indeed, do we go to associations now, seated in Pullman cars running fifty miles an hour, and with all the conveniences and com- The Beginning of the General Association. 41 forts of modern travel. But 1 believe this old time crowd had a better time and enjoyed themselves more than the people who go now-a-days on railroads. .Ml of the older people in this crowd rode in buggies and carriages. "The green headed flies and black gnats were ex- ceedingly troublesome on the prairie, and became so very bad that we all had to stop and rest under shade trees in the middle of the day and travel by night. One very pleasing incident to me was that an old gentleman by the name of Nichols had quite a number of water melons in his wagon and every now and then he would stop and cut one and all hands were invited to eat. He was a tall, thin old man but was a great singer ; my father had known him at Fulton. "Little did we think when we started on this trip with a large crowd of horsemen, ten or fifteen buggies and carrages, what we would have to overcome in the shape of bridle paths, blind roads, blazed roads, gopher hills, gullies, ant hills, buffalo wallows, stumps, creeks and rivers without bridges, and every obstacle to wheeled vehicles. But we pushed on, sometimes on the road and sometimes off of it, jolting, jostling, trot- ting up hill and down hill, through woods and forest, now and then in sight of some cabin, until at last after a tired, wornout, hot, dusty trip, we reached our desti- nation. I wish you could have seen us. "They had a grand meeting of over a week's du- ration, the result of which was the formation of the present General Baptist Association of Missouri, an organization of wonderful power for good in the Lord's Kingdom. I was too young to be able to understand very much of the procedings of the association and will not attempt to go into any details as to sermons, speeches, etc." 42 The Beginning of the General Association. Mrs. Williams was born in Kentucky, December 4, 1822. Her father, Wm. Armstrong, moved to Mis- souri in 1825 and settled in Fulton, in Callaway county. He had for years been a member of the Baptist church in Lexington, Kentucky. His wife, the mother of Mrs. Williams, was baptized in Fulton by Theodrick Boulware, and became a member of the Baptist church in that place. Mr. Armstrong was an enterprising, energetic and respected citizen. He was intelligently zealous and eminently useful as a church member. The subject of this sketch was married in 1839 to Wil- liam W. Williams by the Rev. Anderson Woods. This union lasted for more than fifty-two years and until dissolved by death's decree, calling the husband to the heavenly home. Prof. W. H. Williams, of Kansas City, one of Missouri's best and most honored educa- tors, is a son of this marriage. Having written of the Providence meeting house, its location and the material of which it was built and somewhat of the personnel of the preliminary meeting held there; it is now becoming to make mention of another relict memento. From one of the central col- umns that supported the ceiling girder of the house, which was hewn from a wild cherry tree, a piece of which had been presented by a member of Providence church (now known as Brick Providence) to the late Rev. Dr. Wm. Harrison Williams, of the Central Baptist, and which he caused to be made into a beau- tiful gavel, handsomely silver mounted, and which was by him presented to the General Association at the semi- centennial meeting held at Alarshall in 1884. The wood was in a remarkable state of preservation. The presentation speech by Dr. Williams was in his char- acterist chaste style and Avas beautifully suggestive of the trials and triumphs of the Association for a half century. The Moderator, upon receiving the gavel, The Beginning of the General Association. 43 in behalf of the Association, called on Dr. S. H. Ford of Ford's Christian Repository, to respond to the ad- dress of presentation, which he did as none other could have done, for his mind was full of associational rem- iniscence, he having known personally all of the lead- ing characters of the original meeting, and was quite familiar with the work of the Association for many years. Upon a silver tablet riveted to the gavel by sil- ver nails is engraved the following inscription: "This gavel from Providence Church, Callaway county. Mo., where Missouri Baptist General Association was organ- ized August, 1834. Presented to said Association at semicentennial meeting, Marshall, Mo., October, 1884, by Wm. Harrison Williams." The record of the As- sociation concerning the presentation of the gavel is as follows : "Rev. W. H. Williams, editor of The Cen- tral Baptist, offered to the General Association a gavel made of wood taken from the old Providence Church where the General Association was organized. The gavel to be used at this semicentennial, and to be pre- served for like use in the centennial of this body." Nothing can be more clearly and certainly attested than that the brethren who conceived the idea of a gen- eral organization of Missouri Baptists were possessed of a profound and abiding conviction that the gospel is itself a missionary enterprise. This conviction cer- tifies to their intelligent perception of divine truth and to a spirit of disinterested consecration by which they were led to give their lives, time and talent to the min- istrations of the word of God. They recognized the divine plan of a human instrumentality, but never lost sight of the great truth that it is by and through the agency of the Holy Spirit that such instrumentality is to be guided and made effective in extending the King- dom of Christ in the earth. The founders of the Gen- eral Association were further impressed that the church 44 The Beginning of the General Association. of Jesus Christ is in the world for the express purpose of "holding forth the word of life" and seeking the con- version of the world to God and that local churches ma)- effect such organizations as will promote cooperation in this great enterprise. It was these convictions that led the Providence meeting to adopt the following resolu- tions : (i) Resolved, That we consider the preaching of the gospel the great and prominent means which God has appointed for the conversion of sinners and the upbuilding of his church on earth. (2) Resolved, That in accordance with the sen- timents of our denomination, all preachers of the gos- pel whom God approves must give evidence that they are born again by the Spirit, called of God to the work, and be set apart by ordination by the authority of the church. (3) Resolved, That it is the duty of all Christians to promote, as the Lord has prospered them, the preaching of the gospel to the destitute. After the adoption of the foregoing resolutions Elders Rogers, Scott, Longan, Peck and Thomas were appointed a committee to prepare business for the meet- ing, and that they be required to draft rules of decorum for its government. This committee reported a plan of constitution as follows : PLAN OF A CONSTITUTION. Article i. This society shall be known by the name of the Baptist Central Convention of Missouri. Article 2. The object of this society shall be to adopt means and execute plans to promote the preach- ing of the gospel in the destitute churches and settle- ments within the bounds of the state. The Beginning of the General Association. 45 Article 3. It shall be composed of those only who are Baptists and in good standing in the churches to which they belong. Article 4. The business of this convention dur- ing its recess shall be conducted by an executive com- mittee, consisting of a moderator, recording secretary, corresponding secretary, treasurer, and five other per- sons to be chosen annually, and continue in office until a new election. The officers shall perform the usual duties of those officers without compensation, and the committee shall fill vacancies that may occur in their ow^n body during the recess of the convention. Meet- ings of the committee shall be held quarterly, and at any time, by a call from any three members, who shall notify the rest, if at their usual residences. Article 5. This society shall possess no power or authority over any church or association. It for- ever disclaims any right or prerogative over doctrinal principles; that every church is sovereign and inde- pendent, and capable of managing its own affairs with- out the interference or assistance of any body of men (jn earth. Article 6. The funds contributed by this soci- ety shall be wholly derived from the voluntary contri- liutions of those who may feel disposed to promote the objects of society. Article 7. The preachers w^ho may be aided by the society must be men of good standing and tried piety, and belong to some Baptist church in the state. Article 8. This convention shall meet annually on the Friday before the third Saturday in May, at such place as the society shall designate. Article 9. This constitution may be amended onlv by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at an annual meeting. 46 The Beginning of the General Association. At this historic meeting at Providence there were present the following Baptist ministers : Jeremiah Vardeman, Ebenezer Rogers, Wm. Hur- ley, James Suggett, John B. Longan, Noah Flood, Kemp Scott, Fielding Wilhite, Thomas Fristoe, Robert S. Thomas, Anderson Woods, Jabez Ham, J. C. Mc- Cutchens, Walter McQuie, J. W. Maxie, W. H. Duvall, and G. M. Bowker. Laymen present, Wm. Wright, Daniel Morse, Wm. Armstrong ,J. M. Fiil- kerson, John Sweatman, S. Hiter, M. D. Noland, Sam'l Major, W^m. Dozier, T. S. Tuttle and Jeremiah Var- deman, Jr. There were a number of women present but the name of Mrs. Williams heretofore given in this chap- ter is the onlv survivor. CHAPTER IV. THE SECOND MEETING OF THE CENTRAL SOCIETY. THE ORGANIZATION COMPLETED. The meeting at Providence in August, 1834, made haste slowly. The active spirits of that meeting fully realized the gravity of the work they were seeking to inaugurate and fully appreciated the responsibility they were assuming and were not ignorant of the opposition they were to encounter, hence they proceeded with the utmost caution. They did not complete the work of organization, but only went so far as to survey the field and estimate its demands and form the "plan of a con- stitution" to be submitted to a fuller meeing at a future time. An adjournment was had to Little Bonne Femme church in June, 1835. The "plan of a constitution" (as given in the pre- ceding chapter) was sent out, as far as possible, to the churches with this precautionary note: "Our brethren who were not present will notice that the constitution has not been adopted nor the contemplated body yet organized. This has been left for the next meeting. . . . It is hoped our brethren will give the proposed constitution a fair and candid examination, and suggest such alterations as they may deem advisable." At the Providence meeting in 1834 were two noted preachers who declined to participate in the proceed- ings, but tried to dissuade other brethren from the pur- poses for which they had assembled. These men were Theoderick Boulware and T. Peyton Stephens. These gentlemen had been invited to the meeting by Ebenezer Rogers and others interested in the proposed organized eflfort. 47 48 The Second Meeting of the Central Society. After the adjournment of the Providence meeting opposition to the new movement was promptly pro- claimed and vigorously — even viciously prosecuted. Eld. Boulware, a man of superior abilities and com- manding influence, led the opposition. Eld. T. Pey- ton Stephens, a man of piety and excellent reputation, was Boulware's chief coadjutor. Boulware spared no effort to excite and intensify opposition to the movement in the minds not only of Baptists, but of the people generally. He went so far as to make inflam- matory appeals to politicians, warning them to take heed — that the Providence Baptists did not propose to stop short of union of church and state and the tax- ation of the people for ecclesiastical support. These statements of the spirit and manner of the opposition are neither gratuitous nor exaggerated. At the semi- centennial meeting held in 1884, Dr. W. H. Burnham, in his address on the "Organizers of the Associa- tion," quoted from Boulware's autobiography, page II, the following words from Boulware's own pen: "I received a letter from Eld. Ebenezer Rogers and others, inviting me to attend a minister's meeting at Providence on a certain day, to adopt — missionary- ism — a plan for the better support of the ministry and to sustain the now tottering cause of Baptists. I, Eld. T. Peyton Stephens and others met Elders Rogers, Hurley, Longan, Suggett, Vardeman and others. We advised and entreated these brethren to disperse and not establish this cockatrice den among us, from which will eminate a serpentine brood, marring the peace of God's children and bringing much scandal on the cause of Christ, for we are assured you have in view more than the happiness of the church and the salvation of men. We fear you are somewhat decep- tive. They formed, adjourned and met again and es- tablished their Central Society, from which have re- sulted all the consequences I anticipated, and worse." The Second Meeting of the Central Society. 49 These words were written in 1843, "i'"^^ years after the Providence meeting. The organization begun at Providence had regularly held its successive annual meetings, these meetings were marked by a progress- ively developing interest in and manifest benefit to the cause represented. The power of prejudice intensi- fied by animosity may lead even a great mind and a good heart far astray. The cockatrice den had not been formed — the serpentine brood had not been sent forth to mar the peace of Zion. It is true, however, that under the leadership of Boulware and Stephens the anti-missionary Baptists began a malignant war- fare against the missionary Baptists. They denounced the organizers of the "Central Society" as mercena- ries, as "hirelings," "money-made preachers." They made tours of the churches and by ridicule, threats and intimidation sought to array them against the mission- ary movement. The churches that aligned themselves with the anti-missionaries forbade the members making contributions to missions. Persons favorable to mis- sions were denied membership in such churches. The spirit of persecution was rife and rabid in the anti- missionaries. The cockatrices and serpent broods were set agoing by those who prophecied them. They were those who marred the happiness of the churches. Pseudo and mal-prophets will ever bring about a ful- fillment of their evil predictions if possible. In these days of active christian effort and vigor- ous missionary enterprise, many christians who have grown up under the existing order are amazed that men and women professing faith in Christ and love for Him should have ever violently and persistently antag- onized the missionary enterprise. They find it dif^- cult to harmonize such a spirit with a profession of 5o The Second Meeting of the Central Society. conversion to Christ. No wonder! Nevertheless there were many things in the Hves of such men and women to indicate the love of God in their hearts. They were misguided. False inferences from certain great cardinal truths of holy scriptures, associated with influence of environment, fixed in their minds certain views which they regarded as in exact accord with divine teaching. They were so hampered and cramped by these influences that they could not har- monize the doctrine of divine sovereignty with the use of means for the conversion of souls. Their preach- ers went forth as the mere machine agents for calling out the "elect" whose salvation was assured but who must be separated from the non-elect. After all, it is not well settled that these anti-mis- sion Baptists are any further from the truth than the non-missionary Baptist. He who does nothing for missions because he believes he ought not to, is a little higher in the scale of christian manliness than he who does nothing for missions because he don't want to. At the meeting in 1835, Jeremiah Vardeman was again chosen moderator, and William Wright was made recording secretary. He was a native of Vir- ginia and a brother of Leland Wright who for so many years was one of the most devoted friends and efficient officers of the General Association, and also a brother of the distinguished lawyer, Uriel Wright, of St. Louis. William Wright was reared a merchant and continued in active business until the great finan- cial crisis of about the year 1820, when, with many others, he failed. In 1825 he came to Howard county, Missouri, and engaged in agricultural pursuits, but he soon abandoned that life and moved to Fayette, where he kept hotel for several years. In 1830 he was appointed by President Jackson, Register at Pal- myra, to succeed Hon. Wm. Carson. His skill and The Second Meeting of the Central Society. 51 fidelity to duties and trusts continued him in this office for ten or fifteen years. He was converted about the year 183 1 and united with the Baptist church at Pal- myra. He was made clerk of the church, and deacon. In each of these relations he served the church in such manner as to gather to himself the affections, confi- dence and honor of his brethren. His education and general intelligence gave him in associational meetings the honorable places generally assigned to the minis- try, such as writing "circular letters," etc. Ero. Wright died in 1843 ^^ Yazoo City, Missis- sippi, of yellow fever. He and a daughter and a son died within three days of each other. The meeting at Bonne Femme church in June, 183s, was in numbers an improvement upon the meet- ing of the preceding year: though not much business was transacted, further than to complete the organi- zation. The constitution which had been prepared and submitted by the Providence meeting was, with slight and unimportant amendments, adopted. The name "Central Society" was substituted for "Central Con- vention." The amendment was unfortunate. Con- vention is a much more appropriate name than soci- ety — even better than the name association, so far as words or terms are suited to manner of organization and methods of procedure. But, if God be glorified, the name is unimportant, except in so far as some may be led amiss in their conception of the objects of the organization. There are persons — not a few — and many of them men and women of fair intelligence who seem never to understand the principles, system and purpose of a Baptist General Association. Many sup- pose it is an association of smaller or district associa- tions within a given state or other specifically bounded region of country. Others think it an association of churches; while in point of fact it is neither. It may 52 TJic Second Meeting of the Central Society. be said to be — while in session — an association of the persons composing it. It is not an association of asso- ciations nor of churches because neither of this class of Baptists organizations can delegate their authority to another body. No act of a general association of Baptists can bind any other association or any church. An association without authority over its constituency is a misnomer. A Baptist General Association has no such power over churches or other associations, they are not therefore associated with it, or constituent fac- tors of its being. Such an association has, for the purposes of the orderly conduct of its business, parlia- mentary authority over the individual members com- posing it. It can not, however, compel attendance of members and therefore has no specific established government. Membership is purely voluntary, and therefore absence is no violation of law, nor does it prevent business so long as a sufficient number is left present to do the work for which the meeting has as- sembled. All of which clearly indicates that such an organization is a voluntary convention without author- ity over anybody or anything but itself while in session. This much is written thus early in this book to dis- abuse the minds of non-Baptists of the impression so common among brethren of other denominations that, our General Associations are ecclesiastical bodies. They are not. For they are not church judicatures nor legislatures. They impose nothing upon the churches and decide nothing for them. They have no authority to make or unmake ministers of the gospel, or to direct and supervise their work. In all such matters the local church is supreme in its sovereignty. The term association is somewdiat misleading even to Baptists not w^ell informed. The term "convention" as it fails to suggest any misapprehensions and is in its common usage ample to meet all the ends of organization is The Second Meeting of the Central Society. 53 better than either "society" or "association." But as has already been said the work and the spirit of the workers are the main considerations, and any name may serve after the nature of the organization becomes fully understood. Only it seems that fifty years usage ought to have sufficed. The Bonne Femme meeting was devoted mainly to devotional services and to preaching of the word — an old time custom not as much in vogue at this writ- ing as it should be. Two influences have practically abrogated the custom of public ministrations of the word at our general gatherings : the many different interests that now claim and receive the attention of the General Association, and the rushing habit and im- pulsive impatience that great business in secular affairs have given to the mental frame of the people. Lei- sure, even for meditating the things that pertain to the Kingdom of Christ, is a thing too much of the past. Money and personal activity have forced themselves as substitutes for devotion. There should be no less money used for Christ, and no less active enterprise, but more spiritual devotion and development of exper- imental religion. Perhaps no more beautiful or interesting place could have been selected for the second meeting of the Society than the Bonne Femme church. This historic body of christians originally was connected with Salem Association, but that association taking a decided and offensive hostile attitude towards missions, a number of the churches associated with it withdrew and formed an association upon gospel principles. In this movement Bonne Femme church was an active and influential leader, and in 1839, ^o"^ years after the meeting now under consideration, the Little Bonne Femme Association was organized of Bonne Femme, Columbia, Nashville and Mt. Horeb churches. 54 ^Va' Second Meeting of the Central Society. The membership of Bonne Femme church at the period now before us were eminent for social culture, liberal fortunes and generous hospitality. Their house of worship was in a beautiful grove on elevated ground — the property of Mr. Curtright — the base of which is watered by a beautiful stream of water from the name of which the church takes its name. The En- glish of the name is "good woman," certainly an excel- lent name for a church — the Lamb's Bride — whatever may be its appropriateness or inappropriateness for a stream of water. The church is located a little east of south from Columbia and distant six miles. At this same point was located Bonne Femme Academy, founded in 1829, afterwards, in 1838, char- tered as a college. Of this institution Robt. S. Thomas, a Yale graduate, heretofore mentioned, was the first president. The painstaking historian, Hon. W. F. Switzler, says of this institution : 'Tt was one of the most distinguished and respectable institutions of early times." (History of Missouri.) This institution is appropriately mentioned in this connection as indicative of the early recognition of Baptists as educators, and as one among innumerable historic rebukes to the flippant charge of ignorance so gratuitously alleged of them. It is further worthy of note that at this institution Miss Mary Barr Jenkins received her education, and afterwards became the wife of Charles Henry Hardin, the eminent lawyer, able legislator and the most faithful and efficient gov- ernor of Missouri ; likewise the founder and liberal patron of Hardin College at Mexico, and for a time assistant moderator of the General Association and president of the Board of State Missions. Miss Jenkins distinguished herself as an English, Greek and Latin scholar, winning for herself wide The Second Meeting of the Central Society. 55 distinction for her school girl literary accomplish- ments. But her greatest worth finds expression in her devoted christian life, her fidelity to a noble hus- band, the elegance with which she graced the execu- tive mansion, and now — surviving her husband — she devotes her time, talent, learning and fortune to the interests of the Baptist church at Mexico, to Hardin College, ministerial education, state missions and every other good work brought to her attention. She is a living example of the consecration of natural capabil- ities, educational accomplishments, distinguished po- sition and liberal fortune to the service of the Savior. Would that all christian women might learn that a de- voted christian life is not incompatible with social dis- tinction. Bonne Femme Church was the spiritual home of the Hickmans, the Basses, the Fishers and the Harrises, who for so many years were the staunch friends of the General Association. David H. Hickman, at the time of the meeting of the Central Society at Bonne Femme was less than fourteen years of age. He no doubt at- tended that meeting. If so, little did he imagine as he looked into the benignant face of the stately Vardeman as he presided over the assembly, that he too, in twen- ty-one years from that date would preside over the Missouri Baptist General Association. 'Twould be pleasant to linger longer about this historic ground, but with this short chapter, must be closed the incidents connected with and suggested by the completion of the organization of our venerable As- sociation. CHAPTER V. A DECADE OF PROGRESS. 1836— 1846. After the completion of the organization at Bonne Femme Church, the brethren, stiU followed and bit- terly assailed by the anti-mission Baptists, realized that the new and small craft which they had launched was to have no smooth and straightforward sailing. A knowledge of the conflict which their enterprise had already provoked drew them into closer and more sym- pathetic fellowship and to a more pathetic sense of their dependence upon Him, without whom they could do nothing; but through whose strengthening presence they could do all things required of them. They sought no antagonisms and conflicts, but would shrink from no duty nor quail before any enemy. An amiable determination and intelligent conviction of the right are far more potent weapons in defense than inflamed prejudice and a spirit of bitter contention are in ag- gressiveness. The little band of soldiers of the cross felt that God was for them, and who could be against them — that their weapons were not carnal, and that through God they would be mighty in the overthrow of the strongholds of error. At the beginning of the period of which we now write there was no board to devise ways and means for carrying on the work, and no general agent or corre- sponding secretary to supervise and carry forward the work of missions. The preacher brethren who were foremost in the new movement agreed among them- selves to do such voluntary missionary work as their other duties would permit. Fielding Wilhite, • Eben- 56 A Decade of Progress. 57 ezer Rogers, A. Ham, Anderson Woods, R. S. Thomas, Thomas Fristoe, Noah Flood and others were chief among these consecrated heralds of the Gospel, who going forth, often in pairs, penetrated the regions of destitution without fixed rates of compensation or assurance of any remuneration whatever. The cordial hospitality and simple fare of farm homes were all that they could reasonably expect in return for their trav- els, toils and tears. A suit of clothes, homespun and home woven, a good horse and saddle, with leather "saddle pockets" — more generally known as saddle bags, in which were clean linen, Bible and hymn book, constituted the clerical (?) equipment. Perhaps upon the return home they would find themselves enriched by a few pairs of woolen yarn, home-knit socks, gener- ously donated by some good old sister, and a few twists of "long green" as expressive of the good will of some prosperous brother. The saddle bags were convenient for the transportation of these trophies. But the real and quite satisfactory reward was in the consciousness that the Christ had been with them, and that precious souls had been numbered with the hosts of the saved. The consciousness of having been honored of God in instrumentally rescuing the perishing is the preacher's most precious reward. These men of God, with the acquisition of new friends to the persecuted cause, held their third meet- ing with the Bethlehem church in Boone county in June, 1836. At this meeting John B. Longan was chosen moderator, G. M. Bower was elected recording secretary and Stephen Wilhite was chosen treasurer. A short sketch of each of these three men is demanded at this place. Rev. J. B. Longan was born in Henrico county, Virginia, in the Chickahominy region near the birth- 58 A Decade of Progress. place of Henry Clay, about the year i775. Early in the present century he moved to Kentucky, where he was converted and became a Baptist preacher. He came to Missouri at an early day, after having labored with great success in Kentucky for some years. He first settled in Cooper county, and then moved to Cole county, within the limits of what is now Mon- iteau county, where he remained until called home to his great reward. He was among the most scholarly men of his day ; was regarded as a very able expositor of the Word of Life, and held in high esteem among his co-laborers in the ministry. In doctrine he is said to have been "Calvanistic," of the school of Andrew Fuller rather than of Gill. He was especially active and able in opposing the doctrines of those who agreed with the teachings of Alexander Campbell. For four consecutive years he presided over the missionary organization now called the General Asso- ciation. We hope that further researches may result in finding some statement of his lifework, such as will enable Missouri Baptists to place upon perpetual record a suitable tribute to the memory of this "true hero of the cross." G. M. Bower, seems, from the reminiscences of Mrs. Williams given in a former chapter, to have been a physician and to have resided at one time at or near Paris, in Monroe county. And Dr. G. W. Hyde says of him in "Semi-Centennial Memorial" that he "was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, December 12, 1^90, and emigrated when quite a young man to Kentucky. He served as assistant surgeon in the war of 1812. He was married to Martha M. Crockett, of Jessamine county, Kentucky, January 26, 181 5, and a few years afterwards united with the Baptist church at George- A Decade of Progress. 59 town, then under the pastoral care of W. C. Buck, D. D. Losing his wife, he was married the second time to Catharine A. Lang, of Woodford county, and moved to Missouri the following year. He settled near Paris, Monroe county, where he remained until his death, November i7, 1864. "Dr. Bower was a man of decided convictions and fervent piety. He was always interested in his church, and when the pastor was absent, often conducted the services himself. He was a constituent member of the General Association and often attended its subsequent meetings, contributing by his presence and means to further the good cause. He opposed the anti-mission faction with all his might, and until his death took una- bated interest in the cause of missions. "He was a popular man, and taking a deep interest in the political afifairs of the country, was elected to congress in 1843, ^^^^ served two years." Stephen Wilhite was a son of Sampson Wil- hite, and therefore a brother of Fielding Wilhite, so frequently mentioned in this volume, and the histories of Missouri; and of Wm. Wilhite who was the father of J. Sampson Wilhite, R. Sarchel Wilhite and Hon. W. R. Wilhite. He was the grandfather of Stephen Elli- ott, an honored deacon of Walnut Grove church, in Boone county, and of W. F. Elliott, so long a promi- nent and most useful member of the General Associa- tion, and of whom, more anon. Stephen Wilhite was a prominent farmer and highly respected, as his elec- tion to the office of treasurer of the Association indi- cates. The Wilhite family have for generations been reckoned among the active and useful elements of the Baptist denomination in the state. J. Sampson Wil- hite, in his last will and testament, at the suggestion of the writer of these lines, made a generous bequest to the State Mission Board of the General Association, 6o A Decade of Progress. which will be realized upon the happening of the events specified in the will. [At this point the author of this book requests that as readers follow the narrative of the General As- sociation, they particularly observe the agency of de- voted laymen in the development of our great cause in Missouri. What others have done, the reader can do by earnestly seeking divine aid in a purpose and ef- fort to accomplish the end of his conversion to Christ.] At this Bethlehem meeting the moderator preached on the Sabbath, and after explaining the objects of the organization, asked for a collection for state missions. So far as can be definitely ascertained this was the first public collection for that object ever lifted in the state. The collection amounted to $51.75. This, with the balance in the treasury from the preceding year — $17.50 — made the total mission fund to pass into the hands of Treasurer Wilhite $69.25. This looks like a meager showing for a state organization. But, as sub- sequent records show, Baptists are not dispisers of the day of small things. Nothing daunted by this seem- ingly inadequate material aid the struggling but hope- ful society proceeded to elect Anderson Woods to preach throughout the state and promote the objects of the Society. It seems a misfortune and was certainly a test of the faith of the new organization that Anderson Woods declined the appointment. The Society had the full sympathy of his generous heart, but he felt that he could not sever his connection with churches that en- joyed and claimed to further enjoy his pastoral serv- ices. He reluctantly declined the call of his brethren of the "Society," for he had been one of the prime and in- fluential movers in its organization. Though a native of Virginia, Anderson Woods, like many another of the earlier settlers of Central Mis- A Decade of Progress. 6 1 souri, came into the state from Aladisou county, Ken- tucky. He was born in i778. His parents were of Irish extraction. His father was a soldier in the colo- nial revolutionary war and served as captain in a regi- ment under General Washington. Young Woods, at the age of eighteen, was apprenticed by his father to a blacksmith to learn that trade. (May it not be a mis- fortune that American progress has removed the plan of learning a trade, by the young men of the country?) Like many another man who became a Baptist preacher Mr. Woods was the son of Pedo Baptist parents. His father was a worthy member of a Presbyterian church. When the son made a profession of faith in Christ, he set about the good work of carefully reading the New Testament Scriptures. When having carefuly read the Book through once, it occurred to him that he had ob- served no authority for infant baptism. He felt as- sured that he had read too carelessly; he resolved to read again and give more attention to the teachings of the holy book. Having completed the second reading he was amazed at his own supposed intellectual ob- tuseness, for again did he fail to find authority for that rite that had been administered to him in his infancy, and surely the Presbyterians must be right — they are a learned and righteous people and can not be wrong up- on such a question as christian baptism. He passed his researches to the "third reading" and reluctantly con- cluded that infant baptism was not a New Testament ordinance. He then devoted himself to investigation of the mode of baptism. The result of these researches surprised him. Can it be that the ignorant and big- oted Baptists are right, and learned and elite Presby- terians wrong? His soul was troubled. But he had bought the truth and must not sell it. He must sacri- fice pride and family traditions, but in return he would have a priceless boon — the answer of a good con- 6z A Decade of Progress. science. He and his wife — who was a Miss Elizabeth Harris — were baptized into the fellowship of Viney Fork Baptist church in Madison county, Kentucky. In i8i6 Mr. Wood and his family emigrated to Missouri and settled in that part of Howard county which is now Boone county, on or near Rail's Prairie. He was active in bringing about the organization of Bethel — now Walnut Grove church. In the member- ship of which is now a niece of his — Mrs. Martha Wood Sampson, the wife of Deacon John H. Sampson, both of whom still live, having several years since cele- brated their golden marriage anniversary, and all of whose sons and daughters are members of the church which their honored kinsman aided in founding. After remaining at RalFs Prairie about two years Mr. Woods moved to a point in Boone county about six miles southeast of Columbia, and became a constituent member of Bonne Femme church, mentioned in the preceding chapter. By this church he was ordained to the gospel ministry. He was called to the pastorate of the church in Columbia, and notwithstanding he trav- eled much, and to the remotest parts of the state as a voluntary missionary, while pastor at Columbia, the church was greatly prospered under his labors. In 1835 he removed to Monroe county and labored with the church at Paris, Otter Creek, Mount Prairie and New Ark until his death, which was on the twenty- second day of October, 1841. The next meeting of the Society was at Mt. Moriah church, in Howard county. J. B. Longan was again elected moderator. Hon. Wm. Carson was chosen recording secretary. Mr. Carson was one of Missouri's most eminent citi- zens. He was a native of Virginia, but emigrated to Missouri soon after attaining his majority. For six years he filled the office of United States Register of A Decade of Progress. 63 Lands at the Palmyra office. He was for ten years a member of the House of Representatives, and for four years a member of the Missouri Senate. In all civil positions he distinguished himself for competency, fidelity and an incorruptible character. But it was in his religious life that he was most active, influential and useful to the world. He was present at the organization of the Central Society ; sub- sequent to his secretaryship — in 1849 — he was made moderator of the General Association. He aided in the organization of churches and district associations ; with his pen he defended the principles of his denomination against the assaults of the most formidable antagonists. He was one of the commissioners for the location of a Baptist college in Missouri, which resulted in the founding of the William Jewell College at Liberty. He died at his home in Palmyra, mourned by an interesting family and a host of friends, November 3, 1873, aged seventy-five years. The executive board which was appointed at the preceding meeting shows that the money collected for state missions was an increase over the former year of $244, which means that the total for the year was $313.25. There are indications that the missionaries did an encouraging work, though no report of the num- ber of conversions and baptisms seems to have been printed. At this meeting Rev. Kemp Scott was appointed general agent. Records of subsequent meetings indi- cate that this appointment was accepted. Up to this time, and for several subsequent years, there seemed a hesitancy on the part of the Association to engage an agent at a stipulated compensation. It is almost equally certain that this hesitancy was not so much the result of deliberate opposition to a paid agency, as it was the effect of intimidation growing out of the persistent and 64 A Decade of Progress. violent adverse criticisms of the anti-mission Baptists. While the missionary Baptists desired to carry forward the work upon which they had entered, and their pur- pose was to do so, they at the same time wished to avoid all occasion for disturbing agitations and alienations. They had hoped to do their work without a paid finan- cial agent, but each year experience made it more man- ifest that such method could not be fruitful of satisfac- tory results. Indeed the results of Kemp Scott's work as reported to the next meeting held in Columbia in June, 1838, were not such as to inspire great confidence in agency work. Scott reported that he had visited ten counties, several associations, and that he had collected $75 in cash and obtained pledges for $11.15. But his work was by no means a failure, for he reported the baptism of 126 converts. The brethren and churches had not yet been instructed concerning the relation of the carnal to the spiritual, and understood not God's use for money in pushing forward the Kingdom of His Son. There are still some brethren who seem not to understand this matter. Not much is recorded to furnish the historian with information concerning Brother Kemp Scott, but the little that is obtainable shows clearly that he had the confidence of his brethren, and that his labors in the North Grand River country were greatly blessed of the Lord. This tradition to follow a man for more than a half century is something to live for, but beyond is the great reward upon which he entered April 13, 1864, at the age of seventy-four years. In 1839 the Society met at Big Lick, in Cooper county. Not much of general interest was done, fur- ther than to change the name of the organization from Central Society to "General Association." The full new name was "General Association of United Baptists of A Decade of Progress. 65 Missouri. " The name was subsequently again changed so as to leave out the word "United." The reports show some increase of contributions of money to the work of state missions, and an increase of baptisms reported, but the figures in detail are not available. In 1840 the General Association ventures a little away from the region and characteristic surroundings of its birth. Under its new name it goes to town. Hitherto, except at Columbia for one meeting, it had never given up the hospitality of rural churches. At this meeting Rev. James Suggett, of Callaway county, preached the introductory sermon and was chosen moderator to succeed J. B. Longan. who had presided for the four preceding meetings. At an informal memorial meeting held at Provi- dence church in August, 1884, just fifty years after the organization of the Central Society, at which meeting Gov. Chas. H. Hardin, Dr. W. H. Burnham and the writer delivered memorial addresses. Dr. Burnham spoke of the venerable departed James Suggett in the following appropriate words, which are chosen in pref- erence to any the author might use : James Suggett was born in Orange county, Vir- ginia, in 1775, just one year before the Declaration of American Independence. He moved when a child, to Kentucky, was converted in 1800, began his ministry at Great Crossings, in Scott county, where he labored with great acceptance and success for a number of years. As he w'as born and raised in the midst of war, we are not surprised that he enlisted in the army and was a soldier during the war of 1812. He became major and commanded a battalion in the famous regi- ment of Richard M. Johnson. He was detached from his regiment, selected by Gen. Harrison to command the advance guard of the American army and bring on 5 66 A Decade of Progress. the action in the decisive battle of the Thames. He valiantly led his battalion into the thickest of the fight, conducted himself with the bravery of Julius Caesar throughout the brief but desperate struggle, led the van in the pursuit of Proctor and the flying British, and returned with Proctor's carriage as a trophy of the vic- tory, and was permitted to learn that Tecumseh had fallen and the last hope of the Indians had perished. In the carriage which he thus captured from the British general, Col. Johnson rode home through Ohio and nursed, on the way, the numerous wounds which he re- ceived in the desperate charge which he made upon Te- cumseh and the cluster of Indian warriors that gathered about their dauntless chief in the last moments of his eventful life. Suggett moved to Missouri in 1825, and first set- tled in Boone county. There he served Bonne Femme, Columbia and Rocky Fork churches; subsequently he moved to Callaway, settled in the immediate neighbor- hood of Brick Providence church, where he spent the last and most glorious years of his laborious and useful life. He was moderator of the old Salem association when that body declared against missions. Earnestly did he protest against such a suicidal course, but when taken he vacated the chair and heroically turned his back upon scores of his best friends because his love of Christ and the cause of missions, and his own conscien- tious convictions demanded such a course. He went into the organization of the General As- sociation and warmly supported its great designs and measures. After Stephens and Boulware had labored in vain to prevent the organization, and Boulware had left the assembly, he returned and labored with Sug- gett to induce him to leave the body. But he who could not be terrified by the roar of British artillery, nor the tomahawks, scalping knives nor war-whoops of A Decade of Progress. 67 the Indians was not the man to flinch before the denun- ciations of the whole army of anti-missionaries. Nor was he the man to yield his convictions to the mild per- suasions or intimidating threats of Boulware. or any other man. Suggett remained firm, and through his life zeal- ously cooperated wath the association. He was a mis- sionary in all the warp and woof of his being, and right zealously did he prove his faith by his works. He mis- sionated extensively, at different times of his life, throughout the counties of the state, and traveled at one time as far as the Indian tribes, preaching Jesus to the people. There is yet extant in the minutes of the old Salem Association a circular letter written by him evincing no mean ability, deep piety, fervent zeal and an unquenchable longing for the salvation of souls. He died in 185 1, leaving as a heritage to his chil- dren and his churches a spotless name, a pure charac- ter, an unsullied life and a thousand hallowed memo- ries to remind them of the truth of God's promise, "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that walketh in His w^ays." Hon. Wm. Carson was again made recording sec- retary. At this Paris meeting the treasurer's report shows a balance in his hands of $342.14. Fielding Wilhite, A. F. Martin and W. H. Duval had performed mission- ary labor aggregating eighty-seven days, resulting in twenty-seven baptisms and the formation of three new churches. An executive board was constituted, con- sisting of James Suggett, R. S. Thomas, Stephen Wil- hite, Wm. Carson, Roland Hughes, Urial Sebree, Wm. Wilhite, J. B. Dale and George McOuitty. This board organized with Suggett as chairman, Thomas as cor- responding secretary, Stephen Wilhite as treasurer and Wm. Carson as recording- secretarv. These men of 6S A Decode of Progress. God are all dead. Noah Flood was appointed general agent at a salary of $400. The state was divided into two districts, one on either side of the Missouri river. P. N. Ha}- craft and A. F. Martin were designated to labor as evangelists on the north side of the river, and J. C. Herndon and James Suggett on the south side. In 1841 the Association met with the Chariton church in Howard county, on the twenty-seventh day of August. Urial Sebree presided and R. S. Thomas was again recording secretary. In these days Chariton church was one of the strongest in the state. The church's location is central to as fine agricultural district as can be found in the west. Magnificent farms lay in high state of cultiva- tion on all sides, and nearly every estate owned and op- erated by a Baptist. The people were hospitable and generous and perhaps a little vain of their material ad- vantage and social influence. That church is not as strong now as in former days. There was a time in the recent past when it was thought that its glory had all but departed. Deaths and removals had sadly deci- mated the membership. A few years since the writer, while assisting the gifted pastor, P. R. Ridgley, in a meeting of some days, was entertained at the elegant and hospitable home of Bro. W. J. Hughes, in company with whom he visited and dined with the late lamented Judge Hickerson. Standing in the Judge's door lawn, we counted more than thirty fine farms that within a decade of years past had gone out of Baptist proprie- torship and possession into the hands of non-Baptists. The picture and the reflections were saddening. A retrospect of Missouri country churches pre- sents a similar state of case in nearly every part of the state. Our older strong country churches are not as they once were. The reasons for this state of things de- mand intelligent and prayerful thought. Some sug- A Decade of Progress. 69 gestions on the subject may be found in tlic chapter on "Centers of Influence/' But let us return to the Chariton meeting of Gen- eral Association. The several missionaries reported for the preceding year an aggregate of thirteen months and seventeen days work, resulting in sixty-nine bap- tisms and the constitution of four new churches. The general agent had labored in the bounds of fifteen asso- ciations and had preached 1 7o sermons, and obtained in cash and pledges $58'!. 15. These results may appear small to those intimate with operations of the Gen- eral Association at this writing, 1898, but it must be borne in mind that the brethren of 1841 were still con- tending against a strong anti-missionary current, very pronounced in many Baptist churches, and furthermore that the pastors of churches rarely encouraged the grace of giving; and the spirituality (?) of not a few good brethren and sisters was shocked by the mention of money on Sunday in the pulpit. They labored hard six days in the week for that which was too vile to be named on the seventh : perhaps these have some sur- vivors in the dying days of the nineteenth century. At the meeting in 1842 at Richland church in Cal- laway county, there w-ere encouraging manifestations of the increasing influence of the General Association. The most interesting and significant proceeding of this meeting was an effort to establish a Baptist Book De- pository in St. Louis. Of this movement more will ap- pear further along. In 1843. at Jefferson City, the most important items of business were the preliminary steps for the es- tablishment of a Baptist college, suggested by the lib- eral offer of $10,000 by Dr. William Jewell : and a committee to look after a bequest of $1,000 by Jeremiah H. Neal, of Montgomery county. (Nearly thirty year^ after this latter action, the writer was instructed by the 70 A Decade of Progress. State Mission Board to look after the same fund. It no doubt was lost in the collapse of the National Bank of the State of Missouri, as the original amount had been invested in the stock of that bank.) In 1844 the Association met for the second time with the Mt. Moriah church in Howard county. Roland Hughes was chosen moderator, and Wade M. Jackson for the second time was elected secretary. The report of the treasurer, Samuel C. Majors, shows total receipts for the preceding year $848.62, $329.86 of which were for what was then a mission en- terprise in Palestine, called the Palestine Mission, leaving $518.76 that had been collected for state mis- sions. After settling with the missionaries and pay- ing over the funds due the Palestine Mission, and the expenses for printing, postage, etc., there were $126.62 left in the treasury. The missionaries for the preceding year were P. N. Haycraft, Benj. Terrill. D. R. Murphy, A. F. Mar- tin, J. S. Smith, A. P. Williams. Three of these breth- ren received at the rate of $100 a year each, and two of them at the rate of $80. These missionaries report an aggregate of 35? sermons, eighty-three baptisms and the constitution of three churches. There is no report from A. P. Wil- liams. There are some items in the reports of these mis- sionaries that will be especially interesting to readers at this date, and especially to some of the citizens of St. Joseph. P. N. Haycraft says: "My labors have been principally in the counties of Andrew and Buchanan. * * * Anti-Nomianism has been preached so generally through the Platte country by the Anties that I at first found it exceeding difficult to obtain a congregation. * * * The world believed that all Baptists preached Anti-Nomianism, and the Anties believed the missiona- A Decade of Progress. 7 1 ries preached Canipbellism. These false notions are fast giving away. "St. Josephs situated on the Black Snake Hills, is a rapidly growing village, an important station, and should be immediately occupied by an efficient Baptist preacher, who could also attend at Savannah and James Town. Opposition to our views has taken deeper root in the Platte than almost any other portion of the state." Now that more than a half centur\- has gone by, the brethren and sisters who have come into the world and grown up since the "rapidly growing village" on the ''Black Snake Hills" has become a great city, with several good Baptist churches, largely the result of missionary labor by the General Association, can form a better idea of the worth of our now almost venerable but active state organization. The same may be said of many of our most important towns and cities. In another part of this volume further attention is given to the results of state mission work in centers of popu- lation. The close of the first ten years of progress after the completion of the organization finds us at Columbia again. Roland Hughes is again moderator and Le- land Wright is recording secretary. Both of these gentlemen were of Howard county, so long the home of the executive board (now, 1898, the Board of State Missions and Sunday Schools). Mentally pausing for a moment at this Columbia session of the Association, one is seriously impressed, almost overwhelmed by the reflections suggested by the names found printed in the Associational records. Of ministers present there are the following names : Wm. Duncan, Thos. Fristoe, S. H. Ford, Noah Flood, R. S. Thomas, A. P. Williams, A. Broadus and D. R. Murphy. Of this list of ministerial messengers to the 7 2 A Decade of Progress. Association none are living save Dr. S. H. Ford, an octogenarian, who was present at the session of 1898, at Kirksville, with scarcely a perceptible abatement of that rare oratorical power that, by common consent, has accorded him the Gladstonian soubriquet "Grand Old Man." Of eminent laymen present were Samuel C. Majors, Roland Hughes, Urial Sebree, Leland Wright, Wm. Jewell, Wm. McPherson, P. G. Cam- den, Stephen Wilhite, John Jackson, F. Tolston, J. B. Vardeman, all of whom have passed over the river to the promised land. The Lord has raised up their suc- cessors in a line of Godly layworkers, a few of whom are the lineal descendants of the host that has been called up higher. The living helpers, both ministers and laymen, whose names are inseparable from the his- tory of the General Association, and the younger ones who are now making history, will soon follow on to join the sacramental hosts and their successors, it is hoped, will find comfort and encouragement in glancing at these memorial pages. The author now prays that he may be spared to complete the volume as an humble tribute to those upon whose foundation he has helped to build our present superstructure, and to those with whom he has so long labored in most delightful fellow- ship. The reports of the missionaries to this meeting of the Association do not indicate a year of prosperity in the mission fields. The missionaries were Euphrates Springer, D. R. Murphy, Thomas Rucker and A. F. Martin. Bro. Martin says to the board in his report : 'Tn some regions we have mourned on account of de- clension in religion, but in others we rejoice to say that a bright cloud of heavenly mercy has stood over the camp of Israel, and refreshing- streams of life-giving water have descended on the parched ground. I have labored three months, preached fifty-eight times, bap- A Decade of Progress. 73 tized eighteen persons and traveled 1,100 miles." The total summary of work by the four missionaries is 240 sermons and seventy baptisms. The treasurer's report shows an associational fund for the year of $466.66. Other moneys were on hand for other purposes, such as foreign missions, Indian missions and education. After settling all accounts for the year the balance in the treasury was $204.16. At this meeting the executive board laments the suspension of the publication of the Missouri Baptist as depriving them of the means of communicating with the churches. (The history of the struggles of Mis- souri Baptists to establish a denominational journal in the state is left for another chapter.) Leland Wright, corresponding secretary of the executive board, in his annual report speaks of the American Baptist Home Missionary Society as the "Parent Society." This language expresses the kindly feeling of the Missouri brethren for the Home Mission Society, but to the uninformed it is liable to mislead. The General Association or "Central Society" was not originated by any other organization, nor subsidiary or auxiliary to any other, but as a separate and independ- ent society. It is true, and should not be forgotten, that the American Baptist Home Mission Society did a good work in Missouri, and cooperated with the Gen- eral Association. In 1844 that society employed T. W. Anderson for New Cape Girardeau Association at a salary of $100 a year, and J. S. Smith for the counties of Lewis, Clark and Scotland at same salary, and ap- propriated $200 towards the support of S. H. Ford, at North Church, St. Louis: and in 1845 that society ap- propriated $100 for A. P. Williams, in Liberty, and vicinity, and a like amount for Norman Parks, at Paris and vicinity. Leland Wright concludes his report with these words : "The parent Society has thus far contin- 74 ^ Decade of Progress. ued to extend to the destitute places of our state liberal aid, which calls for our grateful acknowledgments, and should stimulate us to engage heartily in the good work until by our united labors, the object shall be ac- complished of 'supplying every destitute section in our state zvith the preached gospel.' " These words ex- press a beautiful, and as to their author, a genuine christian sentiment ; the only criticism is as to the term "Parent Society." It is especially worthy of note that at this — 1845 — meeting a resolution looking to the history of the As- sociation was adopted, as follows : "Resolved, That the Executive Committee be re- quested to prepare by the next meeting of this Associ- ation, a history of the Association from its origin to the present time." If the resolution was ever carried into efifect, more than a half century has perhaps buried the history out of sight. If the brethren — intelligent and progressive — who gave character to the Columbia meeting fifty-three years ago, were so interested in the organization as to feel an interest in preserving twelve years of history, how much more should General Association Baptists of to-day — after sixty-four meetings of the body, feel con- cerned for the history of their fathers and their asso- ciational transactions ! In fifty years from this writ- ing thousands of devoted Missouri Baptists will be curious to know what was done by the Association in the nineteenth century, and who were the actors. The close of the first decade of actual work, re- veals to the present the conflicts, difficulties and tribu- lations of those who went before to blaze the road to Baptist prosperity in a new and comparatively untried country. The difficulties and privations of travel, the lack of newspaper communications, the tardiness and meagerness of the postal system, the want of church A Decade of Progress. 75 houses, an undeveloped spirit of christian beneficence, and more than all the violent and almost vicious oppo- sition of anti-missionary Baptists imposed trials and burdens upon our church fathers in Missouri of which we can have only a faint realization. A befitting conclusion to this chapter is a SUMMARY of the work and results from the time of the organiza- tion down to the time of the meeting now before us. Number of missionaries under commission during last ten years 14 Number of baptisms reported 376 Amount of money reported by treasurer for state missions $1,857.38 Estimated, unreported collections 1,000.00 Estimated total for ten years $2,857.38 This ten years of tabulated work does not foot up as much as one fourth the work now done — 1898 — in one year by the General Association. But it must be borne in mind that the preachers of those days did an immense amount of missionary work in the name of the General Association of which they made no report and for which the Association made no remuneration. In addition to the preaching of the gospel these commis- sioned missionaries were expected to promote temper- ance reform, which they did and reported to the board the number of temperance addresses delivered, and the number of persons who "signed the pledge" at their in- stance. This was in the days of the "Washingtonians," a temperance organization that accomplished great good without the details and machinery and expense of social organizations. Many public meetings were held, and many persons signed the pledge at these gatherings under the influence of fervent oratory and the gale of enthusiasm that w^as sweeping the country. Sure^y gospel missionaries are working for Christ when fight- ing the Devil's greatest emissary. CHAPTER VI. SECOND DECADE OF PROGRESS. 1846— 1856. The General Association now for the first time holds its session in the cultured and historic city of Lexington, in Lafayette county. This meeting began on the twenty-seventh day of August, 1846, and con- tinued in session for three days. L^rial Sebree was re- turned to the chair as moderator. It was the custom in the earlier days of the Associ- ation, and down to wathin the last dozen or so of years, to include a Sabbath day in the time of the sessions of the General Association, and when the meeting was held in a town the courtesy of all the protestant pulpits of the place was extended to the Association, and the committee of religious exercises, selected from the preachers in attendance a preacher for each pulpit for the forenoon and evening service. Generally the Mon- day session closed the business and there was an affec- tionate leave taking and a start for home. It is different now. The facilities for travel afforded by railroads enables the preachers to get back to their respective churches by the Sabbath, if the Association convenes early in the week. For the accommodation of this plan the Association now generally holds its first meeting on Monday night or Tuesday morning, and from that until Thursday evening or Friday noon there is a fever- ish rush to get through with the business and take a midnight or noon train for home. To the reproach of many it must be said that impatience or the wearing oft' of novelty induces them to take their departure the 76 Second Decade of Progress. 77 evening of the second day or forenoon of the third day. It is questionable whether this doing away with an old custom is an improvement. It might be well for Bap- tists to utilize, as formerly, the Sabbaths in impressing the people with the doctrines and ability of the denomi- nation and in the cultivation of more fraternal relations with other denominations. It is known to those who were familiar with former days, that crowded houses greeted the Sabbath day preaching by the appointees of the Association. Every church house, as a rule, was crowded at both the forenoon and evening service. Such a Sabbath day was expected by the people and arrangements by christians of all denominations and by non-church members were made to attend these serv- ices. They were great opportunities for doing good, and the Association generally left a savory influence on the community. Other denominations, at their annual con- vocations, still pursue the plan of including a Sabbath day in their sojourn at the place of meeting, and are wise in doing so. The plan of substituting night, "overflow meet- ings," at our General Association gatherings is a fail- ure. The point of attraction is the house in which the Association is attending to the business of the occasion, and at night there is generall}' a mass- meeting in the interest of some designated object, and some speakers slated for the occasion. The crowds are as a rule unwieldy and uncomfortable jams. This perhaps can not be avoided, but the fact serves to show that over- flow meetings are not substitutes for the Sabbath day preaching. These overflow meetings are, as a rule, sparsely attended, the congregations are usually the few who dislike the uncomfortableness of great crowds, and those who prefer a gospel sermon to the set discus- sion of some enterprise. 7S Second Decade of Progress. It is true that the home congregations are pleased to have their pastors with them, and it is a pleasure to the pastor to be with his own flock at the Sabbath service, but might not the churches and pastor do a good missionary work by sacrificing one Sabbath in the year to the general interest of the cause they are striv- ing to promote ? This little excursion from Lexington into the gen- eral field will be excused by the reader, as the time and place happens just now to recall some departures from the custom of our predecessors. Another departure may be appropriately noted in this place : It was the custom of Baptists in the times of which we now write, for the churches to send letters — each church a letter — to the General Association, as is the habit with churches and district associations. This custom was no doubt borrowed from the district associations. But as the brethren came to understand that the General Association is not an association of churches, but a convention of messengers fro:n churches interested in the spread of divine truth, and that the Association could do nothing in the name of the churches, and nothing to bind them in doctrine or prac- tice, and as letters of mere greeting of good will were not especially promotive of the objects of the Associ- ation, the custom was abandoned. While the custom was in vogue it was the habit of the recording secretary to make this entry in the minutes of proceedings : "Let- ters and the appointment of delegates from churches and associations called for, and letters read." The ex- amination of credentials is what the committee on enrollment is supposed to do now, and the reading of letters under the old system could have served no prac- tical purposes aside from open exhibit of credentials. At this meeting the subject of dissolving connec- tion with the American Baptist Home Mission Society, Second Decade of Progress. 79 and becoming auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Con- vention was brought up on report of committee, of which Dr. S. W. Lynd, then pastor of the Second Bap- tist church, St. Louis, was chairman. For further in- formation on this subject see chap. ''Auxiliaries." The financial exhibit at the Lexington meeting in- dicates encouraging advancement in the interest felt by churches and individuals in the work of the Associa- tion. The report of the treasurer, Sam'l C. Majors, is a model of exact form of bookkeeping, and shows that at the adjournment of the Association the whole amount coming" into his hands for the preceding year was $996.06^^ of which amount $204.10 was balance on hands from last year, and $603.40% was paid in at the Association. After paying all claims to missionaries and incidental expenses, there was left a cash balance of $741.44, which makes exhibit of the expenditure of $254.62% for all purposes of work of the Association for the year ending with the Lexington meeting. Looked at from the standpoint of work now, 1898, this seems almost too meager to justify the effort and time of the General Association. Rut let us take a legitimate- ly intelligent view of this subject. None of the seven missionaries were appointed for full time — as a rule only ninety days to each. These men preach in destitute places 423 sermons, and baptize twenty-six converts. This is less than $2 a sermon, and not allowing anything for time and travel. Then it should not be overlooked that these sermons were preached to people living with- out any ministrations of the word except as it was sup- plied by itinerant missionaries. Who can estimate the harvests to be gathered from this primitive sowing? Who can estimate the good to local, social and religious conditions, that came from the conversion and baptism of twenty-six persons. To undertake to estimate spir- itual results on a financial basis is like counting the 8o Second Decade of Progress. worth of a human life on what has been consumed in sustaining that hfe. In making report of the year's work the board says : "It will be seen by the reports that the labors of our brethren had not been blessed as in former times. This may be owing in part to the general sickness which has prevailed in our country, and in part to the affliction of the missionaries themselves. But, brethren, is there not great reason to fear that the chief cause of the want of success is the general declension of piety"? The Lexington meeting had one especially com- pensating characteristic. It was the beginning of en- larged views of duty and liberality towards mission v/ork. At this meeting we are furnished with record evidence of the first individual gift of $20 for state mis- sions. Marshall Brotherton proposed to be one of ten who would give $20 each for the work. The names of this advance guard are worthy of permanent record: "Marshall Brotherton (paid), Eli Bass, Roland Hughes, Wm. Jewell, W. C. Ligon, J. W. Waddell (paid), David Perkins, James Winn, W. D. Hubbard, and C. S. Tarlton." At the next meeting the follow- ing named persons joined the advance guard: R. S. Thomas, W. C. Ligon, Wm. Vardeman, John Robin- son and Noah Flood. The influence of this movement upon the future can not be estimated. Now there are those who give $100 and over as yearly contributions to the state mission fund. Judge Marshall Brotherton, the mover in the advanced step, reached the point of hundreds annually to state missions. These worthy examples should influence hundreds now where fifty years since there were but few who were able to make such contributions to their loving Lord. The meeting of the General Association at Walnut Grove church, in Boone county, in 1847, was one of unusual interest as to the character of business trans- acted. Second Decade of Progress. Si It was here that the Association took the decided steps that resulted in the estabhshment of the WiUiam Jewell College. The following action was taken : "Resolved, That a committee of five persons be appointed a provisional committee on education, whose duty it shall be to originate an institution of learning for the Baptist denomination in this state; provided the same can be accomplished upon a plan by which its endowment and perpetuity may be secured." In accordance with the above resolution, the fol- lowing brethren were appointed the committee : Roland Hughes, Wm. Carson, Wade M. Jackson, Reuben E. McDaniel, and David Perkins. This was done in pur- suit of the great aim suggested and encouraged by Dr. Jewell's liberal offer several years in the past. (See further in chapter on Education. ) At this meeting the matter of a state denomina- tional paper was again discussed, and Dr. S. W. Lynd read an able report on religious periodical. See chap- ter — , The Press. The collections of the year for state missions, in- cluding the balance over from the preceding year, amounted to $1,510.09. Eight missionaries had been employed for the year ending with the Association, each of them for three months' work. These were G. Spencer, W. W. Keep, Noah Flood, W. McQuie, E. George, H. H. Parks, J. D. Wilson. These men report to the board an aggregate of 635 sermons and sixty- four baptisms. Again, it must be kept in mind that the preaching was mostly in places hitherto absolutely destitute of the gospel. Alissionaries mention the meet- ing, occasionally, of adults who had not heard a ser- mon for years before the visits of those General Asso- ciation representatives. The amount paid to mission- aries was $468. 82 Second Decade of Progress. The next meeting, 1848, just fifty years before the writing of this book, was held with Big Lick church, in Cooper county. This church is located in a fine agri- cultural region, and for years was one of the strong churches of the state, and is yet a church with a good and enterprising membership. At this meeting Urial Sebree was again chosen moderator, making six sessions in all over which he presided. This (1848) was his last year of an able and acceptable presidency of the Association. Urial Sebree was one of the many lay brethren whose intelligence, personal worth and devotion to the cause of Christ made of them towers of strength to the General Association and efficient promoters of religion generally. He was born in Orange county, Virginia, July 15, 1774. At the age of ten years he was left an orphan. He was cared for by his uncle, Cave Johnson, an eminent citizen of Boone county, Kentucky. In the twenty-third year of his age he was married to Miss Cave of the same county. He served a six months' cam- paign, commanding a company in the war of 1812. He participated in the disastrous battle of River Raisin, was taken prisoner and afterwards exchanged without permission to return to the service. After his return to Kentucky he served several sessions in both branches of the legislature. Having lost his first wife in early life, in 181 7 he married Miss Elizabeth Payne, daughter of General John Payne, and granddaughter of the late Robert Johnson, of Scott county, Kentucky. Two sons and six daughters were the fruit of this union. Hon. John Sebree, of Howard county, well known and highly re- spected in Missouri, was one of the two sons, and father of Lieut. Urial Sebree, of the U. S. Navy, and Frank Sebree, Esq., a prominent lawyer of Kansas City, Mrs. Wm. Turner and Mrs. John Farrington, of How- Second Decade of Progress. 83 arc! county, devoted Baptists and earnest cooperators of the General Association, are daughters of John Sebree. Mrs. Turner is dead, Mrs. Farrington is Hving and an active member of Mt. Zion church, in Howard county. Her mother, the widow of John Sebree, still survives her husband, and at cheerful old age, is not unmindful of the interests of her Redeemer's Kingdom. J. Sebree Barkett is another descendant of Urial Sebree, and is a worthy representative of a noble christian ancestor. He is clerk of the Mt. Zion Association and a devoted and useful messenger to the General Association. In the year 1819, Captain Sebree was sent in charge of government stores to Council Bluffs, and discharged the arduous duties connected with the expedition in a manner so satisfactory to the government as to be com- missioned for similar service in 1820. The success of this hazardous enterprise was attributed, mainly, to his skill and indomitable perseverance. At a later period he was appointed, and for several years served, as re- ceiver of public moneys in the United States Land Of- fice at Fayette, Missouri. In the various relations which he sustained to the general or state government, he maintained the reputation of an upright, efficient officer. He was amiable and generous with his fellowman, and by manly self-respect and courteous demeanor he se- cured and held the esteem of all the people who knew him. It was in the church, however, that the excellency of his character was most conspicuous. He became a Baptist in early life, and for more than forty years took an active part in all of the enterprises of the denomina- tion for the advancement of religion. He was con- nected with the movement for the organization of the "Central Society," and this at a time and under condi- tions that invited the hostility of many who had been his ardent admirers and supporters. His presidency of the 84 Second Decade of Progress. General Association for six years indicated the high es- teem in which he was held by that body. His home was the home of his brethren whenever their conven- ience or pleasure would carry them to its hospitality. When his death was announced to the General As- sociation in 1853, there was profound sadness; a suit- able memorial service was held, and suitable proceed- ings In Menwriam were ordered of record, from which the foregoing sketch is compiled. The business of the session of 1848 was largely routine. Again the interests of a religious periodical received due attention, as also the college enterprise; these and other matters are discussed in their proper places in the divisions of this volume. The treasurer's report shows that, including the balance in the treasury at the beginning of the year, the receipts for the year were $2,018.99. After defraying all expenses for the year there was left in the treasury a balance of $782.94. During this year there were employed sixteen mis- sionaries, at least three of whom devoted their time mainly to the financial interests of the William Jewell College, nevertheless they did much preaching. Of these W. C. Ligon and Noah Flood were the principal. These sixteen men preached 1,192 sermons and bap- tized 361 converts. The work of twelve of these men was in destitute regions. The money paid for this service was $911.50. These preachers labored three months each, making an aggregate of forty-eight months or four years for one man. When the travel, exposure and deprivation are taken into the account,and that the whole sum expended was less than the annual salary of each of many of our pastors, and the results were much above the average of pastoral preaching, all opposition to the work of missionaries should cease. We now come to the session of 1849, which was held at Mt. Nebo church, in Cooper county. Wm. Second Decade of Progress. 85 Carson was elected moderator, and Leland Wright was re-elected recording secretary. A sketch of \Vm. Car- son has been given in a former chapter. Much important business was transacted at this meeting, which is discussed in future chapters under appropriate heads. The special business was the organization of the "Watchman Fund Association," an organization for promoting the interests of the denominational paper that had been established in St. Louis, called The Western Watcli)nan. See chapter The Press. A plan was adopted at this meeting that might now (1898) after a lapse of practically a half century, be made far more efficient than it was then. It was the appointment of a committee of correspondence at St. Louis and a like committee at Cape Girardeau. Such a committee now at St. Louis, with its more than a half million people, to frequently and thoroughly inform the Board of State Alissions of the nature and extent of the demands for mission work in that great city could no doubt be made to bring about more sys- tematic and well directed efforts for the enlargement of the Baptist cause there. Brethren on the field who would closely and scientifically study the population in characteristic localities could inform the board as it can not be otherwise informed. (See chapter Centers of Population.) A like committee for Kansas City and St. Joseph might prove serviceable for the cause in those rapidly growing cities. The summary of state mission work for this year was 837 sermons by fourteen missionaries, and 376 bap- tisms. None of the missionaries did more than three months' labor, and some of them not so much as that. The amount expended for the work was $537.90. The amount in the hands of the treasurer from pre- ceding year was $523.10. Amount received at the As- sociation $1,035.94: making a total for the year of 86 Second Decade of Progress. $1,559.04. After paying- the obligations for the year there was a balance in the treasury of $1,021.14. If the good brethren of the past are to be frater- nally censured for anything, it is for not using more of the money coming into their hands. Such large balances indicate great care it is true, but as such blessed results followed the expenditures they did make, they should have been encouraged to spend money for the Lord as fast as they got it into his treasury. It is true that nearly all the money the treasury received was "sent up" to the Association at its annual meetings and it seemed to be the policy of the board to incur no lia- bilities in excess of assets. This is good financiering, but the board might have presumed somewhat upon faith, especially as each year's settlement charges the treasury with a balance at the beginning of each year. It will be seen from the treasurer's report for the year before us that the balance in hand at the opening of the Association was $523.10. The amount of liabilities to the missionaries was $537.90, the difference being $14.80. Exactly the difference between the receipts at the Association and the balance left on hands in the treasury. So the only draft for present liabilities upon the receipts at the Association was $14.80. If these dear brethren had been nothing else, it is quite certain they were safe business men. The board seem to have made no appropriations beyond the money actually in the treasury. Unexpected and not-to-be foreseen inci- dental expenses happened this time to reach $14.80, for which they had to draw upon the reinforced assets. We now return to Bonne Femme church, in Boone county, where the little craft, ballasted by faith and moved by love, was launched upon a troubled sea. After voyaging for fifteen years, it returns for further equipment and reinforcement to the port of prayerful and trembling adventure. In its cruises it has gath- ered strength, having brought to its forces many of the Second Decade of Progress. 87 best men and devoted women of the state. There is now a consciousness of divine approval made manifest by the enlarged number of supporters and the diminish- ing of the host of adversaries. The aggressive spirit of Christianity has demonstrated its right to assertion, while the vigorous and malignant spirit of conservatism has began to exhibit its inherent tendency to decadence. At this meeting at Bonne Femme church, beginning August 22, 1850, Roland Hughes was again elected moderator, after an interim of four years. Wade M. Jackson was elected Recording Secretary and W. F. Nelson his assistant. The plan then in vogue of electing the assistant by the Association was more in harmony with the spirit and usage of Baptist organization than the present plan (1898) of the appointment of that functionary by the principal secretary. Official patron- age is no part of the policy of the simple democracy of Baptists. The usual routine business of the Association was disposed of at this meeting in an intelligent and orderly way. Nothing new, or especially looking to advanced methods was done except an all important resolution by W. F. Nelson, suggesting a plan for the promotion of systematic beneficence. This subject has engaged the thought of the best minds and most devoted spirits of the denomination for many years, and even now it is difficult to induce all of the churches to adopt and ad- here to a practical system for raising the money needed to carry on the work of the world's evangelization. At the semi-centennial meeting in 1884, the General Asso- ciation provided for the publication of the plan of "Church Finances" prepared for the Columbia church by the learned, painstaking and methodical A. F. Fleet, and adopted by the church. The workings of this plan were eminently successful in that church, calling out more liberal and more equally distributed contributions to church revenues and to the various missionary and SS Second Decade of Progress. educational enterprises of the denomination ; as well as to effectually do away with the friction and unprofitable discussions so frequently occasioned by irregular and haphazard management of church finances. The ex- cellent paper by Dr. Fleet was published in the semi- centennial volume of the General Association and should be carefully studied by all deacons and church finance committees. The work of the year and results as reported by the executive board to this meeting of the Association shows the employment and work of fourteen missiona- ries, each for a part only of the year — as a rule ninety days' work by each missionary. These laborers in the vineyard reported 955 sermons and 257 conversions and baptisms. The amount of money expended for the work was $77 1 — not as much as one dollar per sermon. The amount left in the treasury for the next year's work was $638.44. The meeting in 185 1 was held with the church at Liberty, Clay county. Roland Hughes was re-elected moderator, M. F. Price and R. S. Thomas secretaries. Foreign missions. Bible distribution, Wm. Jewell Col- lege, Sunday Schools, Religious Periodicals received due attention. The state mission work is summed up by Wade M. Jackson, secretary of the executive board, in the fol- lowing words and figures, to wit : "Aggregate amount of labor, three years and three and a half months; amount of compensation, $667: three hundred (300) baptisms. Four missionaries have not reported to the board ; their aggregate appointment is fourteen months. Total collections for the year, $2,118.84." The meeting" in 1852 was with the Bethel church in Saline county. Of this church the now venerable and much loved and honored W. M. Bell was then the youthful, but well informed and vigorous pastor. In some following pages of this book may be found further Second Decade of Progress. S9 reference to the long career of this man of influence in the General Association. The Association was organized by the re-election of the officers of the preceding meeting. The principal item of business aside from the rou- tine was the offering of an amendment to the constitu- tion, by W. M. Bell, which became the financial basis of representation in the General Association. At this meeting the death of Dr. Wm. Jewell was announced. While all living men fully realize the inev- itableness of death, and know that not even the best and greatest have exemption from the appointment unto all men to die, the death of an honored colaborer and leader brings sadness to the hearts of his fellow-helpers and flings a cloud of gloom over assemblages of those used to his presence, counsel and loving cooperation. Than Dr. Wm. Jewell, no man of his period was more devoted to the cause of Christ, more disinterested in his eiiforts nor more cheerfully self-sacrificing. The meet- ing at Bethel adopted and put to record a suitable me- morial of their honored brother, written by R. S. Thomas. This memorial may be found in full in the chapter on Education. The revenues for the year ending with the meeting of the Association, including amounts sent up to the meeting, was $1,480.85. The sum expended for mis- sionary work for the year was $576. which left a bal- ance in the treasury of $904.85. Eleven missionaries reported 1,284 days labor, 1,059 sermons, 291 baptisms. Here again we have an exhibit of the comparative in- expensiveness of missionary labor in state mission work. These 1,284 days labor cost less than fifty cents a day. The sermons cost but little over that amount for each sermon. The 1,284 days is only a fraction less than three years and three months service, say, of one man, and this for $576. It is less than a farm hand at 90 Second Decade of Progress. $15 a month. Nevertheless there remain some Bap- tists on earth who seem to think that missionaries are mercenary hirelings and that missionary work is too expensive. Let us deal gently with these misguided brethren who seem blinded by the god of this lower world. One great work for our General Association fathers was the enlarged apprehension of the nature and business of the church in the earth. Much of the same work remains to be done. The General Association can not do a better work than to dissemi- nate that knowledge of missions that will serve to en- lighten the understanding and open the hearts of the many Baptists who are non-missionary. We have not many "Antis," but the nous are all but innumerable. At this Bethel session of the Association, there was a manifest increase of interest in missionary work at centers of population. Three hundred dollars were appropriated for St. Louis, $200 for Jefferson City, $100 for St. Joseph and $75 for Waverly. In 1853 the General Association met with the church in Fayette, Howard county. At this late date it strikes the searcher of the old records as a little re- markable that as Howard county and Fayette had been the official home of the Association from almost the time of its origin, that this is its first meeting with the Fayette church. Roland Hughes was again elected moderator and R. S. Thomas recording secretary. Aside from routine business, the most important matter introduced to and claiming the attention of the Association was the "German Mission Society." The work of missions among the Germans in Missouri had before received the earnest attention of the Association, at its meeting in 1849, ^^ recommended the formation of a special missionary organization for the Germans. At this meeting (1853) a report was submitted by Thomas Second Decade of Progress. 91 F. Lockett, chairman of the committee on German Mis- sions, in which the Association was reminded that it had "in the most exphcit manner declared the impor- tance of giving the gospel of Christ to the hundreds of thousands of Germans now at our doors. Your com- mittee have good reason to believe that there are now largely over a hundred thousand Germans in our state, and month after month increasing numbers flock to our shores. The German population of our state is des- tined to be very large, if not predominant. The 25,- 000 Baptists of Missouri must supply this starving mul- titude with the bread of life. * * * During the last year the German Mission Society received into its treas- ury $766.85. They employed four missionaries, three of whom labored in our state. Their success has been truly encouraging. =>= * * They are now endeavoring to form a connection with Rochester University, by which suitable men may be supplied for German mis- sions." * * * The report concludes with this resolution : "We earnestly recommend the cause of German mis- sions to the liberality of our churches." This action of the General Association in 1853, suggests some reflections for Missouri Baptists in 1898: (i) There are now fully 800,000 Germans in Missouri, there are still "increasing numbers flocking to our shores." German rationalism, German infidelity and German Lutherism must influence our American population unless the Germans are brought under the power of Truth. (2) The connection of the German Association with "Rochester University" has been formed and the theological seminary at Rochester now has — and for years has had — a special department for the education of German preachers to meet the demands for German evangelization in the United States. This Rochester work has time and again of late years been presented to our General Association, but is the sub- ject sufficiently emphasized by the action of that body? 92 . Second Decade of Progress. There are perhaps in the United States not more than two or three states that should be more interested in German missions than Missouri. Many of the best agri- cultural lands of the state are falling into the hands of Germans; as merchants and traders they are almost daily becoming more numerous. As their numbers and wealth increase their influence becomes greater. Our duty to ourselves is equalled only by our obliga- tions to them. For their souls' sakes we should offer Christ to them, for our sakes we should seek to turn them from their preconceived and traditional errors. Germans have the elements of good citizen- ship, and the qualities for sturdy Baptists when con- verted to the truth. (3) The 25,000 Baptists of Mis- souri have increased since 1853 to 150,000; the ratio of increase does not equal that of the increase of the Ger- man population. They have increased eight to one ; Bap- tists increase is only six to one since 1853. These facts and figures suggest the importance of German missions in Missouri. The amount of money collected for the year ending with the meeting at Fayette, including the sums sent to the meeting, was $1,282.72. Amount paid to mission- aries, $1,077.46. Expense account: Minutes, etc., $162.33. Leaving in the treasury $42.93. Sermons preached, 989. Baptisms reported, 329. The next meeting, 1854, was held at Union Hill, in Callaway county. Roland Hughes was chosen mod- erator; S. B. Johnson and D. H. Hickman secretaries. This meeting was remarkable for three particulars : (i) It was the last meeting of the General Asso- ciation over which Roland Hughes presided, which made seven sessions altogether — 1844-45 and 1850-54. He was an eminent citizen and a devoted and worthy christian. He was "mild and conservative in all his views, commanding the confidence and esteem of all his brethren, ever ready for every good word and work, and Second Decade of Progress. 93 deservedly wielded more influence with the denomina- tion than any other lay member in the state." The writer, in making inquiry concerning the eminent men of the early days of the Association, was told that Ro- land Hughes continued the manufacture of whiskey after he became a church member, deriving great profits from the business. Unwilling to believe that such could have been the fact in the case, the writer made inquiry of Mrs. Majors, the widow of Samuel C. Ma- jors, Sr., and from her he learned that Mr. Hughes abandoned the business of a distiller at or before his conversion and that he never resumed it. He certainly never could have attained to his great influence in a great christian denomination had he conducted that business while a church member. He was generous with his means, but judicious in its expenditure. He appropriated a portion of his worldly goods to the edu- cation of Tyre C. Harris, who though dying at the age of thirty years, attained great popularity and eminent usefulness. Mr. Hughes was born in Kentucky in 1790. At the age of 29 years he came to Missouri and settled in Howard county, where he continued to reside until the day of his death — honored in life and affectionately re- membered after death. Mr. Hughes and his talented young beneficiary both died in the same associational year, 1854-55, and at the meeting of the Association at Palmyra in 1855, the executive board introduces its annual report by suitable reference to the sad dispensation, and says : "Bro. Hughes, by diligence in business, had acquired a more than ordinary share of this world's goods, and qualified by that practical good sense which so eminently distin- guished him, he appropriated a portion of it to the ed- ucation of Bro. Harris, whose piety and aptness to teach gave early promise of his being called to the gos- pel ministry, and whose success in that department is 94 Second Decade of Progress. so well known throughout the state. 'Though dead, they yet speak.' " (2) At this Union Hill meeting Wm. M. McPher- son offered the following resolution, which was adopted: "Whereas, The objects of this Association being to 'promote the preaching of the gospel and the spread of Divine Truth in this state,' Therefore : "Resolved, That the appointment of committees be limited to the following subjects, viz. : On preaching, on nominations, on Sunday Schools, on list of minis- ters, on finance, on the best means of supplying the home field." The result of this resolution was that no report was made on Foreign Missions, Southern Bap- tist Convention, American Baptist Publication Society, German Association, Indian Missions, American and Foreign Bible Society, Religious Periodicals or the William Jewell College, all of which subjects had hith- erto for several years been reported on by committees raised for the special purposes. This action was taken, no doubt, in response to a feeling somewhat prevalent that the Association could not under its constitution consider any subject not im- mediately connected with the work in the state. Yet it is a little surprising that the brethren did not see that the distribution of the Bible, religious periodicals and chris- tian education were efficient means for the "spread of divine truth in the state." Even "strict construction- ists"could not fail to recognize the power of these agen- cies in the spread of divine truth. But there is no tell- ing how far a wave of prejudice may carry good or sen- sible men. (3) A committee was appointed on revision of the constitution. The question of a financial basis of representation had been raised, and the subject was thought of sufficient importance to require time for careful deliberation by experienced men. The com- mittee appointed was composed of men who would do Second Decade of Progress. 95 honor to any legislative body, either national or state. They were Wm. Carson, J. H. Keach, Wm. M. Mc- Pherson, John Taylor, Noah Flood, D. H. Hickman, Wm. M. Bell, and by motion Roland Hughes, its mod- erator. This committee reported against abandoning a financial basis of representation. The report of the executive board shows 77o ser- mons and 152 baptisms for the year. The treasurer's report shows money for the year, including balance over from preceding year, $1,479.48. These services, including appropriations to city and town churches were at an outlay of $1,283.48. For printing and other expenses, $160. Leaving a balance in the treas- ury of $36. These figures indicate that the board had begun to make appropriations in anticipation of contributions to the treasury. The meeting at Palmyra in 1855 was not distin- guished by attention to matters of special or unusual in- terest. The appointments and appropriations by the board for the ensuing year indicate an advanced appre- ciation of the demands for attention to the centers of population. See chapter Centers of Population. Wm. Carson was chosen for moderator, S. B. Johnson and J. E. Hughes for recording secretaries. The treasurer's account makes exhibit of receipts $1,186.54, expenditures, $1,062.00. Thus closes another decade of actual work of the Association. Conditions and results have been variant as it has always been and must ever be with human af- fairs, but a steady progress in spiritual power, general influence and useful work marked the coming and go- ing of the years. The Association now realized its right to exist and that it was a factor in the forces of religious and denominational progress of a great country. g6 Second Decade of Progress. It is now well to pause for a while in tracing the marks of progress and devote a chapter to the condi- tions that especially characterized the churches of Mis- souri for the period covered by this and the preceding chapter. CHAPTER VII. TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. From the days of the baptism of the Son of God in symbol of his burial and resurrection down to the pres- ent day, efforts for the establishment and enlargement of His Kingdom in the Earth, have met with violent opposition. It Avas this spirit of opposition that sub- jected Him to the contumely, buffetings, scourgings and rejection of men. This spirit nailed Him to the cross and insulted Him in His dying agonies. Opposition to the expansion of His Kingdom has not been confined to His avowed enemies, but even some of His professed friends have been among the most extreme and viru- lent antagonists of the progressive spirit and efforts of His church. Many of these misguided, unwillful ene- mies of the cross verily thought they were doing service for God in resisting the aggressive enterprises of His people. Others, though bearing the badge of Chris- tianity, were moved by pampered and inflamed preju- dice and egotistic ignorance fed by well nursed covet- ousness. False interpretations of Bible teachings of divine sovereignty, and misapprehension of the mission of the church influenced the leaders of the opposition within the churches, while nurtured narrowness minis- tered to the malignancy of their followers. It is not the province of any man or any institution to sit in judgment on the question of the relation that these misinformed professors of the faith sustained to Christ and His Kingdom. If there were no human in- nateness of wrong and inequity, there were no need of the grace of God. How far that grace through faith may cover human infirmities, it is not for man to say. 97 7 98 Trials and Triumphs. But, while charity throws the mantle of forbearance over the glaring errors and puzzling foibles of the weak and misguided, it refuses to either sacrifice or compromise the truth. We have seen in preceding chapters how some Baptists in Missouri worked themselves up to the belief that loyalty to Christ required them to denounce the movers in the organization of the "Central Society" in terms of bitterest invective, and to apply to them epi- thets, which, if founded in fact and truth, would con- vict such men as Vardeman, Suggett, Thomas, Wilhite, Fristoe and others not only of heresy, but of the vilest and most wicked intentions, such as to put beyond doubt their deliberate iniquity and bondage of guilt. The personal character of these men of God, their self-sacrificing labors and the fruits of their toils vin- dicate the integrity of their motives and certify to the divine approval of them and their work. In 1836, one year from the completion of the or- ganization of the General Society, there were in Mis- souri 8,723 Baptists, all told. Of these there were 5,367 missionary Baptists, having 150 churches and seventy-seven ministers ; of anti-missionary Baptists there were 3,366 members, having eighty churches and forty-nine ministers. In 1846 the missionary Baptists had grown to 15,331, having 292 churches and 144 ministers, and the anti-missionaries had 4,336 members, 118 churches and fifty-seven ministers. In that decade the missionary Baptists had increased in numbers 9,- 964. The anti-missionaries had increased 970. The reader will see that the percentage of increase for the missionary Baptists is almost marvelously beyond that of the anti-missionaries for the ten years mentioned. It is almost useless to speak of the difference between the two wings of the denomination at this, 1898, date. Tiie missionary Baptists have approximately 150,000 mem- bers, 1,000 preachers and i,7oo churches in the state, Trials and Triiim^ihs. 99 while the Antis arc not as numerous as tliev were in 1846. The remaining separate or anti-missionary Baptists in Missouri, are a decided modification of their reHg- ious ancestors. They are less pugnacious and much more inclined to effort than their predecessors. Many of them favor Sabbath Schools and protracted meet- ings. There can be no doubt but that the educational effort of missionary Baptist enterprise will soon over- come the remaining remnant of the anti- missionary spirit and that the warring of these elements \vill be but a thing of history — as indeed it is now. Nevertheless, the work and worth of the General Association can not be fully appreciated without a record and knowledge of its trials and triumphs, its warfares and its victories. That God makes the wrath of man to praise Him, and that He restrains the remainder of wrath is demon- strated as much in sacred as in profane historv. That there was wrath in the hearts of the early anti-mission- ary Baptists of America is as manifest as was Jewish opposition to the Great Apostle of the Gentiles. The history of Virginia and Kentucky Baptists, as well as of those in Missouri, clearly indicate the difference in spirit of the Antis and the missionaries ; and these his- tories furthermore indicate that, the Baptist state organ- ization of each of the states named were used of God, to suppress the anti-mission spirit and to promote the spirit of missions. It is an interesting fact of human na- ture that antagonism and difficulties are necessary stim- uli to great effort in any line of progress. There is not much room for doubting that Baptists' numbers and in- telligence and wealth and influence in the United States to-day are the results of activities incited by the opposition they have had to encounter, and that the aggressive element in the denomination should have been opposed by the conservative was no more than emphasizing the stimulus of antagonism. But. loo Trials and Triumphs. in any view of the subject of the unrevealed plans of the Infinite, it is historically true that Baptist General organizations for cooperative effort in the spread of divine truth and in winning souls to Christ have been under God the means of uplifting the denom- ination and making it the means for the exaltation of truth and the suppression of error. The influence of Baptists in emphasizing the great doctrine of soul lib- erty and the rights and obligations of the individual conscience, could never have been so potent and prac- tically operative as it is, if there had been no organized aggressive movements against sin and organized error. That unscriptural practices of other denominations in the United States have been held in obeyance and greatly decimated by Baptist influence, all candid minds are forced to confess. The doctrines of a converted church membership and believers' baptism as the onlv scriptural baptism have wielded an influence almost rev- olutionary on other denominations. If Baptists hold the Truth in its New Testament integrity, earnestly contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and keep the ordinances as they were delivered to the early christians — and it can not be shown that they do not — then their influence on the life, thought and progress of the world is a fact for which they should ever be profoundly grateful and becomingly humble. That the degree of influence which they have attained could have been possible without united and cooperative effort is not to be even so much as surmised. While the New Testament church polity is independent Congregationalism, it does not follow that other organ- izations originated by the churches as instrumentalities may not unite the mind and means of the whole denomi- nation in holding forth the word of life. Such an or- ganization can not use compulsory methods, but it may be the agent and the channel for the voluntary gifts and labors of those who are willing and readv to strive to- Trials and Triuiiiplis. loi gather for the faith of the gospel. That this is aU that the General Association of Missouri proposes to do, or has ever proposed, is manifest by its constitution and history. The division of the Baptists of Missouri in 1835 over the missionary question, while it was sad and the occasion of much bickering and bitterness, was not an unmitigated calamity. It served to separate elements that were only nominally in christian fellowship. The element that longed to be free to work for the Master was held in check by the assertive and domineering spirit of those who theoretically and practically favored a do nothing policy. The element that felt in conscience bound to make the talents committed to them product- ive, rejoiced at the opportunity given them to free their consciences from the shackles of an oppressive subjuga- tion. As an almost invariable rule the missionary ele- ment of the churches were disposed to meekly bear the frowns and contumely of the other side, asking for nothing but liberty to do as their sense of duty dictated. It will be readily inferred that the year 1835 was a year of trial to Missouri Baptists. Not only were churches severely tested as to the pow^er of unity in the membership, but associations were perplexed with ques- tions of unity and fellowship. In that year, Mt. Pleas- ant Association, one of the strongest and most central, felt called on to advise the churches composing it as to the course best to pursue in view of the disturbing ques- tion. At the meeting for that year, held with Mt. Zion church, in Howard county, the question of division of the association was agitated, when, as a basis of set- tlement, the following advice was given: "If a division on the subject of missions is inevitable, the minority propose that it shall be effected by advising the churches to grant to minorities, in each (if that minority request it) a copy of the records of the church-book, and that in all cases the majority in church who are for or I02 Trials and Triumphs. against the foregoing proposition (which ivas a propo- sition to cooperate zvith missionary organizations) re- tain the regular day of meeting and the church-book. Should the minority in any case request it, they shall be entitled to the use of the house two days in every month; selecting for themselves any other Saturdays and Sundays than those upon which the majority meet." The meeting at which this resolution was offered was held on the second Saturday in September. On the fourth Saturday of the next month a meeting of churches and parts of churches favorable to missions, was held with Mt. Moriah church, in Howard county. They sent forth a circular address, making known their principles and the action they had taken. The circumstances leading up to this action of the Mt. Pleasant Association are especially interesting and instructive. One incident shows how a mass of parti- zans may be led by a wily politician ; another illustrates the importance of a knowledge of parliamentary law to a conscientious and intelligent layman : In 1834 the Mt. Pleasant Association met with the Dover church, in Randolph county. At this meeting the query, "what shall be done with the missionary sys- tem which has made its appearance among us ?" was introduced. The form of this query is at once amusing and suggestive. It reminds one of a meeting of pio- neer settlers who, having information of an approach of a band of unfriendly savages, had come together to con- sult as to the best means of common defense. It is difficult to think of the grave presentation of such a question in the proceedings of an intelligent religious assembly, without feeling the necessity for suppressing a smile. The fact that such an incident actually occurred suggests the slow development of christian enlighten- ment. Many were the proposed solutions of the start- ling problem. The discussion of the subject brought excitement to fever heat. Fielding Wilhite and Thos. Trials and Triiiiuplis. 103 Fristoe, who had attended the Providence meeting the previous month, were present. Knowledge of this fact by the brethren present excited a marked prejudice against these two men of God — they were eyed suspi- ciously, and reaHzed that their welcome among the brethren was not as of old. Indeed Fristoe had been moderator of the Mt. Pleasant Association. It would not do — thought the opposers of missions — to re-elect him, and after an active effort not unlike a modern pri- mary election, his defeat was compassed and an Eld. Turner was made moderator. This of course, was mortifying to Fristoe, but his conscious rectitude and inherent dignity bore him above complaint or murmur. One of the propositions introduced to solve the problem, "what shall be done with the missionary sys- tem, etc.," was "liberty of conscience shall be granted." This proposition provoked long and heated discussion, and when brought to a vote was negatived. Up to this time the opposers of the "Central Society" had proposed no answer to the question originated by themselves. There was present a messenger from Fayette church, one James H. Birch, who was then a candidate for con- gress. He was reckoned by the anti-missionary breth- ren as on their side. Of course he wished the favor of all sides, and offered the following answer to the vexa- tious question: "That the subject of missions is one upon which christians might conscientiously differ, but we advise the churches to keep it out of their bodies." The Antis, giving more confidence to their supposed friend than of thought to his proposition, adopted his resolution with willing haste. The one all-absorbing topic now disposed of to the satisfaction of the Antis, they made haste to adjourn, as all other matters had been disposed of, and the day was far spent. A little reflection and interchange of thought waked the victors to a realization that they were caught — they had con- 104 Trials and Triumphs. ceded to the missionaries fully as much as they had asked. Their chagrin and mortification was humor- ously manifest, but they consoled themselves with the reflection that another year would pass' away like the eagle's flight and then they could, at another meeting, put a final quietus to the missionary system that had appeared among them. T. Peyton Stephens, the coadjutor of Theoderick Boulware, was especially active and influential in stir- ring up opposition in Mt. Pleasant Association, to the "Central Society." Though an anti-missionary, he felt called on to make missionary tours from Salem As- sociation to Mt. Pleasant Association to fight the "mis- sion system that had appeared among us." He found willing helpers in the persons of William Ratcliff and Felix Redding; these, though not so influential as Stephens, were equally active and as bitterly hostile in their opposition to the "Society." Now we return to the meeting at Mt. Zion, in Howard county. The anti-missionaries were on the alert. They had allowed the Monster that "had ap- peared among us" to escape the year before at Dover, now he must be caught and chained. Eld. Stephens had come up from Salem Association to make sure the capture. Felix Redding was happy in anticipation of the reddening the ground was to get from the slaying of the enemy. There came from Mt. Moriah and Friendship churches messengers from minority factions who had refused to submit to the advice given by the Association the year before. These minorities refused to be com- forted, and would be satisfied with nothing less than the clean cutting off of the missionaries. These mes- sengers claimed to represent the real churches at Mt. Moriah and Friendship, and insisted on recognition by the Association as truly accredited messengers. A proposition to refer credentials to a committee brought Trials and Triumphs. 105 on the conflict. Stephens and James Suggett, both cor- responding messengers from Salem Association, crossed swords. Stephens accused Suggett of advising the moderator (Turner) contrary to his — Suggett's — own proceeding as moderator of Salem Association. Suggett suggested mildly that Stephens was represent- ing what he knew to be untrue. It so happened in the good providence of the Great Head of the church that some wise brethren from other associations were present as corresponding messengers, among these were Anderson Woods, R. S. Thomas, J. B. Longan, Wm. Duncan and others. These visiting brethren saw very plainly that un- less a compromise could be effected, a division was in- evitable. To prevent, if possible, such an unhappy re- sult, some of these visiting messengers spent the night with Urial Sebree, that they might have the benefit of his wise and safe counsel. At his instance the visiting intermediaries concluded to advise the missionaries to submit three propositions, "(i) We are willing to be at peace upon the principles of the United Baptists of the United States. "(2) We are willing to be at peace, if the Associ- ation will adhere to the advice given at its last session, yielding to all, the liberty of conscience upon the subject of missions." The (3) was the one already quoted — the terms of division. These three propositions were placed in the hands of Urial Sebree as manager and spokesman for the mis- sionary party. He, on Monday morning, submitted them to Felix Redding, who was the champion of the anti-missionaries. Mr. Redding, after reading the propositions, speaking in behalf of his brethren, said to Sebree that he would agree to the third proposition, but would not under any circumstances consider the first and second. It was manifest that the anti-mission- io6 Trials and Triumphs. aries were resolved not to commit themselves, even con- structively, to the "missionary system," nor by implica- tion to fellowship those of their brethren who, in the ex- ercise of individual conscience, would favor missionary effort. They were unwilling to be governed by the principles of the Baptists of the United States; nor would they stand by their own action of the preceding year. When the Association came together Monday morning after the interview between Sebree and Red- ding, Sebree, at a proper time, informed the Associa- tion that he desired to submit three propositions as a basis of settlement of the pending unfortunate contro- versy — that he preferred the first proposition, but that if that could not be conceded to, he would ofifer the sec- ond ; if defeated in that he would ofifer the third as the last and least desired alternative. He then read his propositions, but before he could move the adoption of the first. Redding quickly obtained the floor and moved the adoption of the third. He evidently wanted to avoid a vote on either the first or second. He did not want his party to go to record against the Baptists of the United States, and desired to avoid repudiation of their action the year before in the adoption of the Birch res- olution. But Sebree was an experienced legislator and prompt to detect parliamentary tricks, and determined that the Antis should be brought to a vote on a propo- sition that would show their spirit and attitude, to this end he promptly moved to amend Redding's motion by substituting the first proposition. Of course the house had to come to a vote on the amendment. The Antis being in the majority, the amendment was promptly voted down. Thus the anti-missionaries declared that they would not be governed by the principles of the General Union. Sebree then moved to amend by sub- stituting the second proposition. This was voted down, and by that vote the Antis repudiated their action of Trials and Triumphs. 107 the preceding year by which they had declared that "the subject of missions was one upon which christians might conscientiously differ, but we advise the churches to keep it out of their bodies." The question then re- curred on the motion to adopt the third proposition, which carried. And as a result there came to pass a ^Missionary Alt. Pleasant Association. The anti-mis- sionaries continued to meet, and still continue to claim existence as the original Alt. Pleasant Association, but it has no more than a name to live. The spirit that op- poses missions is so out of harmony with the spirit of the age, and so contrary to the teachings of the Word of God. that nothing Init a lingering inherited prejudice can maintain the semblance of organization. Some of the few who are in the anti-missionary churches are at heart in sympathy with christian effort for the evangel- ization of the world, and most of them are christians of good moral repute, and hold fast to the doctrine of sal- vation by grace and the perseverance of the believer through grace unto glory ; but they seem not to realize that God converts souls that they may be workers to- gether with Him in bringing the Kingdom of God to earth. Notwithstanding the history and tradition of anti-missionary persecution of missionary Baptists, the latter would gladly give the hand of christian and church fellowship to the former, and rejoice in an op- portunity to expound to them the way of the Lord more perfectly and grow them up into useful christians. The few foregoing incidents, culled from a multi- tude of similar character, are sufficient to illustrate the trials that missionary Baptists in their efforts to estab- lish the General Association, had to endure from those persons with whom they have had former church membership and fellowship. But it must not be for- gotten that travail of soul with the Christ was the cov- enanted price for His Kingdom and the guarantee of loS Trials and Triumphs. its ultimate triumph; nor should it be forgotten that pain and sacrifice pave the highway of progress. It might be an interesting, but certainly not a prac- tical inquiry: Who are the old Baptists? Certainly history settles beyond room for cavil that, for centuries the leading Baptists of the world have followed the spirit and intent of the gospel, to carry the word of God to the uttermost parts of the earth; and so far as the question concerns Missouri Baptists, God Himself has put the question to rest. He has retired the anti-mis- sionaries, and rewarded the missionaries with honor and power as chosen servants for carrying forward the enterprises of the gospel of the Son of His love. And in this blessed work the Missouri Baptist General As- sociation has been and is — as the facts and figures of this volume will show — a chief instrumentality. It was born of the spirit of the gospel, and though in some re- spects it may have been, or may now be, marked by some of the infirmities of human nature, it has been fed and nourished into strength by the same Spirit. To question the mission spirit of the gospel is to question the truth of that which we hold as the revelation of God in Christ. God manifest in the flesh is the gospel. God, with man in the person of the Christ and in the ministrations of the Holy Spirit is the divine-human force for the establishment, progress and triumph of the Kingdom of Righteousness. To believe on Christ is the subjective initial into His Kingdom. But how can they believe on Him of whom they have not heard ? And how can they hear without a preacher ? And how can they preach except they be sent? The sending is by the divine command : "Go preach," through the in- strumentality of the church, which is the "body of Christ" and His earthly executor. It has ever been a fundamental principle of the divine economy that the human should cooperate with the divine in the world's redemption and recovery. Trials and Triumphs. . 109 The aggressive spirit of the gospel utiHzes the ag- gressive nature of man in the interests of that superla- tively grand enterprise that contemplates nothing short of the subjugation of all things to the rightful suprem- acy of Infinite Love. But for the union of divine en- ergy with human capabilities, progress would not have signalized the church of Christ. Herein we see the wisdom of God in committing the gospel treasure to earthen vessels. God in dealing with man communi- cates to him through man, but furnishes the spirit- energy while man devises the ways and means. Thus consecrated men are workers together with God. We have already observed in this chapter that, Fielding Wilhite and Thomas Fristoe were present at the Dover meeting of the Mt. Pleasant Association in 1834, shortly after the Providence meeting, at which they were also, both of them, present. The agency of these two men, and of Ebenezer Rogers in provoking and promoting the missionary spirit in Missouri Baptist churches is too prominent a factor in the history of the General Association to be passed by with only a casual mention of their names. They were not slumbering on the plains where Achilles fought and Hector fell, with the towering mountains of Samothrace standing awful and gloomy sentinel ; no night vision of one in distress, cried to them "come over and help us." But moved by the spirit of the same one that appeared to the perse- cutor while on his way to Damascus and transformed him into an apostle, found these two humble men in their rural homes, and filling their hearts with a thirst for souls and a desire to glorify God, led them out into the destitute regions of a wild but prophetic country to seek out and save the scattered souls that peopled in sparse settlements a land destined to blossom as the rose and yield its fruits for the upbuilding of our empire state. Forthgoing in obedience to a heavenly impulse they with hearts knit together by a holy fellowship, no Trials and Triumphs. traversed prairies and penetrated forests hunting con- gregations and places to preach. They knew not, when mounting their trusty horses in the early morn, where their resting place would be at night. But confident that the "Lord will provide" they counted not their lives dear to them, and at their own charges they went forth weeping, sowing seed. These men and Ebenezer Rogers feeling that more work was demanded than they could do, set about de- vising means for carrying the gospel to the thousands that were now pouring into the state to avail themselves of its fertile lands and secure homes for themselves and posterity. That these men should have been subjected to re- proach and scorn is only what might have been ex- pected from the prophesies of Him whom they served. He had told them that the servant was not greater than his master, and that if the master was persecuted the servant might expect to be. In perils by night and in perils by day ; in perils in the house of friends and in perils of enemies these men fought a good fight and endured afflictions as good soldiers, not to see with eyes of flesh the triumphs that were to follow their trials, but to die in the assurance that their works should follow them and that being dead they should yet speak. CHAPTER VIII. THE CIVIL WAR DECADE. 1856— 1866. The bloody strife of the states did not endure for ten years, but the latter half of the decade which we have now reached was all so disturbed by the unfortun- ate conflict between the North and South, and the years preceding the fratricidal hostilities were so beclouded by the ominous forebodings rising from political ani- mosities and general unrest that the work of the General Association for the entire period was seriously inter- rupted. A faithful history of the General Association can not be written without a truthful narrative of the secular movements and agitations that powerfully in- fluenced social and religious conditions. Indeed the history of the church of the Redeemer from the days of its planting in the earth down to the present time is so intertwined with the history of the secular side of life that many of its conditions can be understood only by discerning the influence of the natural upon the super- natural, and z'ice versa. The Infinite and sovereign ruler of the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth, so superintends the affairs of men that spiritual law shall utilize natural forces in its assertion and ef- fective operation in the accomplishment of ultimate aims. The older reader, and the younger, who has made a study of the history of Missouri, will recall the excited state of the popular mind occasioned by what is tradi- tionally denominated the "Kansas War." In 1854 United States Senator Archibald Dixon, of Kentucky, III 112 The Civil War Decade. introduced into the senate notice that he would, upon the recurrence of the Nebraska bill, move an amend- ment which, fairly interpreted, would operate as a re- peal of the Missouri compromise of 1820. The an- nouncement of this proposed amendment was not alto- gether unlike the application of a torch to a dry prairie. The whole country was filled with the wildest excite- ment, and as Missouri had been since 1820 an inter- ested party to the slavery agitation, the excitement in that state was especially feverish. When in 1854 the "Squatter Sovereignty" measure of Stephen A. Doug- lass became a law, after most exciting discussions in both branches of congress, and which spread like a contagion throughout the whole country, Missouri was thrown into a paroxysm which manifested itself in ac- tive participation of many of her people in the bitter war growing out of the Kansas question. During the pres- idential canvass of 1856, when John C. Fremont was the Free-soil candidate for the presidency, the wildest excitement possessed the people of the state. Differ- ences of opinion as to whether Kansas should be ad- mitted as a slave state, or non-slave state, divided the people of Missouri and resulted in the bitterest antag- onisms. Scenes of violence and bloodshed were not infrequent. Thoughtful and serious men of all parties were troubled by fears of the results, not only as to the peace and prosperity of the state, but the safety of the republic itself. What is the power of congress over slavery in the territories ? was a question in which Mis- souri felt a special interest. The repudiation of the Missouri compromise act of 1820, by operation of the Territorial act of 1854 had precipitated that question. The slave holders of Missouri approved the repudia- tion, for they felt that if slavery were excluded from Kansas and Nebraska, Missouri with Iowa on the north, Illinois on the east and Kansas and Nebraska on the west border — all non-slave holding territory, the The Civil War Decade. 113 institution in Missouri would be troublesome and its continuance imperiled. The anti-slave party were for the provisions of the Missouri compromise, which pro- hibited slavery (except as to Missouri) north of the compromise line, thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes north latitude. Active efforts were made in the east to project a large anti-slavery element into the population of Kansas. j\Iany Missourians, incensed by this effort to make Kansas a non-slave holding state, crossed the Missouri river intending, if possible, with bullets and ballots to make it a slave state. These conflicting ele- ments were brought into violent collisions, frequently resulting in bloody encounters, some of which, in point of numbers engaged and fierceness of hostilities and number of casualties might be recorded among the bat- tles of history. Large and exciting public meetings were held in Missouri, some of which were so in- flamable that hatreds were engendered and menances of violence to property were precipitated. After the adoption of the Lecompton constitution for Kansas, which was a pro-slavery instrument, the Free-soil party assembled at Topeka to form a constitution excluding slavery and organize a civil government. This action precipitated a civil war in the Territory. From the fall of 1855 until the question was ultimately settled, hatred and violence kept Kansas in constant turmoil with oc- casional outbursts of violence. So long as this state of things existed, Missouri was kept in a state of agita- tion and disturbance of business and religious peace and activity. The disturbances that grew out of the Kansas con- flicts continued with varying intensity until merged into the greater troubles of the war of the states. John Brown, at the head of a band of murderous marauders, by the murder of five peaceable settlers because they 1 14 The Civil War Decade. differed from him on the subject of slavery, and the failure of the law to bring him to justice, and the con- sequent emboldenment of lawless men to organize for further deprivations. These robbers known as Jay- hawkers crossed from Kansas into Missouri. As late as i858,one of these bands headed by John Brown made a raid into Missouri and carried off eleven slaves, and one slave owner was murdered for protesting that his rights should not be thus unlawfully invaded. The Missouri legislature felt called on to offer a reward of $30,000 to be used by the governor at his discretion for the protection of the lives and property of the citizens of the state. Three thousand dollars were offered as a reward for the capture of John Brown. But he eluded the efforts to catch him, made his way to Canada with the fugitive negroes, selling his stolen horses in Ohio, enroute. The people of Missouri who had suffered at the hands of these marauders felt that insult was added to injury when they learned that John Brown, upon his return to the north, was hailed as a hero. The trouble was renewed in i860. One James Montgomery led the Jay hawkers, and perpetrated sun- dry crimes in Missouri, and threatened to "clean out Southern Missouri of its slaves." They murdered in- offensive and law abiding citizens. Again were the people of Missouri excited and the quietude of home and the prosperity of business seriously disturbed. These occasions for popular agitation were no more than overcome when the people found themselves in the toils of one of the most exciting presidential campaigns in the history of the country. The quad- rangular race of Douglass, Breckenridge, Bell and Lincoln moved the multitudes to deep and anxious so- licitude. Already murmurs of disunion and war were in the air. The mind of the people could not be perma- nently withdrawn from issues that seemed pregnant of dire results. After the election of Mr. Lincoln the The Civil War Decade. 1 15 clouds that had been so long gathering were now send- ing forth menacing thunderbolts. In 1861 the storm burst in fury upon a bewildered people. This tempest of death, destruction and devastation raged until 1865. Now as we look back upon these scenes, so trying to Missouri for so many years, it seems almost a miracle that the cause of the Prince of Peace should have made any progress among a people so distressed, divided, torn and tossed as Missourians were. To enter into detail of all the fearful scenes in Missouri during the war period would serve to emphasize the wonder that religion, as an aggressive system, should have received any attention whatever. But that Christianity with its enterprises for progress were not forsaken illustrates the superhuman energy of the Kingdom of Christ. That the progress of Christianity was retarded goes without the saying, but that it fought on against great odds with weapons not carnal but mighty through God, leaves us historic evidence that our cause is not of man but of God, and that the gates of Hell can not prevail against the church builded upon a rock stronger than can be combined of all material substances. The sessions of the General Association for 1856- 7-8-9 ^"cl '60, were held respectively at Columbia, Lex- ington, Mt. Nebo, in Cooper county, Huntsville and Liberty. At Columbia D. H. Hickman presided; at Lexington R. E. McDaniel ; at Mt. Nebo, Wm.Crowell ; at Huntsville and at Liberty Judge McDaniel was again in the moderator's chair. The general routine business at these meetings was not unusual, other than the experiment with paid cor- responding secretaries, which will more fully appear in chapter on {Agencies and Agents). The important and interesting routine work will be under proper chapters according to the topical distributions of this volume. ii6 The Civil War Decade. The reports of missionary work for the five meet- ings here grouped are as follows : 1856 Sermons preached 1,098 Baptisms 360 Money collected .$1,569 00 Money expended 1,145 49 Balance $ 423 5 1 1857 Sermons preached 2,663 Baptisms 773 Total moneys collected $5,401 93 By district Associations 4,253 45 Amount by Association $1,148 48 Expenses $4,788 14 Balance $ 713 79 1858 Sermons preached 679 Baptisms 598 Amount collected, including last year's balance .' $i,878 84 Last year's 713 79 Net collections $1,164 87 Expenses i,878 84 1859 Sermons 120 Baptisms 44 Collections $i,78i 02 Expenses 1,132 30 Balance over $ 648 72 i860 Sermons 519 Baptisms 40 Total collections . .$2,799 91 Balance from last 648 72 Net collections $2,151 19 Expenses $2,382 82 Balance left $ 417 09 The Civil IVar Decade. 117 The work for the five years preceding the war of 1860-65 : Sermons 4,978 Baptisms 1.815 Expenses of the work $11,327 59 The foregoing exhibits reveal the suggestive fact that the closer the approach of the civil war, the less were the results of missionary work in proportion to money expenditures. The preoccupation of the mind by the exciting questions of the day and the prevailing anx- iety as to impending probabilities, no doubt, diverted the attention of the people from the matter of personal religion, and suppressed the zeal of .the saved for the well being of the unsaved. The nature of the dreaded conflict and the possible consequences foreboded a con- dition of life that intelligent and conservative citizens had not hitherto contemplated. Many men now prominent in the Missouri pulpit and in the pew, and a number who grace our meetings of the General Association and contribute strength to its life and work, were too young during the war period to have any personal recollections of its dark days of heated passion and consanguinary conflicts ; not a few who are now in the front ranks of the army of the Lord were born since the angel of peace stayed the fratricidal hand and left the survivors of devastating war to tell the story to the future. If fidelity to truth would per- mit the historian to ignore the days of folly of the American people 'twould be a relief to his pencil ; but such can not be. Even the writer of christian history, in all ages is led into the fields of human passion, con- flict and death. This is all because the religion of Jesus Christ is for human beings. Through the following pages of this chapter we must follow the weary, dreary years of depression, sor- I iS The Civil War Decade. row and waste. The civil institutions of a great re- public, the industries of a hitherto busy and enterpris- ing people, the labors of the bread winners, and more and worse than all, the churches of a christian people, with their aggressive enterprises, were tangled and torn, and the prospects of a people who had grown to look upon prosperity as a matter of course were now confused and crushed, and hope was beclouded by doubt and dread. The people of Missouri were especially afflicted by the social upheavals and personal alienations and busi- ness paralysis incident to the period of which we write. Neighbor breathed hostility towards neighbor, brothers in the flesh as well as in the church allowed sectional prejudice and political rancor to supplant natural af- fection and divide spiritual fellowship. Personal lib- erty, property rights and human life itself were deemed trifling as weighed against opinion and passion. The sword, the bullet and the torch usurped the place of reason, affection and justice. Anxious days and dreadful nights to unoffending, inoffensive non-com- batants, followed in dismal succession. Old men, de- fenseless women and helpless children could offer no effective plea against the marauders' bullet or the vil- lains' torch. The flames of christian homes sent lurid rays athwart the warm corpse of fathers and grand- fathers, while the moans of widows and shrieks of or- phans mingled with the crackling timbers and roar- ing flames of homes abandoned in extorted obedience to licensed cruelty. Men were called from their beds at the drear hour of midnight and shot down in the doors of their own homes with none to care for the dy- ing body but wailing wife and frantic children. Peace- ful farmers plowed and sowed and reaped in constant expectation of falling between the plow handles or from the seat of the moving mower, or to be hurried Th e Civil War D ccade. 1 1 9 off to loathsome prison by the hands of militiamen or guerrillas. Demons in human shape who took license from the confusion and general demoralization of the times, went forth robbing, burning and murdering. It is no exaggeration to say that in the irregular and viler incidents of war, Missouri suffered as did no other state. It is not to be accounted a strange thing that at such a time and under the baleful and blighting influ- ences of such social conditions Christianity was hin- dered. Her houses of worship were violently taken and ruthlessly occupied as commissary warehouses, hospitals or temporary encampments of prowling bands more heartless and merciless than ancient goths and vandals. Religious services were sparsely attended at rural meeting houses, for men were fearful to leave their homes lest they be shot down on the way to the house of God, or to return to find their home in flames or a pile of smouldering ruins. Public services in the sanctuary were often wickedly interrupted and broken up by either command of an army officer or by mali- cious bands of armed partisans. At the meeting of the General Association in 1862, at Rehoboth church, in Saline county, now in the city of Slater, the Sunday worship at the church house was disturbed by the alarm created by the unexpected ap- proach of a company of militia troops. Some business of the Association had been transacted the day before ; and the members of the Association, visitors and the people of the neighborhood had assembled at the good old historical house to worship their God and listen to the matchless eloquence of that inimitable preacher, Wm. Thompson. Here in the midst of one of the most intelligent and orderly communities to be found in any of the states, had the people been for long years assem- bling to worship God. Fathers and mothers and grand- I20 The Civil IVar Decade. parents, children and grandchildren, uncles, aunts and cousins, all in spiritual communion, loved to meet at Rehoboth. While Dr. Thompson was preaching, the spell bound audience were startled as by an apparition, when through the raised sash of the windows they saw the armed men, clad in the insignia of a little brief au- thority, surrounding the outer walls of the sanctuary. The leader of these forces, accompanied by armed up- holders of order (?) entered the house and perempto- rily closed the services offered to God Almighty. The men of the congregation, ministers and all,were ordered out of the house and into line. Then commenced an inquisition. Each man was closely interrogated as to his name and place of residence. The person of each was searched, ostensibly for treasonable papers. The station of the Federal militia, of which these troops were a part, was located at the town of Marshall, dis- tant from Rehoboth church about twelve miles. To this station a number of good citizens who were put un- der arrest at the meeting house, were conveyed as pris- oners. At this same meeting at Rehoboth a committee was appointed to address a circular letter to the churches, touching the exciting and trying conditions under which they were suffering. That committee consisted of A. P. Williams, W. C. Ligon and Thos. Fristoe. These godly men — though dead yet speak, and they speak in a strain of divine wisdom in the circular letter which they sent forth to the churches. There is not space here for the document in full. Such extracts are made as are deemed sufficient to convey to the reader, and to perpetuate, the important paper. The document in full may be found as part of the minutes of the Gen- eral Association for the year 1862, pages six and seven. "Dear Brethren: * * * We are living in a period which our eyes, a few years since, never expected to see. It is a day of temptation and an hour of darkness. The Civil War Decade. 121 A clay, therefore, when pecuHar dangers of a moral as well as a physical nature surround the children of God. One having no information or experience on the sub- ject, would suppose that such a time would be favor- able to personal piety, causing christians to draw more closely unto the Lord, and to prize more highly the con- solation and hopes of religion ; but it is not so. During such times the love of many waxes cold. ( Matt. 24 : 1 2. ) "The temptations to which we are peculiarly liable during such a time are : "i. Insubordination to the powers that be. "2. Resentment, malice and revenge when we suffer personal w^rongs. "3. Alienation of affection towards our brethren who may differ from us, particularly on national affairs. "4. General negligence touching our religion, church and denominational obligations." These several points are ably elaborated, and en- forced by many scriptural references. Indeed, judging from the plan of the work, the deeply spiritual argu- ment and the array of appropriate scriptures, the writer infers that the paper is the production of the chairman of the committee, A. P. Williams. There is no difficulty in inferring that no general business of an effective character was transacted at this meeting, aside from the report of committee on circular letter. The whole amount of money reported for state missions for the year was $124.55. The treasurer's report of the Board of Ministerial Education was submitted by Rev. J. W. Warden, cor- responding secretary of the Board, and showed the as- sets to be $10,385.63. There is no report of any missionary work done, and no suggestion from the executive committee for work for the ensuing: vear. 122 The Civil War Decade. On motion of Rev. Wm. R. Rothwell, the educa- tional board of last year was continued with the same officers. Evidently the brethren at this meeting were op- pressed in spirit, but full of faith : faint, yet pursuing. It was a small showing of associational work, yet this was an exciting meeting, and one that must be remem- bered with thrilling but sad recollections by the mem- bers who still survive that eventful gathering. So far as the author knows or has information, W. M. Bell, N. J. Smith, and Dr. J. W. Warden are the only survi- vors, unless Thos. H. Storts still lives, in Texas. Mc- Daniel, Fristoe, Ligon, Williams, Harris, Keyes, X. X. Buckner, Jesse Terrill, A. P. Lankford, Wm. Thomp- son, Geo. Rhodes and others are far beyond the carnal warfares and spiritual strivings of those who succeed them in the work of the Lord. The few that survive them of the Rehoboth meeting will soon join them to recount the scenes of the Lord's battles on the earth in which they were fellow soldiers. At this memorable meeting, Judge R. E. McDaniel served the last year of five years as moderator. Rev. W. R. Rothwell was recording secretary. Dr. Roth- well was not more than thirty-bne years of age at the time of the Rehoboth meeting and is now of the few who remain to recall its exciting scenes.* Judge Mc- Daniel was then about sixty-three years of age. He was a Virginian by birth and in that state was con- verted and became a Baptist. At about the age of forty-two years he came to Missouri, and at once asso- ciated himself with the religious people of his choice. He was a constituent member of Bethel church, in Sa- line county. It is doubtless to his holy zeal and intel- ligent efforts that this church, then in a neighborhood destitute of the gospel, was originated. He was a man •Since the above was written, Dr. Rothwell has died. He died at his home in Liberty, Missouri, December 2S, 1S9S. A brief sketch of his life and labors is given in another part of this work. WILLIAM RENFRO ROTHWELL, D. D.. LL. D. The Civil War Decade. 123 of will and decision of character, associated with gen- erous hospitality and unimpeachable moral integrity. In Missouri he soon won to himself the confidence and high esteem of his neighbors and fellow countvmen. The popular voice confided in him important pubic trusts. Though his earthly fortune increased so that he was able to leave his descendants a large and valu- able landed estate, he never allowed secular business nor prosperity to get between him and his love for and duty to Christ. • He was devoted to the General Association and would travel on horseback almost any distance to attend its meetings. He would preside when elected so to do, but was ever ready in honor to prefer others. The meeting at Roanoke, Howard county, was not largely attended, and but little business was transacted. The introductory sermon was preached by A. P. Wil- liams and he was elected moderator. Wm. R. Rothwell was re-elected recording secretary. Three committees were appointed : Order of business ; religious exercises, and finance and nominations. W. R. Rothwell made report on ministerial educa- tion. S. C. Majors for the finance committee reported the state mission collections for the year $263.30 as fol- lows : From churches and associations $I93 25 Collection on annual members fees 7 00 Sabbath collections 63 05 Total $263 30 Samuel C. Majors, chairman of the executive board, made report, a few words of which tell the sad story of war's dissipation of spiritual interests : "Your executive committee would report that for the last two years (for the want of funds) they appointed only one missionary,and he for the limited time of four months." J. T. Williams read a report on Sabbath School work — no statistics were given. Wm. Thompson read 1 24 The Civil War Decade. a report on schools and colleges. It is worthy of re- mark in this connection that the trying- war times inter- fered less with the prosperity of colleges than with churches and associational missionary work. This is especially true of colleges for female education. Per- haps the explanation of this fact is that parents felt that their daughters were safer at the homes of boarding schools than at their own homes. There was no meeting of the General Association in 1864. The war troubles in Missouri had now reached the point of extreme confusion, disorder and danger. Personal animosities, vindictiveness and re- venge on the part of the evil minded, sent terror to the hearts of the considerate and conservative, and conster- nation into general society. In our history 1864 is a gloomy blank. It is as though a star had fallen from its constellation. In 1865 a called meeting was held at Palmyra. But little routine business was transacted. An act of great importance, however, invests this little gathering with peculiar historic interest. It was resolved that a com- mittee of five be appointed to report the sense of the Association ''on the relation of the churches to the civil authorities." The occasion for the appointment of this committee was certain provisions of a state constitution made and adopted by a constitutional convention assembled in the city of St. Louis in January, 1865. The call for this convention, and the instrument it produced were the re- sults of the war. The feature of the constitution which the convention had imposed upon the people, which called forth the action of the General Association, was that provision of the constitution called the "Oath of Loyalty." This provision exacted, among other provisions, that, "nor after that time {sixty days after this constitution, takes effect) shall any person be com- petent as a bishop, priest, deacon, minister or other The Civil War Decade. 125 clergyman of any religious persuasion, sect or denomi- ination, to teach, or preach, or solemnize marriage, un- less such person shall have taken, subscribed and filed said oath." The oath referred to in the above language quoted from the constitution was in these words : *T, A. B., do solemnly swear that I am well ac- quainted with the terms of the third section of the sec- ond article of the Constitution of the State of Missouri, adopted in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and have carefully considered the same; that I have never directly or indirectly done any of the acts in said section specified ; that I have always been truly and loyally on the side of the United States against all ene- mies thereof, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States, and will support the constitution and laws thereof as the su- preme law of the land, any law or ordinance of any state to the contrary notwithstanding ; that I will do the best of my ability to protect and defend the union of the United States and not allow the same to be broken up and dissolved or the government thereof to be destroyed or overthrown under any circumstances, if in my power to prevent it ; that I will support the constitution of the state of Missouri; and that I make this oath without any mental reservation or evasion, and hold it to be binding on me." Article third, in section second, referred to in the above oath, made it criminal for any person to have "even given aid, comfort, countenance or support to persons engaged in such hostility ;" * * * "or has ever by act or word manifested his adherence to the cause of such enemies, or for his desire for their triumph over the arms of the United States, or his sympathy with those engaged in or exciting or carrying on rebellion." It will be understood, of course, that the "acts words, sympathies, aid, comfort," etc., relate to 136 The Civil War Decade. "persons" engaged on the side of the South in the war of 1861-5. The preachers of the General Association, in ses- sion at Palmyra, felt that the provisions of the new constitution were oppressive and in conflict with the Federal constitution and interfered with the allegiance that the christian owes to Jesus Christ, hence the ap- pointment of a committee to give public expression to the Baptist view of the subject. That committee con- sisted of Wm. Carson, John Hill Luther, Nathan Ayers, J. S. Green, R. M. Rhoades, Saml. C. Majors, O. P. Moss, E. I. Owens and X. X. Buckner. The appointment of this committee was about the only business transacted at the Palmyra called meeting, and adjournment was had to Boonville for the August following. On the nineteenth day of that month the Association met at Boonville, when the committee "on the relation of the churches to the civil government" made the following report : "That the Baptists hold no equivocal position on the relations sustained by the churches to the state. While they have taught for ages that christians owe allegiance to the civil government, in all things belong- ing to the temporal power, they have likewise held, that the state has no right to interfere with the freedom of conscience, the relations of the ministry to their congre- gations, and the absolute liberty of the churches in all matters of faith, worship and discipline. For these principles they have suffered in every country. The religious history of Great Britain, the annals of New England, the criminal records of the South, and the present trials of Baptists in Europe all bear witness to the steadfastness of our brethren in maintaining the liberty of the conscience, absolute religious freedom for themselves and for all men. "And the progress of these principles in other re- ligious bodies, and in the popular mind, shows that The Civil War Decade. 127 they are not only of divine origin, but that statesmen have discovered their wisdom in ingrafting- them upon the laws ordained for the government and order of society. "We can not, therefore, but express sorrow, that the new constitution of the state of Missouri requires of our ministry a certain oath before they can lawfully discharge the duties of their sacred office ; for, 1. This ordinance they regard as a violation of the spirit of the Federal constitution. 2. It is inconsistent with the declaration of rights of the new constitution. 3. It presupposes the right of the magistrate to come between the minister and the Great Bishop and Shepherd of Souls, from whom alone the commission to preach is derived. 4. It is plainly averse to the teachings of the New Testament, which directs us to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. "We do then most solemnly protest against the enforcement of this oath, and hope that all the ministers of our denomination will remain true to our glorious history, faithful to the express will of our fathers in the associations of olden time, and steadfast in our devo- tion to our divine master, who has provided us with laws, not only for the government of our churches, but for our guidance in every private trial, in every public emergency. "But let it be distinctly understood that while we submit this paper as the expression of the Baptist de- nomination, we do at the same time recognize the au- thority of the state in all temporal matters, and do ex- hort our brethren to hold them in honor who rule over us, and as much as lieth in them to live peaceably with all men. Therefore, 128 1 he Civil War Decade. "Resolved, i. That it is our belief that civil gov- ernment is of divine appointment, for the good order of society ; that magistrates are to be prayed for, and con- scientiously honored and obeyed, except in things op- posed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience and Prince of the Kings of earth. "2. That we, therefore, hold ourselves bound (this limitation understood) to be good and law abiding citizens. "3. That the requiring of this or any other oath of us, as a condition upon which we are to exercise our ministerial functions, is opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ. "4. That it is our solemn duty to decline it, choos- ing as the servants of God did in the primitive churches, to obey God rather than man. "5. That we do this in no rebellious or captious spirit, but in order to maintain a pure conscience in the sight of God, by whom we are finally to be judged. "6. That we earnestly request a modification of the constitution of the state in this particular, as we love our state and wish to remain in it and have a perfect har- mony between its requirements and our ministerial duty." This report, appearing at the time and under the conditions then confronting the churches and their min- istry, was invested with peculiar and sad importance. As a historic document its value will augment as the ages go by. The Providential government of the churches thrusts upon them occasions when loyalty to the King of kings, and a due regard for the opinions of mankind make it necessary that the supremacy of the Infinite God, and the rights of His people on the earth should be plainly, afifectionately, yet boldly declared. The report from the General Association committee will take its place with the many historic evidences of The Civil War Decade. 129 Baptist contention for liberty of conscience and bold asseveration of prime allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ in all questions affecting the duty of His sub- jects. Civil government is recognized and its basic prin- ciples understood by Baptists, and in America from the days of the revolution down to the present, they have been loyal citizens, but ever ready to stay the sacrilig- ious hand that would subordinate the religious to the secular. While yet a resident of his native state, and before ever having put his foot on Missouri soil, the author of this book wrote some strictures on the Missouri (1865) constitution, which were published. In that instrument the two following reasons were given, and argued at some length, why the ministry of Missouri should not submit to the demands of the constitution so far as to take the prescribed oath : "i. Because the so-called constitution of Missouri is in conflict with the constitution of the United States. "2. Because the constitution of Missouri is in con- flict with the laws of Christ's Kingdom." Subsequently, to wit, on the fourteenth day of Jan- uary, 1867, the supreme court of the United States, in an opinion delivered by Justice Fields, as appears in Duncan's History, "confirmed the arguments previ- ously so ably made by Dr. Yeaman." There were a number of efforts made in Missouri to enforce the "iron clad" "Oath of Loyalty."Dr. J. H. Luther, Dr. W. J. Patrick, Dr. A. P. Williams, Rev. James S. Green, Rev. B. F. Kenney, Rev. Wm. H.Var- denian, Rev. Wm. Price, Rev. Isaac Odell, Rev. James Duvall and others were moved against for violation of the Test Oath law. Dr. Luther was held in the sum of $1,000 for his appearance at the circuit court to answer the commitment by a justice of the peace. Some of the cases were dismissed by the justices of the peace before 9 130 The Civil War Decade. whom the accused were hailed for prehminar}' trial. Justice Quisenberry (commonly pronounced Cushin- burry) dismissed the cases against Odell and Duvall, holding that "preaching the gospel, instead of being a criminal offense, is in the highest degree commendable." Before any trials by courts of authority to convict had taken place, in other than the test cases, the su- preme court of the United States had made the decision before mentioned, by which the "Test Oath" was de- clared unconstitutional. Upon the publication of this decision, the many cases pending in the courts of Mis- souri were dismissed, greatly to the joy of the preach- ers, the comfort of the churches and the relief of the courts. It is related that at preliminary examinations be- fore justices of the peace, of preachers arrested under the "Oath of Loyalty" law, some incidents occurred which were at once amusing and illustrative of the lack of sympathy with the law on the part of the people and the servants of the law. Before a certain justice of the peace, several preachers of different denomina- tions were arraigned under a warrant charging them with having "preached the gospel without having taken the 'Oath of Loyalty,' against the peace and dignity of the commonwealth." The first accused called, was asked by the justice: "Do you preach the gospel ?" "Yes, sir," was the answer. "Have you preached since the adoption of the present constitution ?" "Yes, sir." "Have you taken and subscribed to oath required by the constitution ?" "No, sir, I have not." "Do you preach infant baptism?" "Yes, sir, I do." The Civil IV ar Decade. 131 "Well, sir, you are not guilty under the language of this warrant. The case against you is dismissed. (next) "Mr. P have you been preaching since the adoption of the present constitution of Missouri ; if so, have you taken the required oath?" "1 have been preaching, your honor, but have not taken the oath to which you refer." "Have you been preaching baptism for the remis- sion of sins?" "I have, your honor, in accordance with the an- cient faith." "Your case is dismissed sir. You are charged with preaching the gospel (next) — Have you, sir, been preaching the gospel without taking the oath mentioned and required of ministers of any sect, persuasion or de- nomination, by the existing laws of this state?" "I have been preaching Jesus Christ as the Saviour of sinners." "Have you been preaching salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ unto justification?" "I have, sir." "What have you been preaching as to the doctrine of baptism?" "I have preached the immersion of the regenerate believer in water, into the name of the trinity." "Well, sir, I apprehend you are guilty as charged in the warrant by which you are brought into this court. Let me ask you again: Have you, without tak- ing the oath, as aforesaid, been preaching as indicated in the questions solemnly propounded to you by this court?" "I have, may it please the court, tried to preach as already stated." "Tried ! You are not charged with trying to preach, sir! Stand aside, the case is dismissed." The results of the year's work ending at Boonville in 186; were not largfe. A rich harvest could not have 132 The Civil War Decade. been reasonably expected. Bro. Y. R. Pitts had done thirty days' missionary labor. T. S. Allen had preached 105 sermons, and had baptized fourteen converts, and reports eight other additions to the churches. The report of the treasurer. Wade M. Jackson, dates back to the year 1861, and exhibits receipts of money up to 1865 to the amount of $1,100.63, ^"^ dis- bursements to the amount of $1,145.00. Treasurer overdrawn $44.42. (The minutes as printed for this year, make the balance due treasurer $144.42.) S. C. Major, president of the executive board, in concluding the annual report, speaks in the following touching words to the General Association : "And now, dear brethren, as the grim visage of war has disappeared, let us pray that the Great Head of the church will greatly increase the missionary spirit of His people, that the treasury of your board may be replenished, so that the faithful heralds of the cross may again be sent forth to point sinners to the Lamb of God. That the Great Head of the church may meet with you, and bless your deliberations to the promotion of His cause and Kingdom, is the sincere prayer of your board." What must have been the feelings of mingled sad- ness and hope that filled the breasts of the true and faithful of God's servants as they deliberated and prayed at Boonville. The past was without inspiration for the present, and the present was without hope for the future. Nothing could uphold the christian worker but faith in God. The triumphs of Christianity through the ages are the testimonies to the divinity and power of faith. CHAPTER IX. EMERGING FROM DARKNESS. 1866—18:6. The disappearance of the "grim visage of war" did not at once let in the full light of peace. The sur- render at Appomatox was not prompt in lowering the temperature of the general mind that had been ex- tremely elevated by the exciting conditions of the pre- ceding years. The idea of admitting to fellowship with the victors, the defeated followers of the "lost cause" had not yet entered the minds of those who were flushed with victory. The budding olive branch of April, 1865, was visited by a blighting frost in the September of the same year. In that month, on the twenty-ninth day of the month there was an assemblage of Baptists in the city of Hannibal, Missouri, for the purpose of organ- izing a new Baptist missionary convention for the state. The provisional meeting for this new organization had been held in the preceding month of May at the Second Baptist church in the city of St. Louis, during the anniversary meetings of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, then meeting with the above named church. The provisional meeting was organized by the election of Rev. Dr. Galusia Anderson chairman, and C. A. Bateman as secretary. Rev. Abram Coles Osborn offered the following resolution : "Resolved, That the loyal Baptist churches throughout the state of Missouri be requested to send their pastors and delegates to meet at Hannibal, on Fri- 133 134 Emerging From Darkness. day, September 29, 1865, at the hour of 10 o'clock a. m., for the purpose of forming a Baptist State Convention." A request was made by this prehminary meeting that the pastors of St. Louis propose a constitution, to be presented at the September meeting. At the appointed time a number of brethren met in Hannibal and perfected a permanent organization of the Missouri Baptist State Convention by the election of Galusia Anderson, president; W. S. Ingam and D. J. Hancock, vice-presidents ; C. A. Bateman, recording secretary; E. W. Pattison, corresponding secretary, and Nathan Cole, treasurer. There were present at this meeting distinguished brethren from the northern states, representing the dif- ferent general denominational organizations. A constitution was adopted, which did not differ essentially from the constitutions of such organizations generally. A sober second thought and a wise policy suggested the omission from the constitution of the limiting term "Loyal Baptists," and using instead thereof the phrase "Baptist churches and associations contributing to its (convention) funds and cooperating in its objects." The constitution made the convention auxiliary to the American Baptist Home Mission So- ciety. It was manifest that the aim of the convention was to unite the "loyal Baptists" of the state, notwithstand- ing the omission of that term from the constitution. "Cooperating in its objects"covered the whole ground. This construction is made clear by the language of the report of the committee on "Religious Destitution." That report says : "Before the war in this state there were 450 Baptist ministers and 750 Baptist churches, having 45,000 members. Perhaps there are now fifty qualified ministers and one hundred churches holding regular services." The same report, concerning Wya- conda Association, savs : "Before the rebellion there Emerging from Darkness. 135 were in this body thirty-two churches well supplied with ministers. Now most of these ministers are silenced ijy the new constitution oath." It is clear that the convention proposed to compose itself of a "loyal" constituency, by which we are to un- derstand that none but the adherents to the union of the states and the then current Federal administration were qualified for membership. And that none were "quali- fied ministers" who had not taken and subscribed to the "Test Oath" of the new constitution, and no churches held "regular services" but such as were ministered unto by "qualified ministers." This all evidently meant the establishment of an ecclesiastical order upon a polit- ical basis. It is true that disloyalty, as it was understood in the terrible days of the war of the states, was held by some unionists to be the crime of crimes. Loyalty was regarded as a virtue that canceled all manner of im- morality, and threw a covering mantle over many sins. Extremists seemed to forget that under the institution of United States government "loyalty" meant adhesion to and support of the Federal constitution, and not par- tisan adhesion to and support of a partisan interpreta- tion of the constitution, and a partisan policy. They seemed to regard any interpretation of the Federal con- stitution not consonant with their interpretation as treason. There were many able men in the United States, both south and north, who did not approve of the seces- sion that resulted in the formation of the Confederate States, and who intensely desired the preservation of the union, who nevertheless questioned the constitii- tional authority to coerce adhesion to the union. There were good men in the Confederate army who preferred, under what they considered equitable conditions, the continuation of the union of the states, to disunion. A proposition to unchristian and disfellowship all partic- 136 Emerging From Darkness. ipants in and sympathizers with the southern view was, no doubt, the result of unrestrained prejudice and pas- sion, and under other than the exciting conditions of the times, would have smacked not a little of Phariseeism. It is the beauty and glory, however, of Christianity that the grace of God in the human heart is corrective of even the gravest evils. In September, 1866, the Missouri Baptist State Convention met with the Walnut street Baptist church in Kansas City. During the year then closed the "Con- vention" as subsidiary to the American Baptist Home Mission Society, had twenty- four missionaries and mis- sionary pastors. Thirty-nine (loyal) churches had been organized in the state, under the auspices of the convention. The amount of money contributed by Baptists in Missouri in the name of the convention was $16,297.19; of this amount, St. Louis contributed $14,674.73. The amount expended for missions was $14,000; of this sum $13,751.80 were expended for church extension in the city of St. Louis. The opera- tions of the convention were reported through the American Baptist Home Mission Society. At Jefiferson City, in September, i867, the third and last meeting of the "Convention" was held. Thirty missionaries had been sustained in whole or in part by the convention, at an outlay in round numbers, of $11,000; of this sum $9,140.80 were raised and applied by an organization then in St. Louis, known as the St. Louis Baptist Union for Church Extension. At the meeting in the City of Jefiferson, the executive commit- tee, by its chairman, Deacon D. J. Hancock, submitted the following report: "Soon after the last annual meet- ing of our society, several brethren connected with the State Convention became engaged in correspondence with brethren connected with the General Association relative to the issues between the two wings of the Bap- tist denomination in this state. Out of this correspond- Emerging From Darkness. 137 eiice grew an informal conference of brethren unoffi- cially representing both bodies which met in St. Louis and adjourned to meet in Lexington. At this adjourned meeting the brethren of the state convention came in contact with a large number of the prominent brethren of the General Association. The objects of this conven- tion were clearly vindicated in that conference to be the building of our w^asted Zion within the limits of this state — by the collection and distribution of evangelizing instrumentalities secured by the auxiliary relation to the American Baptist Home Mission Society — this work being done by the efficient agency of a board, scattered as to membership over the entire state, but lo- cated as to base of operations in the proper denomina- tional center — the city of St. Louis. It was demon- strated that the state convention had no ulterior or selfish object in view, but simply to secure the spread of the gospel and the upbuilding of the Master's King- dom in Missouri. These representatives were accorded a respectful hearing and evidently made a strong im- pression for good upon the minds of many connected with the General Association. "Your board are clearly of the opinion that in con- sidering any proposition for the consolidation of Bap- tists into one organization — a consummation devoutly to be wished — there are three things to be strenuously insisted upon by the State Convention : "ist. A continuance of such auxiliary relation to the American Baptist Home Mission Society as shall secure their sympathy and aid in our work as a consol- idated society. "2d. A continuance of the location of the board in St. Louis, as the only proper and most effective base of operation. To neglect making this demand, we believe to be a betrayal of the trust imposed in us as a state or- ganization for evangelizing purposes. 138 Emerging From Darkness. "3d. A clear recognition of the Baptistic doctrine that all Baptists, without reference to race or color, have an equal right to a participancy in our councils, immu- nities and privileges. "While this question is pending your board believe it to be their duty to adhere to the principles already adopted as a rule by the board — to avoid all possible collisions with the General Association and its friends, and to cultivate the things that make for peace." After reading the above report, and on the last day of the meeting of the convention, the following action was taken by the convention : "Whereas, The division of the Baptist denomina- tion in this state into two bodies, whose common object is the evangelization of the state, is greatly to be de- plored as contrary to the spirit of our religion and inimical to the progress of the Redeemer's Kingdom in the state ; and "Whereas, Informal consultations heretofore had between members of the State Convention and mem- bers of the General Association have given strong en- couragement and hope that, with the blessing of God, all causes of difference may be ultimately removed, therefore, "Resolved, That we hereby appoint A. A. Kendrick, J. E. Welch, D. J. Hancock, A. H. Burlingham, E. F. Rodgers, R. H. Harris. C. Nevill, A. P. Rodgers. A. C. Osborne and J. C. Bernard a committee of this body to meet the General Association, or a like committee of that body, should such be appointed, to consult with reference to a imion of the two bodies upon the basis laid down in the report of the board, and adopted by this body, and to report to this body at their earliest possible opportunity." It will be seen from the foregoing report of the board of the Convention, and the subsequent preamble and resolution that, while the convention was ready and Emerging I'roiii Darkness. i 39 willing for union with the General Association, it did not propose such union, except on conditions that their "demands" were acceded to by the General Association. It will at once occur to the judgment of the unbiased that, inasmuch as the General Association was the pre- existent body, and had never ceased to meet at the re- curring anniversaries — except in 1864, when to meet was practically impossible — and had made no overtures to the convention, it was somewhat out of taste and just a little presumptions, for the Convention to demand that the Association should be auxiliary to the American Baptist Home ^Mission Society, or any other organiza- tion ; that the board should be continued at St Louis, and that negroes should be admitted to "equal partici- pancy in our councils." There was one present at the convention whose quick and comprehensive perception of the situation discerned the incongruousness of these imperative con- ditions, and said to the convention: "Let us make no demands, let us require no conditions. Rather, let us go to the General Association and knock, and they will receive us." This one was Dr. A. H. Burlingham, who had succeeded Dr. Anderson to the pastorate of the Second Baptist church in St. Louis. His simple but statesmanlike advice was heeded by the conven- tion. They came to the General Association. They knocked. The doors were opened and brothers wel- comed brothers. The insistence at that time upon the conditions recommended by the board would have widened the breach and have given intensity to oppos- ing sentiments. For years after the dissolution of the convention. Dr. Burlingham was an active, efificient and influential member of the General Association, taking part in its deliberations and serving as a member of its executive board, had the christian esteem and confidence of all the brethren. His advice to the State Convention — "no 140 Emerging From Darkness. demands," "no conditions" was the beginning of that reconciliation, peace and prosperity that have combined to make the Missouri Baptist General Association one of the leading denominational state organizations in the United States. The Missouri Baptist State Convention held no meeting after the Jefferson City session of i867. From 1865 to 1875 the General Association gave encouraging indications of new life. Though the years 1865-6 were not largely fruitful of results in the department of revenues, nor in the missionary work done, nevertheless the spirit of courageous faith and intelligent purpose were full of hope. In 1867 the General Association met at Lexington. A. P. Williams was moderator, J. T. Williams and John Hill Luther were secretaries. The presence of A. H. Burlingham, A. A. Kendrick, J. V. Schofield and others of the Baptist State Convention gave especial interest to the meeting. Inasmuch as many of the good citizens of the state were under the humiliating embarrassment of civil dis- franchisement by operation of the new state constitu- tion, and inasmuch as the bitterness engendered by the late war of the states had not been entirely removed from all hearts, it is not strange that there were some unpleasant aspects to the Lexington meeting. That meeting was, however, the beginning of the better day. The clouds were breaking. The sun of peace and good will shining through the rifts gave promise of some- thing better. It is not venturing too far, perhaps, to suggest that the amicable adjustment of political troubles in the state was influenced and aided by the noble example of a great christian denomination. The movement for the enfranchisement of the disfranchised, no doubt received new vigor from the action of the Baptists of the state. That movement resulted in the election in i87o, of B. Emerging From Darkness. 14^ Gratz Brown to the governorship of Missouri. This was the beginning of a new era in Missouri's secular and social life. The Angel of Peace with hovering pinions was visible. Prosperity smiled. Progress took on new life; and the signs of social regeneration were everywhere manifest. The long neglected doors of the sanctuaries were again alive with souls seeking abandoned altars. Friendships were renewed, and broken fellowships were repaired. Demonstrating again that the secular and the sacred are so correlated that christian history is the history of progressive forces of life. From the report of the treasurer, James Harris, there had been collected during the year ending with the Lexington meeting, the sum of $3,757.66 and an ex- penditure of $3,663.23. The report of the executive board shows that Bro. Charles Whiting and Bro. T. W. Barrett had served in the preceding year as general mis- sionaries. The former on the south side of the river, and the other on the north side. Besides these gen- eral missionaries, there were seven local missionaries and missionary pastors. There is definite report of 315 baptisms. It is more than probable that the bap- tisms were in excess of this number, as some of the missionaries reported "additions to the churches" and another reports "a number of baptisms." The meeting in 1868 was held at Paris, in Monroe county. D. H. Hickman was elected moderator. J. T. Williams and John Hill Luther were elected recording secretaries. Records and tradition mark this as an extraordi- nary meeting. The introductory sermon was preached by Wm. H. Thomas, from the words "Let us go up at once and possess the land, for w^e are able to overcome it." This sermon seems to have been the inspiration to that meeting of the Lord's hosts. All had a mind to W'Ork. Dr. Thomas was a vigorous thinker, an accom- H^ Emerging From Darkness. plished scholar, all of which was enforced by the popu- lar Kentucky style of oratory. He was a native of Hardin county, Kentucky, and received his ideas of public address from such men as the Clays, the Critten- dens, the Hardins, the Wickliffs, the Marshalls, the Breckenridges, the Helms and the Menifees of his day. He spent many years of usefulness in Missouri, and died respected and loved by those who knew him. There were a number of visiting brethren from the north and from the south. Several members of the late "Baptist Convention"' were present. The spirit of christian fraternity pervaded the assembly, and all hearts seemed filled with the one purpose to "go up at once and possess the land." Wherever and whenever this spirit possesses a body of christians there is guar- antee of harmony and efifective work. For then the good hand of the Lord is upon His people. At this meeting there were 147 churches repre- sented by contributions to the treasury, and loi churches represented by 288 messengers. The amount collected during the year for state missions was $6,- 260.10. The number of missionaries and mission pas- tors doing service during the year was twenty-eight. The number of baptisms reported, 688. This summary of a year's work — so much in advance of any other post bellum year, and the large, enthusiastic and fraternal gathering have served to hand down the Paris meeting of the General Association as an occasion of delightful recollections to those who were present and have sur- vived to the present day. The next meeting — 1869 — was held at Columbia. Here, for the first time, Noah Flood was elected mod- erator. John T. Williams and John Hill Luther were elected secretaries. This meeting, though one of rare interest, and pronounced by John T. Williams, in closing the record of proceedings, "the greatest meeting of the General Emerging from Darkness. 143 Association ever held," was nevertheless one of sad rec- ollections. The late moderator, David H. Hickman, and Dr. A. P. Williams, a former moderator for four consecutive sessions, had both died durin^^ the associa- tional year closing at Columbia in August, 1869. David H. Hickman was cut down, and carried above in the prime of a splendid manhood. He had not reached his forty-eighth year of earthly pilgrimage when he was gathered to his Father's. He was born in Bourbon county. Kentucky, the son of Captain David j\I. Hickman, who moved to Boone county, Missouri, when David H. was a small boy. Boone count}' was ever afterwards the home of the godly youth, christian citizen, eminent legislator, and successful banker. He enjoyed in an unusual de- gree the confidence of his fellow citzens. was greatly prospered in business, but secular success never abated his intelligent and conscientious christian zeal. He was a tower of strength to his church, a promoter of christian education and a tried and true friend to the General Association of Missouri Baptists. His busi- enterprises were not inspired by selfishness, but by a sense of duty and the spirit of benevolence. He gave freely of his gains to feed the poor, relieve the suffer- ing, promote the prosperity of his town and advance the cause of his Redeemer. He once said to Rev. R. S. Duncan, "the more I make, the more I feel like giving to the Lord's cause." As an evidence of the respect and affection for him b}" the community in which he spent his manhood days, his remains were followed to the grave by the largest procession that, up to that time, had ever been wit- nessed in Columbia. Though nearly thirty years have gone by since the death of the beloved christian and honored citizen, there are many who love to think and speak of him to-day, with mingled gladness and sad- ness. 144 Emerging From Darkness. A P. Williams, "the Andrew Fuller of America," rose by his own intrinsic worth from the walks of so- cial obscurity and the disadvantages of poverty, to an eminence not hitherto attained by any western preacher of the gospel. Not daunted by the greatest difficulties nor discouraged by seeming insurmountable obstacles, he became a reputable scholar, a lucid and vigorous writer, a profound and eloquent preacher, and a leader of the Baptist hosts of Missouri. Besides much laborious pastoral work, he did a vast work as an evangelist — not a professional, tactful, sensational so-called revivalist — but an affectionate and effect- ive expounder of the great truths of a divine reve- lation. His labors were abundantly blessed, and it is reported of him that during his ministry, which began when he was but seventeen years of age, he baptized as many as between three thousand and four thousand souls. Before the General Association was ten years old, and before A. P. Williams was full thirty years of age, he became interested in the work of the General Associ- ation, and had attained such prominence that, in 1843 he, with two others, was appointed delegate to the Tri- ennial Convention which was soon to meet in Phila- delphia. The death of this distinguished and beloved leader among Missouri Baptists was of a painful accident. He had been enjoying the hospitality of his friend and brother. Deacon W. J. Key, at Glasgow. Upon leaving for home, and in the act of mounting his horse, his spur struck the animal, which under the startling effect, leaped down an embankment, throwing the rider, and falling upon him. The injuries received by Dr. Wil- liams were internal and intensely painful. Years after the death of the injured man. Dr. M. B. Collins, of Glasgow, told the writer that he had never witnessed such agony of any other human being, and in years Emerging From Darkness. 145 after he fancied he could hear Dr. Wilhams' groans. Death relieved the great and good man of his great suf- fering in about two hours after the sad accident. The patient was conscious to within a few minutes of his departure to glory. Up to the hour of the casualty that removed the honored servant of God to the rewards of the righteous, he was a hale and vigorous man, not more than fifty-six years of age with seeming promise of many years of enlarged usefulness. The ways of the Lord are past our finding out. The committee on obituaries at the Columbia ses- sion of the General Association, 1869, of which John Hill Luther was chairman, reported a touching tribute to the memory of Dr. Williams, which is published wath the minutes. But no mention is made of the death of D. H. Hickman, save this minute, "The Baptist General Association of Missouri, met with the Baptist church at Columbia, and in consequence of the death of the mod- erator, Bro. D. PL Hickman, was called to order by the secretary." Why this omission from the minutes of any memorial notice of the death of the last moderator, the writer can not say, but attributes it to inadvertence. The records of this session show that the meeting was enlivened by the presence of distinguished visitors from northern and southern denominational organiza- tions for promoting the general work. The w^ork of the year as exhibited by the report of the executive board shows 180 contributing churches, thirteen contributing district associations ; the total col- lections' for the year for state missions, $4,898.71. The number of missionaries employed during the year was thirty-five. Number of baptisms by the missionaries 832. The total membership of Baptist churches then, in the state, was given at 45,736. There was an evident uplift of interest in state mis- sion work at this memorable meeting. Dr. A. Sher- 10 Emerging From Darkness. wood, from the committee on "Suggestions of the Ex- ecutive Board," says in the report of the committee to the Association : "The General Association will need $20,000 for the missionary work of the coming year." This looks like a large estimate for 45,000 Baptists; but it indicates the spirit of the meeting, and if the whole denomination in the state had been possessed of the spirit that prevailed at the General Association, the proposed amount for the coming year could have been raised without a burden upon any member. Fifty cents per capita for the membership in the state would have met the "need" suggested by the committee. There is not a Baptist in Missouri that can not give fifty cents a year for state missions. But the few must — as ever — bear the burdens of the many. At this same meeting the constitution of the Gen- eral Association was so amended as to drop auxiliary relation to the Southern Baptist Convention. (See chap. Auxiliaries.) This was no doubt a conciliatory concession to the element that had organized and then, after three meet- ings, dissolved the Missouri Baptist State Convention. The amendment did not extend so far as to establish any substituted auxiliary relation. Nevertheless the amendment was not altogether satisfactory to either party. More or less of protest was provoked from those who had long felt a lively interest in the work of the Southern Baptist Convention. While others thought there should be organic auxiliary relation to the Ameri- can Baptist Home Mission Society. But as the striking out of the auxiliary clause of the constitution left the General Association without organic connection with any more general organization, and as all Baptists in the state were free to give any direction to their contri- butions for General Home, or Foreign Missions, and in as much as there was no withdrawing of support from any general organization, the dissatisfaction soon sub- Emerging From Darkness. 147 sided and the feeling between the adherents of either the north or the south soon became more pleasant and the lines were less distinctly drawn, so that at this writ- ing it is rarely the case that any sectional or partisan allusion is known to mar the beauty or disturb the har- mony of the gatherings of the brethren. This Columbia meeting was a "red letter day" for the VV'm. Jewell College. To the enthusiasm of this meeting, and to the material aid then provided for the College, may, perhaps, be credited the progress of that institution from that day to the present. The meeting of the General Association in i87o with the Second Baptist church, St. Louis, was without special interest. The Paris-Columbia wave of 1868-9 had begun to recede. The meeting was small in num- ber and without enthusiasm. Business lagged. The sessions were marked by the frequent absence of mes- sengers who should have been present. City sight- seeing was more persuasive than the dull routine of the Association. It was one of those apathetic spells that occasionally fall upon communities as well as individ- uals. The proposition from Lexington that the General Association establish a state denominational school, or college for the education of females, and which had been, the previous year referred to a special committee, and whose report was now submitted, was the chief item of business. The consideration of this report awakened considerable interest. It was the general sense of the Association that such a college should be established and fostered by the General Association in behalf of the Baptists of the state. The final disposi- tion of the subject resulted in the location of such an institution with Baptist College at Columbia, and the change of the name to Stephens College. (For further discussion of this subject, see chapter Education.) 48 Emerging From Darkness. At this meeting Rev. J. M. Robinson resigned the corresponding secretaryship and the matter of his suc- cessor was referred to the executive board. This ac- tion resulted in the future elections of corresponding secretaries by the board. Hitherto the Association had made this election, since the permanent establishment of that ofifice. The amount of money expended for state missions for the year ending with this meeting was $8,581.11. The number of contributing churches was 180. The number of baptisms reported was 653. The year's work was highly encouraging and the lack of interest at the annual meeting is not easily ac- counted for. The St. Louis meeting was the last one over which the lamented Noah Flood presided. The meeting at Clinton, in Henry county, in i87i was an improvement upon the St. Louis meeting. Rev. X. X. Buckner was chosen to succeed Noah Flood in the moderator's chair. This was the only meeting over which the beloved Buckner presided. Before the next meeting of the As- sociation he was called to his place in the General As- sembly and church of the First Born. At about mid- night on the nineteenth of January, i872, the sanctified, genial spirit of this strong man of God fell asleep in Jesus. He was only about forty-four years of age, and had been ill for several weeks, but was supposed to be improving in health, but a few minutes before he breathed his last, he complained of obstructed respira- tion, and before relief could be obtained his spirit was with the blood ransomed hosts. Bro. Buckner, in physical build, genial and courte- ous manner, generous hospitality and unaffected can- dor was a typical Kentuckian. He was a native of Spencer county, in that state, where he was born Febru- ary 20, 1828. He came to Missouri in 1855. In this Emerging From Darkness. 149 state he was eminently popular and equally useful till the day of his death. In the pastoral office, in educa- tional work of the denomination and in all enterprises for pushing forward the work of Christ he was a recog- nized power. His was the happy fortune to have the unquestioned confidence of all who knew him. He was successful in business without creating surmises or sus- picions of his integrity. He was still more fortunate in winning the heart and hand of Miss Clara Moss Prew- itt, who with her clear intellect, practical judgment, consistent deportment and christian consecration, made him a wdfe suited to his calling as pastor and educator. Buckner's religion was that of a happy experience of grace, with practical application to the affairs of life. As moderator he was dignified, courteous and correct in his rulings. Wm. R. Rothwell had been chosen corresponding secretary to succeed J. M. Robinson. His report for the executive board is a remarkable exhibition of pains- taking and business accuracy. He gave himself to ex- tensive research for information of all things related to the condition and progress of the Baptist cause in the state. It is to be regretted that he did not see it his duty to devote his life work to that important office. His business methods, his untiring industry, with his evan- gelical spirit, courteous manner, chaste and spiritual writings for the press in the interests of state mis- sions, seemed to mark him as the man for a high order of executive work in the Master's Vineyard. But God knows best. To train the mind and heart for the work of the christian ministry appears to be his place on the trestle board of the Great Builder. The board reported the work of sixteen mission- aries, who reported 300 baptisms, and to whom was paid the sum of $2,000 for their services. The report, made by the corresponding secretary, further exhibits the work done by district associations, and the amount Eniergmg From Darkness. of money collected from churches in the state for the more general denominational organizations. Such re- ports if continued through successive years would make a gazetteer of invaluable information. The meeting at Clinton in i87i is the suggestion of sad reminiscence. Younger R. Pitts was in attendance in seeming fullness of health. He manifested a lively interest in all vital subjects before the Association. The writer well remembers one pathetic address of Bro. Pitts. It was on the subject of ministerial education, and as memory now serves, his remarks were addressed to a resolution offered by Rev. Harvey Hatcher, and which was adopted in these words : "Resoh'cd, That it is the sense of this Association that we will sustain the young ministers in William Jewell College ; and they must not be sent home." In the very elaborate report from the Board of Ministerial Education, submitted by its president. Dr. Thos. Rambaut, these words occur: Ten (ministerial students) support themselves, nine are already provided for by subscriptions, and thirty await the response of this meeting, there being no aid for them save as you determine." "Drs. Rambaut, Yeaman and S. H. Ford spoke to the report." Dr. Rambaut, in his remarks, stated that unless the needed aid was supplied the "thirty" students would have to be sent home. Hence Brother Hatcher's resolution and Brother Younger Pitt's pathetic and telling speech. During the Sunday of the Association at Clmton Brother Pitts was taken violently ill with something like cramp colic and congestive chill. On the following day he died. In the last hours of illness he realized his condition and suggested the probable fatal result. But when asked by Brother J. W. Warder : "If it is the Lord's will to take you now, are you ready to go?" He replied: "What! Do you think my end so near? Yes, perfectly reconciled — perfectly reconciled." Emerging From Darkness. 151 Younger Pitts was blessed with a magnificent and magnetic physique. He was an eloquent and earnest speaker, and in Kentucky — his native state, and in Mis- souri — his adopted home, his labors in the ministry and his labors and liberal gifts in behalf of missions and christian education were abundantly blessed. To deny the force of heredity would be to impeach the testimony of the ages. Y. R. Pitts' mother was re- markable for a fine physical constitution, a superior intellect, sterling business qualities, refined sentiment and fervent piety. The author has known her — after she was an octogenarian — to ride at night in her carriage when the ground was covered with snow, the distance of four miles, and this for consecutive nights, to attend the services of a protracted meeting. Mother and son are now beyond the storms of earth and the pains of sickness and the anxieties of mind that mingle bitter- ness with the sweets of earth-life. The meeting of the General Association at Glas- gow in 1 872, was delightful in its social aspects, to which a cultured and hospitable community contributed in a generous degree. But the work of the year then closing, and the proceedings of the meeting were not especially encouraging. Deacon J. B. Wornall was chosen moderator. This man, honored by his acquaint- ances, his state and his church was one of the several lay Baptists of Missouri whose piety, intelligence, busi- ness ability and social influence were laid upon the al- tars of Christianity. Hon. John B. Wornall, while, for a time, an able and respected legislator as member of the "upper house" of the General Assembly; and an ex- tensive and successful farmer, real estate operator and banker, never forgot his obligations to Christ. He was preeminently an experimental christian. His delight was in the doctrine of Sovereign grace, the life of Christ in the believer and the witnessing of the Holy Spirit in 152 Emerging From Darkness. the heart of the child of God. His hfe was in harmony with his doctrine. As moderator of the General Association he was dignified and courtly, yet courteous and without affecta- tion. A president of the board of trustees for William Jewell College for many years, he was faithful in the discharge of his duties, unassuming and practical in counsel and liberal with fortune in promoting the pros- perity of that institution. "Wornall Hall" on the col- lege campus memorializes the work and worth of this eminent citizen and fervent christian. His death, at about the age of seventy years, was a sorrow to Mis- souri Baptists. E. W. Stephens was re-elected recording secretary. The treasurer,Geo. W.Trimble, by his report shows that the amount of money available for state missions for the year then ending, was $12,329.10. This sum in- cludes the balance left over from the preceding year, and the sums of money expended by cooperating district associations. Although the report of the executive board shows the labors of only eight missionaries, there is a report of 527 baptisms. The report says in a gen- eral way : "The whole number of accessions to the churches reported by our evangelists and local mission- aries is over 1,000." Rev. Joshua Hickman was now corresponding sec- retary. He labored under peculiar disadvantages ; and his work was as rich in results as could have been rea- sonably expected. The annual report of the board, pre- sented by its president, Hon. Jas. L. Stephens, presented the difficulties and embarrassments of the work in clear and satisfactory terms. The meeting at Macon in 1873 showed a decline in financial results. The collection for state missions amounted to $4,314.30. Eight missionaries were sus- tained through the year; these report 419 baptisms: Emerging From Darkness. i 5 365 of which are reported by missionary A. F. Ran- dall. Brother Hickman had resigned the corresponding secretaryship the January preceding the Macon meet- ing, having served only two months and a half of the current year. He was succeeded by Rev. B. T. Taylor, who served to the end of the associational year. The meeting at Macon resolved that for the next year, the executive board should be located at St. Louis. This Avas at the motion of Dr. J. W. Warder, now of Kentucky. Subsequent results did not meet expecta- tions nor vindicate the act of removal. The board at St. Louis was organized by the election of Hon. Nathan Cole, chairman; Rev. D. T. Morrill, secretary; Wm. ]\L Senter, treasurer, and Rev. S. W. Marston, superin- tendent of missions — a term substituted for correspond- ing secretary. In August, 1873, on the eleventh day of the month, one of Missouri's greatest Baptist preachers bid a final adieu to family and friends, and closed his labors for an eternity of refreshments. Noah Flood was one of nature's rare works, one of God's blessed gifts of a man to men. He was Websterian in mental frame and power of thought, Jacksonian in wdll, Lincolnian in gen- erosity of heart, with the candor and unevasiveness of a Cleveland. But above all, he was Christly in spirit. He was unpretentious in manner and socially jovial, yet an exemplar of moral uprightness and christian integ- rity. This man, though now dead a quarter of a century, is as frequently mentioned by the living as are many living men. In the Baptist homes of Central Missouri his name is a household word. His sermons, his bap- tisms, his conversation, his genial wit and withering sarcasms are remembered by hundreds who love to quote his sayings and honor his memory. 154 Emerging From Darkness. He was present, though a young man, at the meet- ing at Providence church, in Callaway county, where a Vardeman, and a Suggett, and a Thomas, and a Wilhite and a Fristoe and a Longan and a McOuie, solemnly and prayerfully begun the construction of the Missouri Baptist General Association. After a short stay in Missouri, he attended Shurtliff College at Alton. Illi- nois, from there he returned to Kentucky, his native state, and in 1838 was ordained to the gospel ministry. In 1839 he returned to Missouri and made his home in Callaway county. Here, with scarcely any ministerial cooperation, he stood firmly and intelligently for the missionary spirit and intent of the gospel. He had a battle to fight ; though but thirty years of age he proved himself more than the equal of the noted and influental champions of the anti-missionary Baptists — Theoderick Boulware and T. Peyton Stephens. These leaders often warned the people against the young defender of the faith, and closed their meeting houses against him. The only church house open to him was that of Provi- dence church, where he had sat Avith the fathers at the preliminary meeting for a state organization. He was often discouraged and tempted to leave so unpromising a field, but his sense of duty and faith in the promises of the gospel, strengthened him, and he resolved to fight the good fight of faith at all hazards. He was now denounced from the pulpit of the anti-mission Bap- tists as a "hireling;" a "money hunter" and other like epithets. But this opposition seemed to strengthen his purpose. He continued to reside in Callaway county until 1852. During his labors in that county, Rich- land, Grand Prairie, Unity, Union Hill, Mt. Horeb and Dry Fork churches came into existence as the fruits of his labors. He served, as pastor, the Richland church for many years. This church became, and still is, strong and influential. Indeed it may be said of Noah Flood that, to him the Baptist cause in Callaway county owes Emerging From Darkness. 155 its present strength and prosperity. Callaway is fortunate in having as a successor to their beloved Flood, such an able preacher and devoted laborer as Dr. W. H. Burnham. Noah Flood was among tlie early staunch support- ers of the General Association. He was its first gen- eral agent, and did effective work in removing preju- dice and promoting cooperation on the part of the churches. At the meeting at Lexington in i867, he w^as characteristically candid and outspoken concerning the action of the "Convention" party and dealt some heavy blows, but the reproofs and rebukes administered by him as a friend and brother had a salutary effect, and were largely instrumental in bringing about the recon- ciliation and harmony that have prevailed unto this day. For two consecutive terms Bro. Flood presided over the deliberations of the General Association as moderator. As a presiding ofificer he was dignified, courteous and impartial. His rulings were suggested by a quick logical perception of the issues involved, and were decided in the practical and common sense way that suggest the nearest and safest route to a just con- clusion. After his second term as moderator, which was in St. Louis in i87o. his health began to decline, and he w-as seen at the General Association for onlv two succeeding meetings of that body of Baptists witii which he had been so long connected, and whicli loved and honored him. The next meeting — 1874 — at Sedalia, L. B. Ely was elected moderator, and for the next two succeeding years, E. W. Stephens was again made recording sec- retar}-. During the year the board had employed nineteen missionaries, who reported 605 baptisms. The amount of money collected for state missions w^as $3,614.79. The amount paid out by the General Association was $3,820.00. There is, for some reason, no printed treas- 156 Emerging From Darkness. urer's report at this meeting, yet the superintendent's report indicates that the treasury was overdrawn $215.20. At the meeting at St. Joseph, 1875, there are re- ported : Collection at annual meeting $ 695 13 Sale of city lot (Mrs. Lay) 362 56 Interest on bank stock (Neil) 140 00 Collection by Supt. State Missions 3,7 18 82 Borrowed money 1,000 00 Amounting to total .$5,916 51 Amount paid out by treasurer $6,291 19 Overdraft on treasurer $375 47 The above account includes the fiscal year begin- ning October i, 1874, and ending October i, 1875. (See Minutes 18/3.) An analysis of the expenditures for the year above indicated will serve as an explanation of some facts that will appear in the next chapter : 1st. Moneys not collected on the field , Sale of city lot (Mrs. Lay's gift) $ 362 56 Interest on bank stock 140 00 Borrowed money 1,000 00 $1,502 56 This taken from total receipts, leaves, from the field $4,413 95- 2d. Itemization of sums paid out Paid superintendent of missions $3,4'^''' 24 for printing minutes (1873) 345 26 postage on same 36 00 express and stationery 2 00 E. W. Stephens (railroad) 6 00 E. W. Stephens, services 40 00 Binding minutes i 5^ discount on note 5° 00 Emerging From Darkness. i57 printing annual 200 00 copying letter book 2 25 stationery and printing 19 25 receipt book i 75 postage on annuals 102 58 printing autograph letters 14 00 filling certificates 30 00 on note 615 18 on registered letter 15 postage on circulars 11 77 postage stamps 1 1 65 For superintendent and incidentals $4>966 56 This sum taken from total receipts, left: For missionaries $ 959 95 Add overdraft on treasury 375 47 We have paid to missionaries $1,335 42 This left the Association in debt to the treasurer (Wm. M. Senter) and the balance on borrowed money, and six missionaries and unpaid printing bill in the sum of $1,420 72 Add to this, total expense account paid 6,291 09 We have expense of the year $7,7 1 1 81 Of this sum the collections by the superintendent of state missions fell short in the sum of $3,992.99. 3d. The collections by the superintendent of state missions $3'7i8 28 Paid to superintendent 3477 24 Excess of superintendent's collections over his salary and expenses $ 241 58 4th. In other words the General Association paid out $3,235.66 for $241.58 and the services of the super- intendent. Putting him down as a good missionary, he received for this service, against the twenty-four missionaries who were paid at that session $966.56, an 158 Emerging From Darkness. excess over all, to the amount of $2,269.10; and there were left unpaid five missionaries to whom there was left an indebtedness of $301. 5th. The incidental expenses of the year, printing, etc., not including sums paid on borrowed money nor traveling expenses of superintendent of missions (cor- responding secretary) which last item was included in the sum paid him, amounted to $824.19, which is only $142.37 less than the whole amount paid to the mission- aries. The object of the foregoing analysis is not for the purpose of criticising in a censorious way the work of the board or of the superintendent of missions, but for the purpose as before stated to prepare the way for the next chapter. A corresponding secretary should re- ceive a good salary. For his work is constant and un- usually laborious in the office and in the field. The functions of his office impose upon him a great respon- sibility and if he be spiritually interested in his work, his services as a preacher can not in effectiveness be less than that of a missionary, for he is all the while developing the spirit of missions in the churches. Without his labors the missionaries could not be sus- tained. The analysis is important in another respect. It shows, when taken in connection with the action of the General Association, how little careful attention may be given to actual conditions. Three excellent and able brethren, H. Talbird, N. J. Smith and A. N. Bird, composing the committee to whom was referred the re- port of the executive board, submitted, with other mat- ter, the following : "That the increased contribution to our missionary fund, and the work accomplished during the year, are, under the peculiar circumstances financially, very en- couraging. Emerging from Darkness. 159 "That the work accompHshed for the cause, by the superintendent of state missions, promises constantly increasing HberaHty on the part of the churches, and more permanently successful evangelistic work." Some curious reader may be tempted to ask: Why did not the author of this book present his analysis of the financial affairs of the year to the open session of the General Association at St. Joseph ? To this question there are two answers : first, he was not on the com- mittee to report on report of executive board, and there was not time for such detailed work. Second : The chapter in this book, on Education will indicate that his hands w^ere thoroughly full of other w^ork. The labors of the missionaries this year resulted in reported baptisms 576. It was at this meeting that Dr. J .C. Maple pre- sented the gavel mentioned in the first chapter of this book. This chapter of changing light and shade has en- deavored to present a brief resume of a trying period in the history of the General Association. The visita- tions of Providence removed some of the staunch sup- porters and honored members of the organization. Though as many, at least, as two of the meetings em- braced in the decade covered by this chapter were es- pecially interesting and encouraging as signifying an emergence from the darkness into which a rare and fearful war had cast the Lord's Zion in Missouri, there came clouds to remind the faithful that the subjects of the Kingdom of the Captain of Salvation must not ex- pect uninterrupted ease beneath the frowning ramparts of Satan, and in a land where sin reigns to disturb the peace for which they fight; but that they must endure hardness as good soldiers, and persistently fight the good fight of faith. CHAPTER X. A CRISIS. Notwithstanding the pleasing prophecy of the Angehc announcement of the advent at Bethlehem of Jndea: "Peace on earth and good will among men," the history of the founding and progress of the gospel dispensation indicates most clearly that the church must wait an indefinite time for the complete fulfill- ment. Jesus and his first disciples and the apostles learned by sad experience, in which they were sus- tained by a heroic faith that, the blessings of peace and good will were not forthwith consummations. Even with the professed followers of the Prince of peace, all has not been undisturbed amity. The people of God must let Patience do her perfect work until that great consummating day when the crucified and risen one shall come in the glory of the Father and His holy an- gels, and the angel of righteousness shall spread her wings over the whole earth even as the waters cover the great deeps. The meeting of the General Association at Hanni- bal in i876, while harmonious and undisturbed by any frictions or conflicts, evidenced a sense of disappoint- ment with the work of the preceding year. The "su- perintendent of missions," Dr. S. W. Marston, had re- signed his office the preceding June. Rev. J. D. Mur- phy was elected by the executive board to the office of corresponding secretary to fill the vacancy occasioned by Dr. Marston's resignation. The corresponding secretary reports the work of four missionaries and 512 baptisms. (These missionaries were certainly blessed in their work.) 160 A Crisis. i6i The treasurer's report shows collections from all sources, $3,377.43; $429.50 of which was contributed at Hannibal during the session of the Association ; $To was from interest on the "Neal Fund" and $90.40 from advertising in the minutes of the preceding year. The disbursements amounted to $2,813.9?. Paid on S. W. Marston's (Supt.) salary $1,419 13 for his traveling expenses 126 75 printing annuals 378 47 engraving 15 10 postage 131 00 envelopes 5 00 cash on borrowed money 416 61 freight, express and telegrams 7 50 400 autograph letters 7 50 $2,517 06 Paid to missionaries 266 91 J. D. Murphy (cor. sec.) 30 00 $2,813 97 Balance in treasury $563 50 Against this balance stood the following liabilities : On S. W. Marston's salary $166 95 J. D. :\Iurphy's salary 75 00 T. W. Barrett's, missionary 4T 50 $283 45 The financial condition of the General Association had quite perplexed and embarrassed the board; hence Dr. Marston's resignation. The board reported, through Dr. ]\Iurphy, the corresponding secretary, as follows : "The first of June last, Bro. S. W. Marston re- signed our work in which he had been engaged since our meeting at Macon City. A majority of the board believed that the most prudent thing to be done was to dispense with an agent in the field, on a salary and trav- II 1 63 A Crisis. eling expenses, and to conduct the work through the mails and the papers until the present meeting. J. D. Murphy, of Mexico, was appointed to this work." He further says : "The embarrassments arising from the new method of conducting the work, and the limited time to do it in, gave but small room for decided success, to say nothing about the midsummer season, when collec- tions for benevolent work are meager." It is no more than an honor due to Dr. Murphy to say that, considering the immense burden thrown upon him when he was induced to take the corresponding sec- retaryship, his work and its results were fully equal to the possibilities. But for his devotion to the interests of the General Association and his judicious manage- ment of the work of his office, the showing would have been even more discouraging. When the General Association met at Lexington in i877, it was evident to the minds of many brethren that the chief work for which the Association was organ- ized, w^as seriously retarded if not imperiled. The re- port of the board shows the employment for the preced- ing year of twelve missionaries, including those of four district associations aided by the General Association; these report 416 baptisms for the year. The report of the treasurer, Wm. Senter, shows : Collections by corresponding secretary $i>945 35 Collections by St. Louis Association 2,425 00 Collections by other associations 826 42 Total collections $5,196 77 It will be seen from the treasurers report that the St. Louis Association, and "other associations" appro- priated their collections to their own fields, and that the amounts never came into the hands of the treasurer of the General Association. Of the $1,945.35 coming into A Crisis. 163 his hands, $1,180.95 ^^'^^ P^^'^ to ^^'^^ corresponding sec- retary, the lemainder was paid to missionaries. Rev. Joshua Hickman, who was corresponding sec- retary at this time, in his able report to the General As- sociation, for the board says : "When your board commenced the work of the associational year that closes with this meeting of the General Association, it encountered the following for- midable obstacles: i. The work of state missions for the preceding year had not been vigorously prosecuted, and as a consequence, there was some abatement of in- terest, and a manifest need of a revival in this partic- ular direction. 2. Many of the missionaries who had been in the employment of former boards, and those too, who because of their experience and missionary zeal, were the men whom your board would have been pleased to have employed, were more or less discour- aged and dissatisfied because of the nonpayment for services rendered by them. 3. The general financial embarrassment of the whole country has seriously in- terfered with the beneficence of the churches and breth- ren. Your corresponding secretary has met with the force of the foregoing facts wherever he has gone, and he has directed his efforts to a revival of the mission spirit and to a restoration of confidence, as much as to direct efforts to raise money." The next meeting of the General Association, held at Mexico, soon developed that the dissatisfaction with the work of the Association had become intensified and more wide-spread. Already there were intimations of organized opposition. This state of things was es- pecially discomforting to the minds of conservative and conscientious members of the body. The correspond- ing secretary, because of sickness, was not present at the meeting. The moderator of the Association, who was also president of the executive board,was requested by the Association to prepare and submit to the Associ- 164 A Crisis. ation a report of the work of the board for the preced- ing year. The circumstances of the occasion and the subse- quent action of the General Association suggests the propriety of giving the report in ahnost its entirety : "The missionary work of the executive board for the year ending October 22, i878, has not been on as large scale or as fruitful of results as was desired and expected at the beginning of the associational year. The comparative failure of the work for the last year is as deeply regretted by the board as it possibly can be by any other of the friends of missions. "The chief difficulty in the way of a more prosper- ous work has been the lack of liberality on the part of the churches in contributing to the treasury of the Gen- eral Association. The corresponding secretary, Rev. J. Hickman, who was reappointed by the board, immedi- ately after the last session of your body, has been dili- gent in prosecuting the work pertaining to his office, and can not be charged with the responsibility for the meagerness of work done in the field ; nor for the fail- ure of the churches to contribute more liberally. It is impossible for the board to do more work than the churches enable it to do. It is not the province nor the duty of the executive board to devise ways and means but to faithfully execute the plans and work prescribed by the General Association. The correctness of this proposition will be seen when it is reflected that if the executive board is to originate plans and devise ways and means, then there is nothing left for the General Association to do but to appoint the board and hear its annual reports. The work of the board is to look out destitute fields, engage missionaries to do the work re- quired by the conditions of such fields, receive and dis- burse the contributions of the churches according to appropriations. The active officer of the board is the corresponding secretary, upon whose information the /] Crisis. 165 board is dependent for those facts of fields, finances, and men necessary to its intelligent and effective opera- tions. It is impossible for the executive board to put itself in relation to the churches and individual mem- bers except through the corresponding secretary. We submit these thoughts because of the consciousness of the board that there is a limited disposition to charge it with the responsibility for the meagerness of the work done. And it may be useful to the cause of missions in the future to present for the consideration of the Gen- eral Association some of the manifest hindrances to a more prosperous work : "First. The number of churches in the state in active and cooperative sympathy with the General As- sociation is comparatively small. There are in the state, in round numbers, 1,200 Baptist churches. Yet, at the last session of this body (i877) there were only forty-six churches represented by messengers — less than one twenty-fourth of the whole number. The re- ports of last year show that only sixty-seven churches made contributions directly to the work of the General Association. The other contributors were individu- als, district associations and societies for christian work. And it is further noticeable that these contributing individuals, associations and societies are mainly repre- sentative of the sixty-seven contributing churches. The reports for this year will not show a materially different state of facts as to the sources of missionary revenue. How the collections for this year will compare with those of last year can not be definitely exhibited until the report of the finance committee shall have been made, as quite a number of the churches send up their annual contributions by the hands of their messengers to the Association. "Second. There are some churches that contribute to the General xA-SSOciation, while tlie district associa- 1 66 A Crisis. tions to which they belong do not make contributions, as such, to your wori^. "To the foregoing hindrances must be added, the continued and increased straitness of the general finan- cial condition of the country. "The contributions for the present year are meager. The amount collected by the corresponding secretary on the field is $936.25. To which we add $500, the in- terest accrued from the Butler fund, and the amount paid to the financial committee during the session : $574.95, and we have as a total the sum of $2,011.20. "If we put the white membership of our churches at 75,000, we find that a very small proportion give to the Lord for state missions, and that the average per capita contribution is about 2 2-3 cents. "These facts and figures indicate that a reform and advance movement in the work of state missions are the imperative demand of the present; and to this demand the General Association should give its present and earnest attention, for it is the Baptist organization for state mission work in Missouri. "Your board realizing the humiliating failure of the pa.st, and sensible of the embarrassments of the present, yet hopeful of the future, v»^ould venture to suggest to the General Association some matured thoughts upon the situation : First. It is folly for you to expect a har- vest from fields when you have not strewn. Missouri Baptist churches, with a few exceptions, are a vast un- cultivated field. The seeds of truth that produce fruits to your treasury have never been planted in any consid- erable part of the immense field. Less than 100 churches out of 1,200 cooperate with you in the work of state missions. These one hundred churches might do more, and need further cultivation. All the others need a primary plowing and liberal sowing, to be fol- lowed by generous cultivation. A few, occasional ap- peals for money are by no means the needed work. A Crisis. \6'j There needs to be an education in the great doctrines of the church and its relation to the redemptive work of Christ, from which men and women professing God- Hness are to learn the mission of the churches to the world, and their responsibility for the moral condition of mankind. Giving grudgingly as of necessity, or im- pulsively under the effect of momentary incentives fails to inform and develop the churches, and the indi- vidual membership into harmony with the nature and mission of the church of Christ. A deeper and more comprehensive work must be done, and the General As- sociation is the organization to do it, and thus fulfill its object — the spread of divine Truth in the state. "With the foregoing considerations in view, it oc- curs to your board that some plan should be promptly adopted by which the General Association may do a more permanent and effective work than it has hitherto done; and that suitable agencies for a solid work be provided at this meeting. It is not practical to send out reapers into fields where no sowing has been done, neither is it wise to confine sowing and reaping to the same parts of a vast field. "People not in sympathy with the aggressive and progressive spirit of Christianity can not be looked to for liberal and hearty cooperation with missionary or- ganizations. First sow and then reap is a law that can not be safely ignored. Shall this sowing be done? If so, how shall it be done ? These are questions to which the board invites candid and prayerful attention. * * * "A work that would enlarge the mission spirit of the churches, would at the same time improve the spir- itual life of the membership. * * * "Harmonious action in the great work of this body is essential to its greatest success, and the honor of the Head of the church. It is natural that individuality of being should show itself in individuality of opinion. But in a bodv like that of the General Association the 1 68 A Crisis. opinion of tlie majority must be the mind of all, else there is no need of such organizations, and they become an evil rather than a blessing. The minority can co- operate with the majority without a surrender of con- science; otherwise there could be no such thing as the harmonious cooperation of a community of individuals. Your board urges unity of spirit, union of plans and unity of work. "Abstract of Rev. J. Hickman's report of work as corresponding secretary for the year ending October, 1 878 shows : Amount of money collected on field, $936.25; expense of travel, $179; sermons preached, 256; miles traveled, 9,463; letters written, 463; conver- sions under his ministry, 73. "The partial reports from missionaries show that all under the employment of the board had been duly engaged in the work, and that the Lord has blessed the preaching done by them. "All of which is respectfully submitted by order of the board. W. Pope Yeaman, Prest. Bd." « The reader will readily see that much of the fore- going report was suggested by conditions then con- fronting the General Association. The symptoms of disintegrating influences were manifest. The report seeks to meet these indications by a conciliatory argu- ment. The treasurer's report for the year throws further light upon the prevalent condition; and though the treasurer was not present at the meeting, and was not in conference with the board when the above report was written, he wisely and affectionately admonishes har- mony; his report is as follows : "Rev. W. Pope Yeaman, D. D., Chairman Executive Board, General Association, Missouri. "My dear brother : — Permit me through you to submit my report as treasurer to the General Associa- A Crisis. 169 lion. Not having heard for sonic months from our corresponding secretary, I am unable to make my re- port as full as it should be, but I can only give what conies through my hands, and leave Bro. Hickman's report to be added to it. I also inclose my vouchers, which I hope you will find correct. T should be very glad if it were so I could meet with the board at Mex- ico, but my business at this season of the year confines me ver}- closely at home. I pray God that He give the Association wisdom to devise ways and means for carrying forward the great w'ork of home (state) mis- sions, more to the satisfaction of all concerned, and more to the glory of God in the upbuilding of His cause in the destitute places of our own state. I feel that we have done but little this year, not enough to commend our plan of work to the brethren. I think the most im- portant step to be taken is to harmonize all on some plan that all may speak well of w^hat is done, though it be but little. Hoping to hear a good report from you soon, I am Yours truly, W. M. Senter." The above communication was read to the Associa- tion in full, by the chairman of the executive board, and the influence of its good advice and gentle spirit was at once manifest. Prior to this meeting of the General Association, the executive board, then located in St. Louis, had in- formation that the Mt. Pleasant Association would be asked to protest against the policy of the General Asso- ciation and to declare non-cooperation w'ith it. This information came to tlie board only a day or two before the meeting of the Mt. Pleasant Association with the Walnut Grove church, in Boone county. (The Mt. Zion Association had not then been organized.) Upon receiving the information the board of the General Association was called together in special ses- 170 A Crisis. sion, and after discussion of the information laid before them, the president of the board, then resident in St. Louis, was requested to visit the Mt. Pleasant Associa- tion at its approaching session, and endeavor by expla- nations and other fraternal means, to induce the Asso- ciation to withhold its protest and declaration of non- cooperation. The Mt. Pleasant Association is an old and influential body of Baptists, and the board of the Gen- eral Association realized that adverse action by it, un- der all the circumstances, would be a great detriment to the work of state missions. The president of the executive board made a hur- ried journey to Walnut Grove church to meet the As- sociation. He had not been upon the grounds many minutes before he found that the opposition to the Gen- eral Association, led by the moderator. Rev. J. M. Robinson, a strong and influential preacher and pastor, was intense and active. The work committed to the representative of the board of General Association seemed to him a difficult and embarrassing mission. He sought the counsel of Hon. W. R. Wilhite and his now sainted brother, J. S. Wilhite, through whose ad- vice and effective aid, the discontented brethren were induced to defer action until after the next meeting of the General Association. The opposition to the work of the several preced- ing years was distinctly asserted at the meeting at Mexico in i878. Attention was called to the dispro- portion of expenses for the years 1874, '75, '76 to the work done and amount paid missionaries; and to the comparative failure of the work of i877 and '78, and it was insisted that unless measures for reform were adopted that the Association had better be dissolved. This opposition was led at the meeting of the General Association by Brother Robinson. It is very clear to the student of the conditions prevailing at that time that the objections to the work of the last few preceding A Crisis. 171 years were not without foundation. A compromise ad- justment of pending and growing divergencies was effected after the following manner : "On motion of E. H. Sawyer, the report of the ex- ecutive board was 'referred to a special committee of seven to consider its suggestions and report a plan to the body at the earliest practical moment, for the pros- ecution of the work of this body.' " "The moderator appointed the following commit- tee: E. H. Sawyer, T. W. Barrett, L. B. Ely, A. W. Morrison, Wm. Ferguson, J. M. Robinson and W. W. Boyd." (All of the members of the forenamed committee, except Drs. Sawyer and Boyd, are now (1898) on the other side of the dividing waters.) At the evening session of the same day of the adop- tion of the foregoing resolution, the committee submit- ted the following report : "Whereas, The missionary work of the Associa- tion has not been as successful in the past three or four years as we had reason to expect, and, whereas, it is of the first importance to our success to bring into active sympathy and cooperation, the entire denomination; therefore, "Resolved, ist, That a more aggressive policy be instituted, and that by the help of God, we pledge our best endeavors to raise at least $5,000 during the com- ing year, to be expended upon the field. 2d. To effect a more perfect re-union in our work, we deem it desir- able to locate the board at Alexico. 3d. We instruct the board to appoint an able and efficient man as cor- responding secretary, who shall have general supervi- sion of the mission work of the Association ; who shall, through the press and by correspondence with pastors and missionaries, seek to develop the mission spirit of the churches, and bring the entire denomination into active cooperation with the work of the Association; 172 A Crisis. and for this work, he shall be allowed $25 per month and the expense of correspondence and printing. "4th. The corresponding secretary shall also spend such time on the field as the board may deem necessary to the efficient prosecution of the mission work of the Association; provided the time thus de- voted does not exceed one half his whole time, and for such service he shall receive a reasonable compensation in addition to the $25 per month. "5th. The salary of the corresponding secretary shall be paid out of the income from the Butler fund, and such contributions of individuals and churches as may be designated for this purpose. "6th. That the board appoint as many efficient mis- sionaries as the means at their command will justify. "7th. That the board, as far as practicable, aid v/eak and destitute churches to become self-sustaining. "8th. That any church have the privilege to desig- nate the missionary of the General Association, to whom its contribution may be paid. Respectfully submitted E. H. Sawyer, Chairman." The evening session, until a late hour, was spent in a vigorous and animated pro et con discussion of this report, when, upon the question on a motion to adopt, the report was adopted as the basis for state mission operations for the ensuing year. The adoption of this basis, as will occur to the mind carefully studying it, indicates that a crisis had come. This scheme was a bridge for crossing the chasm. It was hoped that it would allay opposition, unite the forces and enter upon the work with concen- trated vigor. The denomination was given to under- stand that no field cdllections would go to the support of the corresponding secretary unless so designated by the contributors. That officer could not receive pay for more than one half time given to canvassing the A Crisis. 173 churches and the mission fields. In entering upon the work, the corresponding secretary must sacrifice much for harmony, re-union and progress. After the adoption of this report, one month passed away without any corresponding secretary, and with- out the doing of any missionary work. Doubt and gloom had settled upon the hearts of many of the most devoted friends of state missions. At the end of that month the board met in Mexico. There were only seven members out of nineteen, present. Even mem- bers of the board were not sufficiently encouraged to give the' new plan a trial. The report of the board made next year, 1879, at the meeting of the General Association at Kansas City, indicates the action taken at this meeting of the board, and at the next following meeting, one month later. This report of the board, from which some extracts are made, will indicate further, the waning confidence in the General Association. The number of resigna- tions from membership in the board, and disclaimer of connection with the General Association are among these indications. The report of the board, by its in- structions was prepared by its president, Dr. J. C. Maple, and by him submitted to the board and adopted for presentation by him to the General Association. The general work is submitted by the following intro- ductory paragraphs : "Immediately after the adjournment of the General Association, in October, i878, your executive board met and organized. Wm. Harper and R. H. Allison having resigned their membership on the board, Rev. J. D. Murphy and Deacon John A. Guthrie were chosen to fill their vacancies. At a late date Rev. W. W. Boyd having written to the board disclaiming membership with us, we accepted said disclaimer and proceeded to elect Rev. J. C. Armstrong, of St. Louis, to fill the vacancy thus created. Rev. W. Pope Yeaman was 174 A Crisis. elected president; Rev. J. D. Murphy, recording sec- retary, and John A. Guthrie, treasurer. "The president of the board was then requested to conduct the correspondence for one month. At the expiration of this time, and on the fourth Tuesday in November, when the board again met it was ascertained that a number of the churches and pastors had so read- ily and liberally responded to the appeals of the presi- dent, that we had offered to us in cash and what we considered reliable pledges, a sufficient amount to jus- tify us in employing a corresponding secretary who would if necessary, spend some portion of his time in visiting the churches. There came also with these con- tributions and pledges a very general request that the board should appoint Dr. Yeaman to this work. "The board believing that due consideration should be given to the requests of those who had contributed these funds, and that Dr. Yeaman would not only be successful in collecting money for missionary purposes, but that he would by his earnest and faithful preaching of the Gospel, accomplish much good, elected him to fill the office of corresponding secretary. "The resignation of Dr. Yeaman as president of the board, having been accepted, J. C. Maple was elected to the office.'' Under the subhead of the report "Our Work Begins," the board says : "The instructions given us at the last session of the General Association (see minutes page 1 1 ) limited the time to be spent by the correspond- ing secretary 'on the field' to 'one half his whole time.' "It was, therefore, decided that the incumbent of this office should be required to give no more of his time to 'field work' than seemed to be imperatively demanded by the exigencies of the case. For though our efforts might be fruitless in every other respect, there was per- fect unanimitv among: the members of the board in the A Crisis. 1 75 determination to adhere, with unswerving scrupulous- ness, to our instructions from the Baptists of the state. "We consider ourselves exceedingly fortunate, in that at so early a period of the year's work we had placed at our disposal all the funds necessarv to pav the salary of our financial agent for all the time we thought it prudent for him to give to canvassing the churches. * * * Not one dollar of the amount con- tributed for missions was needed to pay the salarv of any officer of the board, or to meet any e:j?penses of the work." Notwithstanding the unpleasant and prolonged, but pleasantly terminated controversy at the Kansas City meeting over the question of seating the delegates from the Second Baptist church, St. Louis ; and the proposition to amend the report from the committee on religious publications by inserting a recommendation of the Baptist Battle Flag — which amendment was lost — the meeting was pleasant and most encouraging. The results attending the efforts of the executive board to resuscitate state missions, and restore confi- dence in the General Association seemed to serve as a special inspiration to the brotherhood. The annual report of the board was referred to several committees according to its principal topical divisions. The com- mittee on "Financial part" of the annual report says: "We find from statistics furnished by the treasurer, the following interesting facts relating to the financial work of your board for the past year: Received from all sources, $2,361.03; paid out for all purposes, including salary of corresponding secretary for office work and for labor on the field and for salaries of missionaries, $1,749.35; amount on hand, $7ii.68. "These figures speak more forcibly than any other language could of the wisdom and energy of your board and its corresponding secretary. We say to them Svell 176 A Crisis. done good and faithful servants.' We congratulate the board on its wise policy, and its corresponding sec- retary on the success that has attended the seventy-five days' labor on the field, a success which is well said, in the report of your board, to be unprecedented." This report is signed by Wm. Ferguson and W. F. Elliott. The committee on the "work of the board," con- sisting of M. J. Breaker, H. C. Wallace and John B. Wornall, report as follows : "Your committee regard as most gratifying the work done by the executive board during the past year. In view of all the circum- stances we had no right to anticipate such pleasant and prosperous results. During the year not only have all debts (except one) been paid, but missionaries have been employed who have preached 664 sermons, and been instrumental in i7o conversions. * * * But the nearly $3,000 raised and the many conversions re- ported, by no means exhaust the work of the board : though the corresponding secretary was allowed to spend but seventy-five days in the field, yet he has by sermons and addresses, created in many parts of the state an earnest spirit of cooperation." The records of the General Association have been thus closely followed, that the reader may see that the depressed condition of the Association, and the crisis to which it was exposed, and the following revival of state mission work, and the following growth of influ- ence of the General Association are not mythical, nor have their origin in the brain of the writer. During the year of trial, 1878-9, the members of the board as a rule were not hopeful. They did not discourage the work, but were without heart in it. The president of the board and the corresponding secretary held frequent conferences. They corresponded fre- quently. They felt the weight of the crisis. The presi- dent did not content himself with an able discharge of duty as a "presiding officer." With pen and personal A Crisis. 177 work he threw his energies against the adverse condi- tions with great effectiveness. He never dechned visit- ing a church or an association when the corresponding secretary suggested that his personal efforts and pres- ence would meet an emergency. Yet for all this he re- ceived from the funds of the Association but $10, and this only after the board forced it on him to reimburse him for the expense of a single trip. For other journeys he refused to be reimbursed. Not until another such experience, in which others are the participants, will the anxieties, solicitvides, labors and prayers of two co- workers be fully appreciated. Dr. Maple, in a semi-centennial paper, written in 1884, in referring to the period of which I now write, says : "The mission work of the General Association was in a state of chaos. Little work had been done, and that little had not been paid for. It would be im- possible in the limits of this paper to trace the causes that had brought about the lack of interest on the part of Missouri Baptists upon the subject of state missions. And had I the space to state here even what I know as to these causes, it might not be profitable to record all the facts. There was much to discourage the board, and but little outside the promise of the glorified Re- deemer to encourage them." But all was not an open sea and fair sailing from 1879 on. Not all enemies were reconciled. It was manifested that not all the opposition to the General Association was based upon the failure of that body to meet all expectations, but more in the selfish demands and disappointed ambitions that burned in the hearts of the opposers. Christian charity requires the conces- sion that all men do not always know themselves. It would be cruelty to go behind an act and impugn the motive, if actions did not tell the story of their nativity. Brethren who were present at the General Association 12 lyS A Crisis. in i878, and favored the adoption of the plan that worked so well for the cause of state missions, re- turned from that meeting to oppose the work and the Association. Dr. Boyd and J. M. Robinson, who were of the committee that reported the plan, failed and re - fused to cooperate with the Association in its struggles to make the plan effective. Dr. Boyd disclaimed mem- bership on the board, and J. M. Robinson was led to join the crusade that attempted to organize an opposi- tion convention. That convention, conceived in weak- ness, died of infantile inanition. In much pain and ghastly gasping for respiration it expired on its second natal anniversary, to be remembered only to be pitied as a short lived product of ambition and folly. Its prop- agation was by the American Baptist Flag. Its de- mise is not chronicled — only remembered. It has a tombless grave, unwept and unsung. It was not re- sponsible for its appearance among living things and its disappearance must not be caricatured. The "Flag" above mentioned was a journal pub- lished in Missouri, and had — as it claimed — an im- mense circulation. Among its readers were many ex- cellent brothers and sisters in the Lord. It was fearless in fighting Roman Catholics, and equally hostile to all Baptists who ventured not to think in all respects as it seemed to think. It was profoundly impressed that the Baptist churches had an unbroken and easily trace- able line of succession from the Apostles down to the present, and could come as near proving it as any one else could. The conception is a beautiful and flattering one, but no more promotive of the graces of a spiritual religion than is the belief that the New Testament scriptures are a sufficient charter for Baptist churches. This same paper made a vigorous, but somewhat Spanish-like war against the Missouri Baptist General Association. It fought that institution with every weapon at its command and made open proclamation A Crisis. 179 that it should go down. The executive board and cor- responding secretary were openly and repeatedly charged with every manner of crime within the cate- gories of fraud and oppression. Many of the chief citizens of the state and best and most influential of the churches in the state were charged with pandering to the dictum of one man, of covering up facts, misrep- resenting financial figures, malappropriating the Lord's money and using the board as a "ring" to accomplish the selfish aims of personal ends. There were many good persons who, because they knew nothing about the General Association, believed these awful things to be true. They were led to beHeve that their brethren were capable of sins of the greatest kind, and guilty of acts for which they could be prose- cuted and convicted under the criminal laws of the state. The spirit of antagonism was reaching the point of personal animosity in those who were led to believe certain Baptists were despots, ringsters and purloiners. Yet the instigator of these charges was all the while claiming the privileges of the floor of the General Association as a "life member," and seeking the indorsement of his "Flag," but never seeking in the General Association to correct the evils that he charged through his journal to exist in that body. In 1879, at Kansas City, the committee on relig- ious publications, among other subjects, presented the following commendation of The Central Baptist: "We would cheerfully commend The Central Bap- tist for its integrity to Baptist principles and its noble advocacy of our missionary and educational work in the state. This paper deserves a wide circulation, and we most heartily wash it could be put in every Baptist family in the state. Once again we urge upon our brethren the necessity of their giving the denomination through the columns of our paper their carefully pre- pared thoughts on those subjects which are intimately I So A Crisis. connected with our denominational enlightenment and progress." After a motion to adopt the report of the commit- tee had been stated, there was a motion to amend the report by inserting after the words "Central Baptist" the additional words "and the American Baptist Flag." This motion to amend was the signal for a prolonged and animated discussion, in which many speakers par- ticipated. It was by general consent conceded that the chairman of the committee on publications, Dr. J. C. Maple, made the master speech of the session. He re- viewed the relation of the christian press to the prog- ress of Christianity; warmly insisting that the right mission of the press was to build up and not to tear down ; to promote fellowship and unity rather than con- tention and disintegration. That the General Associa- tion was the Missouri Baptist organization for the pro- motion of Baptist principles in the state, and that it would be worse than self-stultification — it would be suicidal to indorse a paper that in every issue sought to obstruct the work of the General Association. He freely admitted the right of any man to start and con- tinue the publication of a paper under any name that pleased his fancy, so long as he did not violate the laws of the state. He would not deny the freedom of speech nor the freedom of the press. But he claimed for the General Association the same right that he conceded to the individual. The remarks of the speaker often rose to the point of fervent and thrilling eloquence as he insisted upon the General Association maintaining consistency and self-respect. The motion to amend was lost, and the report was adopted as it came from the committee. After this session of the Association, the "Flag' war against it became more persistent and bitterly em- phatic, until the executive board felt constrained, for the sake of truth and the dignity of the General Asso- A Crisis. iSi ciation, to publicly answer the severe and groundless charges repeatedly made against it by the opposition journal. The president and corresponding secretary of the board were appointed a committee to prepare a refutation of the charges and a vindication of the As- sociation and its officers. They proceeded to the work laid upon them. The paper prepared by them was ap- proved by the board, and signed by sixteen of the nine- teen members, and published in uncovered pamphlet form under title of: "A Vindication of the Missouri Baptist General Association and the Executive Board, against the allegations of the American Baptist Flag." *' (Published by order of the board.)" Several thousand copies of this paper were sent throughout the state. The effect was prompt and de- cided. Luke-warm friends of the Association were aroused to sympathetic and hearty cooperation in state mission work. Contributions were at once and consid- erably enlarged. A permanent forward movement was manifest. Access to churches became easier, and many churches that had never before contributed to state missions were enrolled with the contributing churches. At the meeting at Carrollton in 1880, Rev. Dr. S. H. Ford offered the following preamble and resolution, which were adopted by a vote of 108 to 6 : "Whereas, The Missionary Board of this Asso- ciation, convinced that the work assigned to it would be impeded and the character of the denomination changed by published misunderstandings or misstatements, which had been widely circulated, gave to the public a statement or vindication of the rule and spirit govern- ing its course of action, as an executive body, therefore, "Resolved, As the sense of this Association that said statement or vindication was demanded by the cir- cumstances, and is herebv heartilv indorsed." CHAPTER XI. A JUBILEE. "A jubilee shall the fiftieth year be unto you." — Leviticus. To the hopeful and courageous and conscience- approving man or woman, the coming of the light of day after the darkness of night is a joy. The grey light of dawn and then the gilded horizon awaken hope and inspire courage. Much more does a season of prosperity following a period of adversity, doubt and gloom bring gladness, and drive away, even into for- getfulness, the darkness and despondency of the past. Few, indeed, are the living who have not found at least occasional compensation for sadness and burdens and disappointments in realizations of hopes deferred, or in gladsome surprises. The toilers for knowledge or fortune who endure hardships and privations that an ultimate good may be reached, find exquisite delight in the certain approach of the consummation of long cher- ished and almost devout wishes. The stand-by friends of the General Association of Missouri Baptists, who had seen and felt the days of adversity and weakness, and who in toils and tears and prayers had long sought its deliverance from what seemed only peril, began, as we have seen, in 1879, to hope for the return of prosperity, and make very mod- est suggestions of probabilities for the ensuing year. "We earnestly wish that next year the board may have at least $5,000 with which to work in this glorious cause." When the next year came, and ended with the meeting at Carrollton in October, 1880, the treasurer's 182 A Jubilee. 1S3 account shows that the receipts for the year were $5,753.81. At that meeting the committee on finances, through its chairman, Rev. B. G. Tutt, closed their re- port with these words : "We hope the contributions for the coming year may reach at least $10,000." At the next meeting, held with the Third Baptist church in St. Louis, the treasurer's report showed the total receipts to be for the year then closing, $11,199.69. Then the committee on "The work Done," with Rev. J. D. Biggs as chairman, said : "Truly it may be said, our last work is our best. This increased success is due mainly, under God, to our corresponding secretary who has labored almost unremittingly on the field and the office. "We beg the board and the brethren not to become too elated with success, and relax their efforts ; but en- deavor to make the year to come more laborious and successful still. The field is still large and inviting, but the laborers are few. May the Lord of the harvest send more laborers into the harvest." At the next meeting, held with the First church at Springfield, the treasurer reported the total receipts for state missions for the year $12,860.89. -^^ this meet- ing the committee on "Work Done," with B. G. Tutt as chairman, said in the report to the Association : "We contemplate with devout gratitude to Almighty God the work done by the board, and by our devoted self- sacrificing missionaries during the year just closed. "When we take into consideration the stringency of money matters in consequence of the almost total failure of crops in many sections of our state in the year 1881, the effects of which were most seriously felt during at least half of the present associational year, we can not fail to recognize the blessings of the Lord upon our labors. * * * We would give emphasis to the fact that our missionaries, for the most part, have given their entire time to the work during the past year. To 1^4 A Jubilee. them, under God, is due much of the success which to- day fills our hearts with gladness. Through heat and cold, sunshine and shadow they have prosecuted with singular devotion and consecration the work of preach- ing the gospel to the poor — a work which engaged the labors and enlisted the sympathy of our Divine Lord." At this same meeting the committee on that part of the report of the missionary board on retrospect, was presented by Dr. S. H. Ford, chairman of committee. This committee suggested the idea of the jubilee : " * * * As we near the (semi) centennial year of its (General Association) history, we can not retrospect its course without emotions of joyous gratitude for the changes wrought and the good accomplished by the hand of the Lord through this agency. * '•' * "Therefore, Resolved, That the churches and asso- ciations and all under the influence of our principles and interest in our history, be awakened to prepare for a grand gathering, and a fresh and forward movement at our semi-centennial in 1884." The next year, 1883, the Association met at Tren- ton. The treasurer reports that the total receipts from all sources for state missions for the year ending at that meeting were $12,015.60. This shows a slight falling off as compared with the receipts of the preceding year. This is explained by a quotation from the report of the committee on corresponding secretary. Dr. W. R. Rothwell chairm.an : "We trust that the prostration he (the corresponding secretary) has suffered from over- work during the past year is but temporary, and that with restored health the Lord of the harvest will strengthen his hands for the good work : but the work as he is conducting it is manifestly too much for one man." Notwithstanding the failure to reach the contribu- tions, by a few hundred dollars, of the preceding year, the board was prepared to announce that there would A Jubilee. 1 85 be no debt against the General Association, but to the tontrary, a balance to its credit of $184.58. At the evening session of the second day ''a mass meeting was then held in the interest of state missions. After remarks by Rev. J. C. Maple and the moderator, there were raised in pledges and cash for the work of the coming year about $3,776.00. Previous to this it was announced that the board would not be in debt for the labor of the last year." The report of the board of state missions, in the annual report made the following recommendation for the celebration of the semi-centennial of the General Association : "semi-centp:nnial. "We would call the attention of the General Asso- ciation to the fact that the meeting in 1884 will be the fiftieth anniversary of this body. "We recommend, therefore, that some arrange- ments be made by which the occasion of our semi-cen- tennial meeting be made one of such interest as shall be worthy of the people and the cause represented. "Our churches should all have an opportunity to make a thank-offering to the Lord. "The progress of our cause should be suitably noted. "The toils and sacrifices of those who laid the foun- dations of our work in this state should be held up be- fore the people that we may prove ourselves not un- grateful to the memory of those to whom we owe so much. And the incentives to greater exertion should be laid upon the heart of every Baptist in the state." To report to the Association on the above recom- mendation, the moderator appointed the following committee: "J. T. Williams, B. F. Rice. C. H. Hardii\ J. U. W^illis, R. S. Duncan." 1 86 A Jubilee. The foregoing committee submitted the following report : "Your committee on that part of the report of the missionary board relating to the semi-centennial cele- bration in 1884 beg leave to report the following order of exercises for the afternoon and evening of the sec- ond day of the meeting in 1884 "ist. An address on the origin and progress of the Missouri Baptist General Association; Rev. J. T. Wil- liams, Paris. "2d. A sermon on the spirit and scope of the state mission work; Rev. W. Pope Yeaman, Columbia. '''3d. The changes of the last fifty years; Rev. S. H. Ford, St. Louis. "4th. The rise and work of our educational insti- tutions; Rev. J. C. Armstrong, Mexico. "5th. That the missionary board be instructed to inaugurate measures and plans by wdiich every pastor, church and missionary in the state may be induced to make a liberal memorial offering, in means and influ- ence, to the work of state missions for the semi-centen- nial year. J. T. Williams, Chairman." The General Association referred the report of the semi-centennial celebration committee to the executive board for such further arrangements as to it may seem necessary. The executive board extended the order of serv- ices, and arranged a programme for the exercises as follows : Tuesday: Introductory sermon. Rev. G. W. Hatcher (elected by General Association). "Origin and progress of the General Association," John T. Wil • liams, D. D. "The missionaries of fifty years," W. J. Patrick, D. D. Wednesday: "The spirit and scope of state mis- sions," W. Pope Yeaman, D. D. A Jubilee. 1S7 Thursday: "The moderators of the General As sociation," J. C. Maple, D. D. "The corresponding sec- retaries of the General Association," Rev. W. M. Bell. Friday : Educational institutions, Rev. J. C. Arm- strong. Ministerial education, W. R. Rothwell, D. D. Saturday : Changes of fifty years, S. H. Ford, D. D. Sunday Schools, Rev. M. J. Breaker. To this programme, at the suggestion of the author of this book, the address of Dr. W. H. Burnham on the "Organizers of the General Association" was added. Notwithstanding the financial progress of the Gen- eral Association from i878 to the time for celebrating the origin of the Association at its fiftieth anniversary, has been herein traced, it must not be inferred that that progress was the only ground for the enthusiasm and rejoicing at the memorable jubilee. The recollections, traditions and history of the past fifty years entered largely into the inspiration of the occasion; and then, to incentives to the joys of the meeting must be added, the spiritual fruits to missionary efifort that have been borne during the period mentioned. There were em- ployed as missionaries and missionary pastors 142 min- isters of the gospel. These preached 11,030 sermons; baptized i,7o6 persons, constituted twenty-two new churches and influenced and aided in the building of eleven new houses of worship. As to baptisms, it must be borne in mind that the missionaries report only those baptisms administered by their own hands. Many of their precious meetings were held in aid of pastors of weak churches, these pastors doing the baptism of the converts. This fact will explain that in 1882 there were reported 714 conversions, and only 443 baptisms, and in 1883. conversions 787, while the reported bap- tisms were 605. To brethren who have come to the front in General Association work since 1884, it will easily appear that. 1 88 A Jubilee. the active and anxious workers of that day had no small reasons for a joyous jubilee — and they had it. On the morning of October 21, 1884, the thriving and cultured town of Marshall, the county seat of the fertile and beautiful county of Saline, was thronged with an enthusiastic concourse of men and women, gathered together from all sections of the state of Mis- souri, with a goodly number of visitors from other states. By 10 o'clock a. m., the new, spacious and ele- gant Baptist house of worship, so recently built under the administration of pastor J. C. Maple, was filled to overflowing. Of messengers from churches and from Associations and of life members of the Associations there was an associational membership of nearly five hundred. Of non-commissioned attendants from churches, and visitors from other states, there were as many more. This multitude did not overtax the hos- pitality, nor afflict the patience of the good people of Marshall of all denominations. Resident families and individuals seemed to vie with one another in generous and courteous hospitality. The Association was called to order at precisely 10 :30 o'clock, and religious exercises were introduced by congregational singing of the hymn beginning "How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord." The walls of the house seemed to vibrate in emo- tional response to the swelling volumes of praises to the Divine person of christian faith and love. At the conclusion of the hymn the moderator read the forty- sixth Psalm, and then asked the venerable and beloved Rev. J. F. (Uncle Frank) Smith to lead in prayer. The soul-filled thanks, the unaffected praises and the fer- vent supplications of that prayer pouring forth from an honest heart and unpolluted lips in tremulous pathos filled all hearts with tenderness and many eyes with tears. A JnhilQe. 1S9 Then came the introductory, sermon by Rev. Green W. Hatcher, then pastor of the church at Carrollton. The theme was "Divine Companionship." The primal text : "And they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted, is, God with us ;" Matt. 1 123. To those who are accustomed to hearing Dr. Hatcher it is needless to say that, the discourse was timely, words fitly spoken and in season. In his exordium he briefly and graphically presented the original companionship of God and man ; how sin had broken into and broken up this fellowship, and separated man from God; how in Jesus the christ of God — God with us — divine love had provided for man's restoration to God, and eternal companionship. He then proceeded to elaborate the two following thoughts : "L This Doctrine and Promise enable us to read understandingly the history of Christianity. "H. In the light of our text we can account for some strange things connected with the present." The appropriateness and force of the preacher's thoughts aided in giving a happy trend to the proceed- ings of the following days. Then followed in due time the address of welcome from Pastor Maple. This welcome had the charm of appropriateness of sentiment, and was truly represen- tative of the good will of our hosts. The speaker wel- comed the members of the Association who had borne the "heat and burden of the day" for many years; he welcomed the "missionaries who have gone into the destitute regions preaching the word and have 'endured hardness' for the ]\Iaster's sake, or who have led the forlorn hope in growing towns and cities, and whose bosoms God has filled with the 'sheaves of the golden grain;' he welcomed the pleaders in the cause of mis- sions and the cause of education; he welcomed the toilers in our schools and colleges, and he especially welcomed the sisters who are here with hearts full of 19- A, Jubilee. the love of Christ, and whose faces beam with Hght from the cross, and who are ready for every good word and work. * * * "But we welcome yon here most of all because you are engaged in the Master's work. For fifty years has God led this General Association. * =!= * Yet brethren our work is but begun. When this body was organ- ized there were in Missouri about five thousand Bap- tists. The population was then * * * about 237,753. There are now, therefore, in the city of St, Louis alone more people who are without the gospel than the entire population of Missouri in 1834. * * * "In closing, I say once more to all who are here, to all who may come to join us in our glad jubilee, we ex- tend a most hearty welcome. God grant this meeting shall be one filled with all those characteristics that show the presence of the Holy Spirit among a people who are redeemed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ." Following the address of welcome came the re- sponse in behalf of the General Association by Dr. B. G. Tutt, the pastor at Liberty. "* * * I suppose the moderator asked me to re- spond to this address of welcome because a residence of nearly six years in this city afforded ample opportu- nity for me to speak with confidence of the genuine, whole-souled hospitality which characterizes this com- munity. "* * * From time immemorial men have erected monuments to symbolize some mighty deliverance of the Lord, or to keep in perpetual remembrance some manifestation of His generous favor. "* * * In the good providence of God we have come to the fiftieth annual meeting of the General As- sociation of Missouri. What mighty changes have been wrought during that time ! Fifty years ago the state of Missouri contained a population less than the A Jubilee. 191 present population of the city of St. Louis. There was not a railroad or telegraph line in the state, and the wildest imagination had not conceived a city like Kan- sas City on our western border. At that time not a single house stood on the site of this beautiful flourish- ing city. "* * * Fifty years ago thirty members, eighteen preachers and twelve laymen, representing seventy- seven ministers, one hundred and fifty churches and five thousand, three hundred and fifty-seven members, met and organized this body. To-day there are in this state eight hundred Baptist ministers, fourteen hun- dred. Baptist churches and a membership of one hun- dred thousand. Surely my brethren, as we stand to- day in the light that comes down our history for the past fifty years, we can say with devout gratitude, 'hitherto hath the Lord helped us.' "But what of the future?" The conclusion of the address that followed this question was both practical and pathetic. At this point in the proceedings, Hon. H. C. Wal- lace, of Lexington, presented the moderator with a cane made of the wood of the old Bethel meeting house, built in 1806, the first protestant house of worship west of the Mississippi river. The following account of the incident is taken from the authentic publications of the General Association : "Presentation of cane to Rev. W. Pope Yeaman, D. D., Moderator, by Hon. H. C. Wallace, at Marshall, October 21, 1884. "The history of Baptists, in the country west of the Mississippi river, now known as Missouri, formerly "upper Louisiana" is, indeed an inspiration; commenc- ing in the eighteenth century, in 1796, when the country was under the control of the French government, and the Roman Catholic was the established religion, prior to the cession of the country by France to the United 192 A Jubilee. States — a small but heroic band of true-hearted Bap- tists, exposed to all the hardships of pioneer life erected the standard of the cross emblazoned with 'soul liberty' in the howling wilderness, surrounded by sav- age Indians and environed by priestly intolerance. Here and under these circumstances were organized the first churches, and erected the first church buildings, other than Catholic, ever organized or erected west of the great 'father of waters.' Among those early teach- ers and defenders of the faith, as we hold it, were Elds. John Clark, David Green, Thomas Johnson, James Kerr, and Thomas R. Music, and later, James M. Peck and James E. Welch, whose memories we recall on this semi-centennial occasion with pride and thankfulness to God, for the great work they were enabled by His strength, to inaugurate in these ends of the earth. These men were as thoroughly missionaries as those engaged now in disseminating the truth among the bigoted populations of Italy, Mexico and South Amer- ica. The first house of worship erected in this terri- tory, except by Catholics, was by the Bethel Baptist church, in what is now Cape Girardeau county, a short distance south of the present site of Jackson, its county seat, in 1806, of hewn poplar logs. This venerable structure, long known as 'old Bethel church,' after re- sounding for over a half century with the sound of the gospel and the voice of prayer and praise, has been torn down, and its timbers are being destroyed by the hand of man and the ravages of time. And whilst Bap- tists are, perhaps, of all people, most averse to connect- ing any idea of superstition or sacredness to mortal man or material objects, we have deemed it not inap- propriate on this semi-centennial occasion of Baptists in Missouri, now grown to near a hundred thousand in numbers, having procured a piece of the timber from which the first Baptist church was erected in said terri- tory, to cause it to be fashioned into a walking cane, to A Jubilee. 193 be presented to you, brother Moderator, as a memento of the noble Baptist men and women whose piety and zeal prompted them to the erection of this temple of God, in the wilderness, and who laid so well the foun- dations of our Baptist faith and Baptist brotherhood. Please accept, brother Moderator, this token, without costly appendage, becoming the simple mode of life of our fathers, and small in intrinsic value, but rich in historic interest, as a slight testimonial of our appre- ciation of your arduous, effective, and self-sacrificing labors in the cause of missions in Missouri. Its body is of poplar from the 'old Bethel church,' whilst its head is cherry, recently from our forests, cemented by this silver band, emblematic of brotherly love — thus uniting the past wath the present, as our meeting does this day. "May the pleasing and inspiring associations con- nected with the history of this cane, give the spiritual man moral comfort and support in the further prosecu- tion of your ministerial and missionary labors, and its material structure sustain and support the steps of your physical man through the remainder of your earthly pilgrimage." "The moderator's response: "My honored brethren: — It would be sheer afifecta- tion in me, did I not express my great gratification at this, another symbol of the affectionate esteem in which my co-laborers in this General Association hold my work as a member, and as presiding officer. In accept- ing this cane as an historical emblem, my mind naturally and pleasantly reverts to the highly ornamented cane presented to me by the ministers of this body a few years since as an expression of personal esteem. May the two, in my hands, be constant reminders of the per- sonal affection and historical ties that should ever bind the members of this Association in the fellowship of la- bor and love. I trust that your expressions of apprecia- 194 ^ Jubilee. tion of my services to the work of this honorable body may minister to my humility." Following the cane presentation to the moderator, was an interesting incident of general interest. Rev. Dr. W. H. Williams, editor of the Central Baptist, pre- sented a gavel of rare taste and beauty, in the following chaste and impressive address : "Brother Moderator: "I have a pleasant duty to perform at this time, and I beg that this body pause a few moments that I may reveal my mission. "This vast gathering marks an epoch in our de- nominational history in Missouri. "This Association was born of the consuming desire on the part of christian men to give the gospel to the destitute. "Sincere love to God and man led that little heroic band of eighteen ministers and twelve laymen together fifty years ago in Callaway county, to devise some plan for the more rapid and general diffusion of gospel light. They met with bitter hostility within and without. The story of the struggles is a record of patient suffering, noble endeavor and strong faith. "Our covenant keeping God marked their tears, heard their prayers and prospered their toils. "Half a century ago the Baptists of Missouri num- bered about 6,000 members, 150 churches, and about eighty preachers. Now they have in round numbers 100,000 communicants, 1,400 churches and 1,000 min- isters. The first contribution of the General Associa- tion amounted to $69.25. Now its annual gift to state missions approximates $15,000.00. Within the state of Missouri it commissions fifty missionaries, who bring up to this meeting the joyous report of the conversion of scores and hundreds through their labors. Under these circumstances it is fitting that we should make this, our golden anniversary, an occasion, not of vain A Jubilee. 195 glory, but of grateful joy, and 1 may be pardoned for the desire to contribute something to the visible interest of this meeting. "Along with other brethren who were in attend- ance at the semi-centennial meeting in Callaway county during the last summer, I visited the ruins of old Brick Providence church, wdiere the General Association was organized. Amid those ruins there lay a pillar of cherry wood, which had in part sustained the building. A fragment of this pillar was secured by our venerable brother Jeremiah B. Vardeman, and placed in my hands, and out of that piece of wood, this gavel has been made. Were this wood gifted with the power of speech, it could tell with thrilling interest of scenes both joyous and painful in the early history of our people in this state. It may, however, serve as a suggestive me- mento of these things. Of all people who live or have ever lived upon the earth, none have greater reason than the Baptists of Missouri to thank God and take courage. "It is certainly not my wash that the gavel pre- sented this body by Dr. Maple should fall into disuse, but I have thought that, wath his permission, and that of the Association, it would be appropriate on this special occasion, at least, that this body shall act in obe- dience to the tap of this fragment of wood taken from the spot where the Association was born. Hoping that such permission wall be granted, I now, through you, Bro. Moderator, present to this body to hold and keep until its centennial gathering, this unpretending ensign of the honorable position which you hold." The moderator, upon receiving the gavel presented by Dr. Williams, invited Dr. S. H. Ford, of Ford's Christian Repository, to respond in behalf of the Gen- eral Association. Dr. Ford's response was in his char- acteristically felicitous and eloquent style. He spoke 196 A Jubilee. ex tempore, as is his manner, and he has not reproduced the speech for publication. The General Association formally and gratefully accepted the gavel and ordered that the moderator use it during this semi-centennial meeting; and that it be held and kept until the centennial meeting in 1934. The moderator suggests that it be safely kept until the time designated and that it then be exhibited to the General Association, accompanied by a reading of Dr. Williams' speech of presentation. Not many who attended the semi-centennial in 1884, will be present in the flesh at the centennial meeting, but such as may be permitted to live till then and attend the great gathering of Baptists to assemble at — Marshall, we trust, will be delighted to see again the memorial gavel. At this same session, Dr. W. H. Williams, through the hands of the moderator, presented to Dr. J. C. Maple, president of the state mission board, a handsome walking stick made from a timber from the remains of Brick Providence church. To the presentation re- marks by the moderator, Dr. Maple responded — from a surprised heart — in words tenderly grateful of this acknowledgment and beautiful recognition of his offi- cial services. Following these incidental proceedings, suggested by the interesting peculiarity of the meeting, came the regular business. The annual report of the executive board was prepared and read by the corresponding sec- retary, at the request of the president of the board. This report exhibited the work of the year as follows : Town churches aided 34 General missionaries 15 Sermons preached , 4,220 Conversions 682 Baptisms 456 Churches constituted 14 Total amount money received for state missions $15^364 ^6 Expended for state missions 13,380 25 Balance for state missions. . $1,984 5^ A Jubilee. 197 The report was referred to proper committees, for presenting the different topics for consideration. At the opening of the evening session, 7 o'clock, the moderator announced that, in addition to the num- bers on the printed programme, which had been gratu- itously furnished by Bro. L. E. Kline, business man- ager of the St. Louis branch of the American Baptist publication society, artistically executed in golden let- ters on tinted paper, significant of the golden anniver- sary of the General Association, Dr. W. H. Burnham would present a paper on "The men Avho organized the General Association." This paper was a striking pen picture of the men who fifty years before, had under circumstances and conditions very different from those of the semi-centen- nial meeting, organized the Association. Dr. Burn- ham's admirable paper — with a characteristic exor- dium — was listened to wath unabated intensity of inter- est and delight. As the author read his paper, many of the immense audience fancied they could see the men he so graphically exhibited. Of course, the nature of the address forbids analysis, and the reader must be re- ferred to the memorial volume printed and published by order of the General Association, in 1884, in which the address can be found in full. Following Dr. Burnham's address, and on the same evening. Dr. W. J. Patrick delivered an address on "The Missionaries of Fifty Years." This address is of special literary merit, so much the more, because eternal truths, rich experiences of christian life, vener- ated names and pathetic memories are easily and appro- priately interwoven, without cold and stiff formality, in with the discussion of natural and practical proposi- tions, flowing from a two line introduction, speaking of the missionaries of the past he said : "These brethren had every uninspired grace and fitness for the gospel ipS A Jubilee. ministry possessed by the Apostles." He then set forth these graces in the following form : "They experienced the gospel they preached. ''These brethren kneiv men and things; they zvere the sons of nature. "These ivere eloquent men. "These zvere men of learning." He then presents two points in the history of these earlier missionaries : "Some of these men went into other fields. "Our first, and many of the succeeding mission- aries have entered into their rest." Ir illustration of men that "knew men and things," he classes James Suggett, Anderson Woods and Martin D. Noland with the fisherman Apostle. He presents Jeremiah Vardeman as representing the "eloquent man." As "men of learning" he gives us Wm. Hurley, R. S. Thomas, John B. Longan, and A. P. Williams. In speaking of those who "have entered into their rest" he spoke this beautiful passage: "When Godfrey and his army came over the hills in sight of Jerusalem, they lifted a shout that made the earth tremble. The vi- brations of the victorious shouts of our missionaries may be heard in the land. It said that when Sebastin Cabot came to die that in the hour of his death his thoughts wandered to the sea.' When Noah Flood was dying his thoughts turned back to the earth and he said: *Oh, this cold and cheerless world!' But it was less cold and less cheerless for his having lived in it. It should quicken our steps and intensify our zeal to think that those men of God who have gone before, looked back upon the earth with a look that said if they could remain they would cry aloud and spare not." It was not to have been expected of Dr. Patrick to even so much as name all of the many missionaries en- gaged by the General Association for the half century preceding the meeting of 1884. And time and space A Jubilee. ^99 would fail this book to give a detailed account of the work— the conflicts and triumphs of this army ot the Lord but as all significance and worth of the General Association are to be found in the work of its missiona- ries it would be an unsatisfactory and unprofitable ex- hibit of the great '-jubilee" at Marshall, if no general mention of the servants of God whose faith and perse- verino- labors made that occasion a possibility and a success It is a source of regret to the author of this book that insufficiencv of records and available informa- tion must make this work less a monument to the mis- sionaries than he would be pleased to make it Mention has already been made of Fielding Wil- hite of venerated memory, who was at an early day one of the missionaries of the association. No better de- scription of his missionary labors can be given than a quotation from one of his reports affords. In 1844 he reports to the board, speaking of a missionary tour into Saline, LaFayette, Ray, Clay and Platte counties, he says- "In all these counties I found fields to cultivate, but few efficient men to cultivate them. * * * I trust the attention of the Association will be turned to Platte county— indeed to the zvhole upper Missouri. In all i have labored about sixty days, traveled about 1,100 miles have preached about forty sermons, delivered manv exhortations, baptized thirty-seven wilhng_ con- verts, constituted one church, ordained two ministers and four deacons and visited several Sunday Schools. "I desire to mention particularly what the Lord has done for us at a campmeeting with the Bethlehem church, in Boone county, continuing eleven days and resulting in the hopeful conversion of about eighty souls-sixty were received for baptism, fifty-five of whom were baptized by myself and brother Carey. "The Association can allow me what it pleases for my services, and receive it as a donation. The brethren 200 A Jubilee. amongst whom I labored were not indifferent to my temporal interests and ministered' to my necessities." The missionary of to-day will ponder Bro. Wil- hite's report. His home was in Boone county. There were no railroads in those days. Horse and saddle and saddle-bags were the preacher's equipment for travel. There were no bridges over rivers and not many that spanned the creeks. Look at a map of Missouri, and study out the most probable route for this i,ioo miles of horseback travel. Now look back at the results of the work : Seventy-one days — ninety-two baptisms, one new^ church constituted, etc. With a denser popula- tion and improved facilities for travel, what ought we to do now! Are we improving? Is it answered, con- ditions have changed? Can changing conditions ob- struct the gospel ? A. F. Martin — the father of our Lewis Ely Martin and John M. Peck Martin — often the companion of Wilhite in missionary tours in the northeast part of the state, was for years one of the best missionaries of the General Association. In the first decade of our history he too was one of the Lord's "rough riders." He was a deeply pious man, an unselfish preacher. He sought not his own, but with a consuming desire for the salva- tion of souls and seeking to magnify the name of Christ, he went forth weeping sowing precious seed. In 1844 he reports to the board : Rode 1,100 miles and spent 120 days. Preached seventy times, baptized twenty-six persons, organized one church, ordained one deacon — have supplied four churches during part of the year. It would be interesting to write a full his- tory of the missionary labors of this man of God, and tell of the meetings he held and the baptisms he admin- istered. But time fails us. D. R. Murphy, for many years, and with intermis- sions down from the early 'forties to within a short time before the jubilee meeting, was a missionary of the Gen- A Jubilee. 201 eral Association. He labored exclusively in the southwestern counties of the state. The anti-missionary Baptists were in our early history, in the lead in that part of the state. In 1844, Bro. IMurphy writes to the executive board : "In the southwest we have some op- position, but thank the Lord the missionary cause is gaining ground, as darkness flees before the light." P. M. Haycraft, this man of God from one of the best families of Hardin county, Kentucky, was among the early missionaries of the General Association. A little eccentric but eminently conscientious and conse- crated. A preceding chapter gives an extract from one of his reports. He was a diligent and successful preacher. His field was in the northwest part of the state. W. C. Ligon was a devout man, full of faith and good works. His name is inseparable from the history of the General Association. As a missionary of the General Association and financial agent of the William Jewell College, he did an effective and enduring work in ^Missouri. Robert James, born in Kentucky in 1818, was one of the most efficient missionaries of the General Asso- ciation. In 1848, he reports to the board, for one quarter of a year's service, eighty-eight sermons, 109 exhortations, 499 miles traveled, and 136 baptisms. In connection with Brother Graves, in April, of 1848. he constituted the Providence church, in Clay county, a few miles out from Liberty. There w'ere forty-four constituent members, thirty-four of whom Bro. James baptized, one half of whom were heads of families. It will be observed that Robert James was only thirty years of age at the time of this remarkable work. He was one of the first trustees of the Wm. Jewell College. This suffering, patient and devout man of God, has long since gone to his reward. His brother. 202 A Jubilee. T. M. James, survives him and is one of the best known and most beloved men in the General Association. In these earlier days, the brilliant and progressive — now the aged sage and orator and writer, Samuel How- ard Ford, bore a commission from the General Associ- ation as missionary pastor in St. Louis. It would be a delight to gaze separately upon the individual members of that galaxy that shine as stars in the firmament — Thornton Rucker, E. Stringer, T. W. Anderson, J. S. Smith, Norman Parks, James D. Wilson, I. T. Williams, Franklin Graves, Walter Mc- Quie, Eber Tuckner, Elias George, W. W. Keep, Ed- ward Roth, John H. Keach, R. C. Hill, A. T. Hite, J.F. (Uncle Frank) Smith. Orin Jones, W. H. Farmer, Jeremiah Farmer, T.C. Harris (heretofore mentioned), Wm. H. Vardeman, W. F. Nelson and a multitude of others. But we must come down to those whose labors after i878 contributed so largely to the deliverance of the General Association from "chaos." Now we have the meek V. T. Settle; the veteran missionary, W. C. Barrett; the persevering J. C. Shipp; the cultured and modest C. N. Wester; the resourceful M. L. Bibb; the spiritually minded and purposeful evangelist G. A. Crouch ; the theological Titon R. H. Harris ; the indom- itable worker J. S. Buckner; the gentle spirited and talented Irvine F. Davis; the heroic A. J. Latour; the faithful J. D. Crabtree ; the scholar and educator W. A. Wilson; the courteous and courageous W. E. Cham- bliss; the masterful E. S. Dulin; the silent and strong Paul McCollum ; the genial and generous J. D. Biggs ; the vigorous S. M. Victor; the venerable Jehu Robin- son; the solid thinker B. McCord Roberts; the willing and effective worker W. T. Campbell ; the self-sacrific- ing A. J. Hess ; the common sense and big hearted A. M. Cockrill; the industrious and ready I. R. M. A Jubilee. 203 Buson, and a score or more equally worthy of honor- able mention. Besides there were the able and efficient aids to the corresponding secretary, Drs. G.W. Hyde, L. M. Berry, T. M. S. Kenney and T. A. Bowman. All of these have done a work but for which the reasons for rejoic- ing and the grounds of encouragement would not have inspired the cheer and enthusiasm of the semi-centen- nial meeting. The next semi-centennial exercise was a sermon by W. Pope Yeaman on the "Spirit and Scope of State Missions." Text : "Ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." This sermon is printed in full in the semi-centennial memorial volume. At the conclusion of the sermon a collection amounting to $1,400 was taken for state missions. On Thursday evening Rev. Dr. John T. Williams delivered an eloquent address on the "Origin and Prog- ress of the General Association." This production of the lamented Williams, who so long and so faithfully served as recording secretary of the Association, is worthy of the brilliant and scholarly preacher who de- livered it. The address is such a compact resume of the fifty years' history of the Association that it can not be taken to pieces without marring its rare excellency and beauty. It, with other memorial addresses, may be found in the volume already mentioned. On Friday evening an address was delivered by Rev. Dr. J. C. Armstrong on "Educational Institu- tions," and one by Dr. W. R. Rothwell on "Ministerial Education." These two addresses are more particu- larly used in the chapters on "Education." The address of Dr. S. H. Ford on "Some Changes in Fifty Years" was — as the thousands who have in the years, listened to the rare oratory of this venerable preacher will know without the saying in this place— 204 A Jubilee. a most entertaining, instructive and thrilling discourse. The physical and social conditions in Missouri in the long by gone, the religious life and church facilities, the preachers and their modes of life and manner of preaching, all were so vividly portrayed that the listener felt himself living, for the time being, in another land and among another people. The whole was inter- spersed with reminiscences pathetic and amusing. The address was unwritten, but afterward reduced to writ- ing for the semi-centennial volume. An original poem entitled "Our Jubilee," from the pen of Airs. Sarah E. Dodge, was read, much to the en- tertainment and inspiration of the occasion. This poem of over four hundred lines is more than our space ad- mits for reproduction in full. The few excerpts given below are sufficient to suggest the spirit, adaptation and merit of the poem. ''Marshall your hosts, oh jubilee! Champions of peace, prepare ! Missouri's trump sounds long and loud. Ye tribes, oh gather near ! Fling wide your portals, gates of praise. Redeeming love repeat; Let angel voices catch the strain. Reverberations greet ! Our jubilee an epoch crowns, And as we joyful meet, Let retrospection backward turn, Our mercies past, repeat. Full half a century can claim Allegiance, loyal, true. And we would pause along the line. The serried ranks review. * * * >!: ;J; * * * "Once more in council brothers meet. The roll is called in vain A Jubilee. 205 For those who sleep beneath the tomb — Who answer not again ! How tender memories thronging press ! Bring back the past — the hour, When watchmen once on Zion's walls, Proclaimed the truth in power ! Here memory gives her angel charge, To guard her treasures well, Of cherished words, of hopes and prayers, The faithful sentinel ! Missouri feels once more the grief. That rends her heart oppressed. "How are the mighty fallen, lo ! Appalled she weeps in dread ; The men who shaped her destiny, Her valiant sons are dead. * * * * ;[: * * :f: "Sleep, sweetly sleep, dear blessed ones, Repose at last and rest; The hands that held our standard high. Crossed on the quiet breast ! As clarions loud your voices rang, Proclaimed the refuge free — And far the tidings spread Of truth and liberty. On earth, redeeming love and grace, The burden of your song; In loftier courts now sing the praise Of Him you worshiped long." ^Irs. Dodge is the only remaining daughter of the venerable and much honored Rev. Dr. Adiel Sherwood, and sister of the Hon. Thomas Sherwood, for thirty years a member and for years chief justice, of the supreme court of Missouri. Dr. Sherwood was a devoted and influential friend of the Missouri Bap- 2o6 A Jubilee. tist General Association, which, in his life time, honored him with a handsome souvenir. At a green old age, after actually and actively spending sixty-nine years in the gospel ministry, this man,"full of the Holy Ghost," serenely died at his home in St. Louis. The writer was with him in his last hour on earth, and the chamber of death seemed unearthly. The radiance of the dying saint's countenance beamed with celestial joy, as though the thousands he had led to the christ, and had gone before him to the promised land, were welcoming him to the Lamb of God forever. Rev. Dr. J. C. Maple presented a paper — biograph- ical — on the moderators of the General Association; and Rev. Dr. G. W. Hyde on the corresponding secre- taries and recording secretaries. These interesting papers bring the writer of this volume under obliga- tions — they may be read in the semi-centennial memo- rial volume. Tracing the history of the General Association from the handful of Godly men and women assembled in a church house away from the centers of influence, in a rural district, reached, not by palace cars or elegant coaches gliding on steel rails, but by saddle, and wagon and gig and barouche, for consultation, with prayer for divine direction as to methods and means for supplying the light of divine truth and theway of salvation, to re- gions in their own state, destitute of this blessing; and knowing that they were assailed by bitter opposition from sources whence should come sympathy and coop- eration ; heroically resolving to go forward in the name of an unseen leader, and in the progress of the holy crusade to find themselves while in the midst of pros- perity interrupted and scattered by the relentless rav- ages of civil war; and then to be thrown into "chaos" by internal vicissitudes, and then later to be confronted by a "crisis" that threatened disintegration or dissolu- tion, and yet to emerge from these untoward conditions A Jubilee. 207 into a prosperity that made the organization the equal of any other of its kind in the United States, is it not a most natural and religous impulse that at the coming of the fiftieth anniversary, the successors of the founders should celebrate as a jubilee the trials and triumphs of the work to which their fathers and themselves had given their hearts ? Many who were at the Marshall jubilee have gone to the General Assembly and church of the First Born. Of these the writer recalls the following devoted serv- ants — now heavenly saints — of the Lord, who con- tributed by their presence and counsel and fellowship to the joy and the success of the meeting. Without pausing for a tribute to each of the departed worthies, let us think of them as a group of witnesses deeply interested in the work and workers left in the church militant : Hon. John B. Wornall, ex-moderator; L. B. Ely, ex- moderator; Ex-Gov. Charles H. Hardin, ex-assistant moderator; John T. Williams, D. D., secretary; S. W. Marston, D. D., ex-corresponding secretary; Joel Guthrie, secretary executive board ; John Gordon, mem- ber of board ; Rev. C. L. Butts, former missionary ; W. C. Barrett, former missionary; Rev. T. W. Barrett, member of board and president of Stephens College; Jeremiah B. Vardeman, only surviving male member of original meeting; Rev. J. B. Hardwicke; Rev. E. Roth, former missionary; Leland Wright, the second to hold the office of corresponding secretary; Deacon D. G. Hancock; W. P. Crosswhite, a munificent con- tributor to state missions; Cap. James F. Finks; Rev. Israel Christie, moderator Mt. Moriah Association; W. H. Williams, D. D., editor Central Baptist; B. G. Payne, an early and fast friend of the Association ; Rev. J. Pearce; Rev. J. F. Smith, who made the opening prayer of the jubilee meeting; Frank Ely, patron of the Baptist Sanitarium; Garrett W. Morehead, ex-moder- ator Mt. Zion Association: A. W. Chambliss, D. D., 2oS A Jubilee. the venerable theologian; Rev. W. E. Chambliss, the sweet spirited former missionary; E. S. Dulin, D. D., college president and former missionary; W. B. Glover, M. D., a friend to missions; Rev. J. W. Swift, former missionary; Henry Talbird, D. D., for ten years presi- dent Alabama Baptist State Convention; A. Machett, D. D., the angelic preacher; E. D. Isbell, D. D., a preacher of an introductory sermon to the General As- sociation; Rev. A. F. Martin, a pioneer missionary; Prof. J. R. Eaton, Ph. D., scientist and educator; Rev. J. L. Tichenor, the beloved pastor; Rev. Wm. Harris, a preacher of an introductory sermon ; Rev. V. T. Set- tle, former missionary; W. M. Johnson; J. M. Shock, M. D. ; Rev. R. J. Mansfield, a veteran missionary ; S. S. Nowlin, lawyer of Montgomery. A number of women, lovers of every Baptist enter- prise, who were present as messengers to the semi- centennial meeting, have been called to the final rewards of the righteous: Mrs. B. G. Tutt, wife of Dr. Tutt, who delivered the response to the address of welcome; Mrs. C. W. Pendleton, mother of Mrs. J. C. Arm- strong; Mrs. Wm. Turner, granddaughter of Urial Sebree, one of the early moderators of General As- sociation; Miss Katie O'Bryan, of a family connected with pioneer work of the Association; Mrs. Henry Talbird, wife of Dr. Talbird; Mrs. E. S. Dulin, wife of Dr. Dulin, an accomplished servant of the Master ; Mrs. A. W. Chambliss, wife of Dr. Chambliss; Miss Maggie Herndon. There is no doubt that others who swelled the throng at Marshall have gone to the rest that remaineth to the people of God, but the memory of the writer re- calls no others at this (1898) date, and having no list of the departed, he writes from his own memory. This brief sketch of one of the most profitable and spiritual general meetings of Baptists in Missouri, is written with the consciousness that the subject is of A Jubilee. 209 greater interest to the progressive element of the de- nomination in the state than has been made manifest by the preceding pages. The effect of that meeting was a fresh impulse to the General Association, which is felt at this day. The meeting was a mighty uplift to the work of christian progress in all the departments fos- tered and promoted by the state organization of a great and generous denomination of christians who earnestly contend for the faith delivered to the saints of old. H CHAPTER XII. POST JUBILEE PERIOD. From 1884 to 1898 is a period of varying success in state mission work, but not an unsuccessful period, by any means. Taken altogether there has been an en- couraging work, and the spirit of revival of interest in the General Association has been sustained. In all history there are some facts which some people would rather were unwritten, and some that the historian reluctantly writes. But the duty of history is fidelity to truth. The corresponding secretary who served from i878 to 1886, which period included the "crisis" and the "jubilee," was in 1886 petitioned by more than a thousand of the best citizens of the county of his resi- dence to consent to stand for nomination as candidate for the congress of the United States. At the advice of certain brethren and many friends out of the Bap- tist denomination, after much hesitation and delay he consented to the desired use of his name. He devoted in all one month of his time to a canvass in the interest of his candidacy, in the meanwhile conducting an act- ive correspondence in the interest of state missions. He compassed but a small part of the congressional district, and received the vote of the delegation of every locality visited by him, and made a very narrow escape from congressional fetters. Notwithstanding the collections for state missions for the month devoted to politics were more than four hundred dollars in excess of the corresponding month of the preceding year, certain brethren felt that the cor- responding secretary had erred in entering the political 210 Post Jubilee Period. 21 I arena and that the office of corresponcHng secretary ought to be vacated, and by a bare majority in the board the office was vacated at the expiration of the associa- tional year. At the same time the corresponding sec- retary was— and had been for years— the moderator of the General Association. A vigorous effort was made to displace him from that office. He expected to be displaced. The most distinguished layman, and one of the best men in the denomination in the state was the candidate of the opposition. But as the General Asso- ciation was a much larger body than its board, the vote resulted in the re-election of the moderator. The corresponding secretary might have been suc- cessful in the political episode if he had been willing to resort to means of election as reprehensible as some used to compass his displacement as corresponding sec- retary. He had, as eminent and trustworthy citizens knew, the nomination at his command, but refused to conform to the conditions demanded. The convention adjourned without making a nomination and referred the issue to a district primary election. The secretary retired from the contest feeling that his first duty was to the state mission work of the General Association. It may be wrong for a preacher to engage in poli- tics. The conviction in the minds of some preachers is a dissent from this idea. Dr. James Manning, who made Rhode Island College an established fact, and who with Isaac Backus, fought before the committee of the continental congress for religious liberty, was one of the ablest, most religiously influential and scholarly Baptist preachers of the last century, was himself se- lected by the Rhode Island legislature to represent that colony in the continental congress of i786. Noah Al- den, a pastor of a Baptist church in Massachusetts, and while pastor was a member of the convention that framed the constitution of that state in i78o. He was also a member of the convention that framed the con- 2 12 Post Jubilee Period. stitiition of the United States. Governor Garrard, one of the early and ablest governors of Kentucky, was a Baptist preacher. Thomas Chilton (called Tom Shel- ton) often represented in congress the district in which this writer was born in Kentucky, and during his whole political career was one of the most popular Baptist preachers in the state. He was the grandfather of the present United States Senator Chilton, of Texas. The renowned John L. Waller, than whom the Kentucky Baptists never boasted a greater preacher or writer, was a member from Woodford county of the constitutional convention of 1848, and was reckoned one of the ablest members of that ablest body of law makers ever assem- bled in Kentucky. Ex-Governor Eagle, of Arkansas, made a record second to no governor the state has ever had. He did not bring reproach to the Baptist ministry nor upon Christianity. He is now and has for a num- ber of years been the honored and beloved moderator of the Arkansas Baptist General Association; and has lost none of his influence as a Baptist preacher. Many other equally forcible illustrations might be given from Baptist history, but it would be an unprofitable use of time and labor. It is admitted by all intelligent persons that civil government is a necessity of civilized society, and that it is the duty of every citizen to do his part in every legitimate way to promote the highest interest of the state. Politics is the science of civil government, and unless government is wrong, participation in the affairs of state is not wrong. Nevertheless, the writer of these pages, after a long, varied and somewhat active experience, feels pre- pared to say to the ministry of the gospel, who before many years at most he must leave — don't seek political preferment. It is not incompatible with your calling to make laws nor to administer them if you are called on to do so. But as a rule your brethren would prefer Post Jubilee Period. 2 1 3 tbat you have no part in politics. You can afford io make the sacrifice for their sakes. The objections that your brethren make to their preachers taking promi- nence in poHtics are several fold : ( i ) You must be a partisan. Political parties seem to be a necessity of human nature, and with many men in the churches par- tisan prejudices are more influential than religious con- victions. The members of the party opposed to your party, will oppose themselves to you if you become in anywise a partisan champion. This is a weakness of human nature to which the minister of the gospel will have to submit for the sake of the greater cause. (2) Your brethren, some of them, will suspect the ardor of your devotion to the cause of the Great Master. This is because they do not yet see the relation of righteous- ness to good government and the exaltation of a nation. (3) There is in practical politics as it obtains to-day a world of abomination, a multitude of evils. Corrup- tion of every sort — lying, dissimilation, insincerity, intrigue, bribery and all manner of pandering to the wicked passions and vicious appetites of political "workers" and voters; and an amazing corruption of office. One can make a political campaign without any of these vices, and it is the comfort and satisfaction of some that they have done so, but as a rule such men are accorded the blessed privilege of "staying at home." It is not the contention here that all men in political places are corrupt or that they reached their place by corrupt methods, but that such conditions as are here described are the characteristic features of politics. All men in politics who have succeeded without corrupt methods will certify to the truth of this general statement. For these reasons and for the peace and tran- quillity of the preacher's mind, let him forego aspira- tions and gently deny the overtures of friends. He might be the instrument of great good to the common- 214 Post Jubilee Period. wealth, by his learning and purity of motive and con- stancy of endeavor, but, except in rare cases, the loss in other directions might overbalance the gain. Then let an old preacher who has long enjoyed the confidence of his brethren and the honors they could confer, admonish all young preachers — while they seek to understand the philosophy and history of government and to be intelli- gent and good citizens — eschew active politics. If the government goes to the bad without you, it might go there with you. In such an event the outs are better ofif than the ins. The vacancy occasioned in the office of correspond- ing secretary by the act of displacement already men- tioned was temporarily filled by the appointment of Ex-Gov. C. H. Hardin. He conducted the correspond- ence and had general oversight of the work for one month, doing his work with that order and system so eminently characteristic of the man. The work lost nothing by the temporary suspension of active field ef- fort. He was followed by Dr. J. C. Armstrong for one month. At the meeting of the board of state missions in the month of December, 1886, Rev. S. M. Brown was elected corresponding secretary. He at once entered upon the work with that energy and zeal that has dis- tinguished his ministry in this state for (now) full twenty years. He is a preacher of extraordinary power and with a popularity to be almost envied. He brought to his ofiice work all the resources of speech and pen, and created for himself and his work a most favorable impression upon the great body of Baptists in the state. His earnest sermons — always listened to by large crowds, his fervent appeals for the missiona- ries, his touching and entertaining anecdotes, his solo presentation of his own original songs — sang by him with great effect — called forth liberal contributions and made for him hosts of friends. His success in the Post Jubilee Period. 215 financial w ork of state missions, anil his popularity as a preacher brought to him great influence in the councils of the denomination. How he has endured such a vol- ume of work as he has performed is an amazement to his friends, who have all along suffered apprehension that his seeming physical vitality w^as not equal to such herculean performances. But he enjoys a firm con- viction that the Infinite Father has been his help, his strength and his stay. Bro. Brown continued by annual re-elections to fill the office of corresponding secretary until October, 1889. The following summary of state mission work for these years will exhibit the efficiency of his labors : For the year ending October 10, i887 : General missionaries 42 Local missionaries 5 Churches aided 26 Sermons preached 3.246 Baptisms 646 Total collections for the year (including in- terest on endowments and gifts from Womans' Society) $12,046 18 Amount expended $9,668 48 For the year ending October, 1888 : General missionaries 4 Local missionaries 13 Churches aided 41 Sermons preached 4,846 Baptisms 1,116 Total collections for the year, including balance from preceding year $1,508.20 and S. S. collections by Boyer $1,051.20 and interest on endowment $15,519 5? Amount expended $13,886 02 For the year ending October, 18^89: Total number missionaries 58 Number of churches aided 37 2i6 Post Jubilee Period. Number sermons preached 4*258 Number of baptisms 1,148 Total collections (including as above) $16,56? 43 Expended $16,490 41 For the year ending October, 1890 : At the meeting in October, 1889, Rev. S. M, Brown declined re-election to the secretaryship. The board in its report for 1890 says: "Rev. S. M. Brown was re- elected corresponding secretary, but after one month's consideration of the matter decided that it was his duty to retire from a work which had begun to impair his strength. His decision seemed to be a calamity to the work of the board. His faithful services and his phe- nomenal success in raising money and in stimulating a wide interest in all our denominational enterprises, seemed to make him a necessity to continued prosperity in state missions." After a delay until November 18, 1889, Rev. J. C. Armstrong was elected corresponding secretary to do office work only. General agents w^ere appointed for the field, these were John T. Daniel, Esq., of Maryville, and Rev. Dr. A. F. Baker. The report for the year ending October, 1890, shows: Missionaries and agents 58 Churches aided 42 Sermons preached 6,318 Baptisms 9°^ Money collected for current use $14,740 72 Money expended by the board $14,812 72 When it is considered that for the year above tab- ulated, there w^as no field work by the corresponding secretary, the results, though unsatisfactory to the board, were more encouraging than otherwise. An office corresponding secretary, with competent agents who at the same time aid the work of evangelists ought now to meet all the demands of state mission work, and would if pastors could be induced to take such active Post Jubilee Period. 217 interest in state missions as the nature of the work and their duty suggest. At the October meeting, 1890, of the state mission board, "Rev. S. M. Brown was employed at a nominal salary to do the office work of corresponding secretary, and to take a general oversight of the work. Rev. Dr. A. F. Baker was continued as general missionary and col- lector for that portion of the state lying south of the Missouri river, and Rev. Dr. A. C. RafTerty was called to a similar work in that part of the state lying north of the river." The report of the board for the year ending Octo- ber, 1 89 1, shows: Whole number of missionaries 55 Whole number Sunday School missionaries 2 Churches aided 42 Sermons preached 4o'''9 Baptisms 916 Collections, all sources, for state missions. .$13,049 80 Expenditures $11,865 5° At the October meeting of the board for 1891, Rev, S. AI. Brown was re-elected corresponding secretary. The board's report for the year ending October, 1892, shows : Missionaries employed 5~ Churches aided 50 Sermons preached 5'39i Baptisms 1,1 72 Collections for state missions $13,687 69 Expenditures for state missions $13,042 84 Bro. Brown, at the expiration of the associational year last named, finally retired from secretarial work, and devoted himself to a mission which he had founded in Kansas City, and continued his labors with that in- terest until it became a flourishing and self-sustaining church. He then in 1896, resigned that pastorate to devote his energies and talent to editorial work on the Word and Way, a Baptist journal founded by him and Rev. R. K. Maiden, D. D. 2iS Post Jubilee Period. Secretary Brown was succeeded by Rev. W. T. Campbell, October, 1892. This brother beloved has from his youth been a conscientious, consecrated laborer in his Master's vineyard. P'rom the beginning of his ministry, after leaving the William Jewell College, he has been a faithful and useful friend of the General Association. F"rom his youth up he has served on im- portant committees raised to facilitate the work of the Association, and has on all such occasions shown him- self a faithful and competent worker. Under the auspices of the joint action of the board of the General Association and the board of Blue River district association, he founded the Olive Street mission in Kansas City, which under his almost superhuman energies, became a strong and flourishing church, with valuable property in a most important and flourishing part of the wonderful city, and established as Olive Street Baptist church. Bro. Campbell served five years as corresponding secretary. The results of his labors are the best commentary on his adaptation to the office. During his term of office the state of Missouri in com- mon with the whole country passed through the darkest and most depressing period of financial embarrassment since the crisis of 1873. Nevertheless Secretary Camp- bell kept the work of state missions above the crash that came to many secular enterprises that seemed prosper- ous and on safe foundations. The following table of results for the five years of his work indicates that he was neither idle nor overcome by adverse conditions. His uniform urbanity as a christian gentleman, his generous soul ever looking out through a radiant face; his big heart ever palpitating in genuine fellowship for his brethren; his warm and earnest gospel sermons, and his pathetic appeals for the destitute fields and the missionaries contributed to the making of his very satisfactory record : Post Jubilee Period. 319 During- these live years the record shows that there were 300 missionaries engaged ; these with the cor- responding secretary, preached 34,452 sermons, bap- tized 6,T86 converts, aided 235 churches, raised $56,- 939.59 for state missions and expended $63,604.63. Leaving- a deficit of $6,665.04 to be suppHed by bor- rowed money and accrued interest from endowment fund : as has frequently been the case prior to Bro. Campbell's secretaryship. It is worthy of special note that more persons were baptized by the missionaries of the General Association during Secretary Campbell's administration, than dur- ing any other five years' period in the history of that organization. After the resignation of W. T. Campbell, Rev. T. L. West, pastor at Carrollton, was called to the cor- responding secretaryship in October, 1897. He will not have completed two years' work before these pages are in print. Considering that his first year was the time of the Franco- American war, and that the whole country w^as in a state of excited and anxious suspense, the results of his work deserve, as they have received, the hearty and emphatic indorsement of the board and the Association. The ability of Bro. West as a preacher, the confi- dence he has made to himself from his brethren, and the reception he has received in all parts of the state give guarantee of a future brilliant work as secretary. The following is a table of the first and only com- pleted year's worlc by Secretary West : ^Missionaries employed 5- Churches aided 35 Sermons preached 7,io7 Baptisms r .098 Amount raised for state missions and Sun- day Schools. including balance from pre- ceding vear and monev borrowed during the year .' $12,297 45 Total expenses of the year $12,297 45 220 Post Jubilee Period. The year's work was such as to greatly encourage the General Association, and enlarge hope for the future. Associated with Secretary West as general mis- sionaries and assistant collectors, are Rev. James Reid, one of the most useful and highly esteemed members of the General Association. For years he has been an ac- tive member of different committees; member of the state mission board, of which he was for many consecu- tive years the efficient recording secretary. His habitual cheerfulness, ready and humorous wit, generous spirit and exemplary christian life added to excellent preach- ing ability combine to make him a general favorite with his brethren and the people. His heartfelt sermons and genial conversation are elements of decided power and well merited influence. Rev. Lewis E. Martin, a name familiar to the rec- ords of the General Association, has done vigorous and effective work as another special aid to the correspond- ing secretary. Besides his work as general missionary and special agent, he has been of signal service to the denomination in counseling churches whose troubles threatened disintegration and disruption. Rev. T. A. Bowman has been mentioned before in these pages as an active secretarial adjunct. He has been associated in such work a greater number of years than any other agent of the General Association. This alone certifies to the high esteem in which he is held by his brethren. His name is inseparable from the Baptist history of Southeast Missouri. There is perhaps not a Baptist in all that quarter of the state that does not know and respect him. Other portions of the state are acquainted with his work, and love him for the work's sake. Rev. J. W. Keltner, in Southwest Missouri, labors diligently in a field where much work is needed to bring the churches into cooperation with the General Associa- Post Jubilee Period. 221 tion. His labors have not been in vain. One of the chief missions of General Association agency is to en- large the mission spirit of the churches and to enlist them in active and intelligent cooperation in state mis- sion work. He who does this, though his collections may be small, is building for the future and his work is of prime importance. Through the work of corresponding secretary and his aids the aim is to get all the churches to systematic and habitual help to state missions. This done and per- severed in, and Missouri shall have been won to Christ. CHAPTER XIII. AGENCIES AND AGENTS. He who protests against agencies defies an inex- orable law of the universe. From the infinite mind down to and through the ramifications of physical forces and phenomena, results are effected through sec- ondary agencies. The great first cause of all things, made and governs creation by subordinate activities. Opposition to the agency methods of enterprise is to object to the order of nature. After God had made out of unseen things, the things that do appear, and had placed man in dominion over the works of His hands, He administers the af- fairs of His providential government of the race through the minds and hands of men. When he would cause the Israelites to be carried into Egypt, He per- mits Joseph to be sold into bondage, and from bondage He lifts him into premiership. When the nation of Is- rael is oppressed by the Pharaohs, God raised up and commissioned Moses as their deliverer. When He gave the law, Moses was made the law-giver. Joshua was commissioned to complete the deliverance begun under Moses. When the Hebrew captives were to be res- cued from the cruelties of an irate Chaldean monarch and tyrant, a heavenly messenger was dispatched to stay the heat of fiery furnaces and make harmless the claws of ravenous beasts. When the fullness of the times had come and all things were ready to offer redemption to Jew and to Gentile, prophecies through human agencies were accomplished by divine assumption of the human. The God-man in the setting up of His kingdom on the earth appointed human agents as witnesses in Judea and to the uttermost parts of the earth. 222 Agencies and Agents. 323 In the secular affairs of human Hfe the same law obtains and prevails. Civil government is a necessity to the progressive development of human society. Mon- archies govern through agencies. Premiers and subor- dinate cabinet counsellors administer aft'airs of state. In democracies like our own, the people have their agents from the chief magistrates down to the cross- roads postoffice. Legislatures have their agents from speaker or presiding officer to the pages. Courts have their clerks, marshals, sheriffs, gaolers, etc. So is it in the great industrial, commercial and financial whirl of a busy world. Great manufacturing establishments have their entrepreneur or general busi- ness manager, and on down through attorneys, clerks, salesmen, cashiers, etc. Transportation establishments have a variety of agencies, from presidents of corpora- tions down to mail men. Banks have their directors, presidents, cashiers, tellers and bookkeepers. Mer- chants, their local and traveling salesmen, clerks, cash- iers, etc. Manifestly it is true that without the system of secondary forces the world could not carry on the en- terprises that prevent social stagnation and decay. No one has ever yet been able to put into opera- tion a scheme by which the christian religion can be kept alive and progressive without agencies and agents. The church is Christ's agent on the earth. The pastor and deacons and church clerk and janitor are the agents of the church. Shall local churches cooperate in holding forth the word of life? If not, how shall the uttermost parts of earth, and the people that dwell in religious darkness be reached with the light of life? If cooperation is law- ful, how shall the churches cooperate without a method ? Any method that employs workers is a system of agency. The most natural, and therefore the most common method of cooperation is by community organization — 224 Agencies and Agents. association, convention, society, assembly, conference, what not? These organizations can not go en banc into the field. They must have representatives. These representatives are agents. But these general organi- zations can not be in frequent session to look after the details and changing conditions and fresh demands of the work. They must have proxies. These proxies are agents. Men supposed to be safe counsellors and devoted to Zion's welfare are selected as such immedi- ate representatives. These smaller bodies, that meet more frequently than the general body, are usually called boards. These boards are invested with limited discretionary power. They can not go beyond the organic law and special in- structions of the body they represent. Conscientious, common sense men don't desire to transgress the bounds fixed by the principal — the power that creates the board is the principal. The Missouri Baptist General Association is no exception to the general rule. Boards of general re- ligious organizations, including Baptists, had existence long before the General Association did. It is safe to infer that informed and conscientious men are careful of fundamental principles and practical policies. The fact that the board system has had the indorsement of such men through the generations is certainly worthy of respectful and serious consideration. It is frankly and cheerfully conceded by all candid and well informed men that every man is entitled to his individual opinion. But the occasional man that rises up to object to a prevalent and time-tried custom, should remember that the many dead and living ap- provers of that custom were and are entitled to their individual opinions and that the many are as likely to be right as are the few. Boards can not do the w^ork committed to them without the time, thought and service of a man or men Agencies and Agents. 225 who can and will look specially after the details of the work for which the board has its existence. Such rep- resentatives are the agents of the board employing them. They are expected to do a particular work, without which the objects of the principal organization could not be reached. The popular objection to the employment of agents for general religious work is that money is required to support the agents. The fact that this objection is never urged by the contributors of money for general religious progressive work, should be sufficient reason for dismissing the objection without further attention. But as the objection affords a certain class of agitators who love conspicuity, an opportunity to gather a non- contributing following, it may be well to offer a few suggestions for the benefit of such as feel a responsive inclination to the objection. It has not yet been certi- fied that the leading objectors to the paid agency system have refused pay for the services they have rendered in the name of religion. Some of them preach the gospel with the impression that the laborer is worthy of his hire. Some others will accept the subscription price of the paper through which is pubilshed the philippics at the agency system. There is a principle, altogether practical, involved in the system of paid agencies for general religious work that should have the candid and unbiased atten- tion of all reasonable men. That principle is set forth and briefly elaborated in the annual report of the State Mission Board to the General Association at the meet- ing for 1879: 'Tt must not be forgotten by any of us, that it is a principle that holds good in all monetary affairs, whether that money is used to gain sacred or secular ends, that each dollar put into any enterprise must pay its own way to the end for which it is designated. The 15 2 26 Agencies and Agents. fact, therefore, that in our contributions to the cause of missions, whether home or foreign, some percentage is usually needed to meet the expense, first of procuring that contribution, and secondly, to enable the amount to reach its destination is no just cause of complaint on the part of the donor. "There should be no consumption of funds in un- necessary or unproductive labor. But where the time and labor of an agent are necessary in order to produce the contribution, the person contributing through that agent ought to expect to pay an honest share of the ex- penses of such agency." At the second meeting of the General Association (Society), held at Bonne Femme church, 1835, an ex- ecutive (committee) board was appointed, and located at Fayette. It was eminently proper to make the local home of the general body at the town where the meeting of three preachers resulted in the call for the Brick Providence meeting. Then too, Howard county at that time was the most famous county in the state, and Fay- ette the leading town in Central Missouri, and Central Missouri was the Baptist stronghold of the state. The board at Fayette was for years composed of such men as Samuel C. Majors, Roland Hughes, Urial Sebree, Wade M. Jackson, Thos. Fristoe, Leland Wright,W. C. Ligon, Fielding Wilhite, Isaac Lionberger, R. E. Mc- Daniel, William Carson, R. S. Thomas, A. P. Williams, Wm. McPherson, William Duncan, A. D. Landrum, H. Wallace, A. T. Hite, D. Perkins, T. C. Harris. Noah Kingsberry, D. H. Witt, John Robinson, J. W. Hughes, L. S. Eddins, T. E. Hatcher, M. F. Price, Noah Flood, John Taylor, S. T. Hughes, Jno. Moss, Jas. Waddell, E. S. Dulin, J. B. Jeter, A. Sherwood, D. H. Hickman, R. H. Harris, R. C. Branham, J. E. Welch. G. H. Old- ham, G. W. Morehead, Stephen Wilhite, James F. Connor, G. M. Lockett, Geo. R. Hughes. Wm. H. Stapleton, W. R. Rothwell, Allen Hughes, Samuel C. Agencies and Agents. 227 Duncan. E. G. Garnett, J. N. Garnctt, M. D., Wm. M. liell, Rice Patterson, Addison Lewis, ]\1. U., George Rhoades, Wm. P. Jackson, Jerry Kingsberry, X. X. Buckner, Ben. Paine, Tlios. Tindal, J. H. Silvay, S. J. Duncan, Y. R. Pitts, J. V. Schofield, T. W. Morehead. The executive board continued to be located at Fayette until 1866. A period of thirty-one years. It is therefore safe to say that inasmuch as the efficiency and usefulness of the Association depended largely upon the wisdom, prudence and devotion of the execu- tive board, the Association received its firm setting and leading characteristics from the first and long con- tinued home of its board. Urial Sebree and Roland Hughes were respectively, in early days, the presiding officer of the board. Saml. C. Majors was a member of the board during the whole of the time of its resi- dence at Fayette. He served alternately as treasurer, president and secretary. His faithfulness through seasons of adversity and prosperity, through cloud and sunshine was of even tenor and unabating interest. For steadfastness of purpose, consistency of devotion and intelligently applied sound judgment in all of the af- fairs in public life both sacred and secular he was a most remarkable man. While other members of the board for the period named — most of whose names have been given above — were men well suited in all re- spects for the sacred responsibilities laid upon them, it can be said without injustice to any one of them that the mind and heart of Saml. C. Majors, constantly as- sisted by his untiring and thoroughly competent con- frere, Leland Wright, was — next to God — the mainstay and assurance of the infant enterprise on up to the period of maturit}- and strength. Saml. C. Majors was born in Franklin county, Kentucky. August 26. 1805. In 1829 he moved to Fayette and- continued to reside there, an honored citizen, a courteous gentleman and a useful christian. He died at Fayette March 13. 1880. 228 Agencies and Agents. He leaves a venerable and saintly widow, who, with her husband in his lifetime, made their home in Fayette a real home for every Baptist preacher that journeyed that way. Sister Majors is a mild, loving and graceful saint, who has furnished the author with some inter- esting recollections of the early days of the General As- sociation. Bro. Majors and his wife (nee Elizabeth Daily) are the parents of Hon. Saml. C. Majors, who ably represented his senatorial district in the General Assembly, and who died in 1895, in Fayette, where he was born and reared. Sister Majors is happy in having the affectionate and tender ministrations of her daugh- ter, Mrs. Lou Arline, the wife of Hon. Wm. Arline, a lawyer of Fayette. Mrs. Arline has through her whole life been a staunch friend of the General Association. A sketch of Leland Wright, the second to perform the duties of corresponding secretary for the General Association, is given in a preceding chapter. He is represented in Fayette by a worthy son of a noble sire. Dr. W. S. Wright is a leading physician, ranking high with his profession, and a deacon in the Fayette Bap- tist church. Urial Sebree and Roland Hughes have been written of in a preceding chapter. Wade M. Jackson, sometimes president and some- while treasurer and again corresponding secretary of the executive board at Fayette, was an eminent citizen of Howard county. He was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, December 3, 1797. He spent most of his life in Howard county; and though a man of decided hauteur of manner and quickness of temper, he was honored by his fellow citizens with a seat in the House of Representatives of the state legislature, and with the responsible office of county judge. He was an active, useful and influential worker and giver in all leading denominational enterprises. A brother of Gov. Clai- borne Jackson and every whit his equal in intellect, learning and influence. He died at the age of eighty- Agencies and Agents. 229 one years at his magnificent farm home in Howard county. From 1 867 on for several years, the state mission (executive) board was located at Columbia. While at this point its members were: D. H. Hickman, James Harris, J. A. Hollis, W. J. Patrick, R. H. Smith, W. M. Jackson, Saml. C. Majors, W. M. Bell, W. R. Roth- well, A. Sherwood, J. F. Clark, J. Guthrie, R. S. Dun- can, X. X. Buckner, A. P .Williams, I. Ingram, J. T. Williams, T. W. Barrett, H. M. Richardson, J. S. Green, W. M. McPherson, J. L. Stephens, J. M. Rob- inson, George Kline, J. C. Bernard, G. W. Rogers, J. B. Wornall, E. D. Jones. W. N. Crawford, H. C. Lollar, J. W. Waddell, S. W. Marston, R. T. Prewitt, L. B. Ely, Noah Flood, W. M. Page, B. McRoberts, E. S. Dulin, T. H. Hickman, J. D. Murphy, N. J. Smith, John Robinson, Wm. Carson, S. A. Beauchamp, Joshua Hickman, Geo. W. Trimble, H. Fletcher, T. M. James, G. W. Morehead. In 1873, with the General Association in session at ]\Iacon, the following resolution was ofifered by J. W. Warder, D. D., and after some spirited discussion, was adopted : "Resolved, That the board of the General Associa- tion be located during the next associational year in St. Louis." While the board was at Columbia its first presi- dent was Hon. David Hickman. A sketch of the life and character of this eminent layman appears in a former chapter. He was succeeded by the Hon. James L. Stephens, who continued in that office until the re- moval of the board to St. Louis. For further knowl- edge of this distinguished brother the reader is referred to the chapter on Education {Stephens College). While the board was at Columbia its first treasurer was James Harris a leading agriculturist, judge of the county court, an active and influential citizen. He was 230 Agencies and Agents. succeeded in this responsible office by L. B. Ely. See chapter (Education — Williani Jetvell College). Bro. Ely was succeeded by Robt. T. Prewitt, of Columbia. This excellent brother, beloved by all who knew him, was an influential member of the Columbia church, highly esteemed as a reliable business man. In his last will and testament he left $5,000 as a permanent mis- sion fund for Little Bonne Femme Association, the in- terest only to be used, and this at the discretion of the deacons of the Columbia church. Bro. Prewitt died sev- eral years since, not having reached a greater period of life than is commonly reckoned middle age. He was succeeded in the office of treasurer by Judge Geo. W. Trimble, who still lives in Columbia, having been sev- eral times honored by his fellow citizens with impor- tant public trusts. The board at St. Louis had as its members while there the following persons : Joshua Hickman, W. L. C. Brey, Marshall Broth- erton, A. H. Burlingham, W. Pope Yeaman, J. L Stephens, L. B. Ely, J. D. Murphy, S. A. Beauchamp J. C. Maple, J. W. Warder, D. T. Morrill, M. M. Man- ning, J. M. Robinson, J. F. Cook, J. A. Flood, F. M Ellis, T. W. Barrett, Nathan Cole. \Vm. M. Senter, J B. Wornall, J. T. Williams, S. W. Marston, E. S. Dulin J. H. Luther, S. Thornhill, W. M. Page, A. M. Mor- rison, J. L. Applegate, Geo. Kline, John Hensley, D. J Hancock, O. S. Lyford, E. D. Isbell, Frank Ely, S. H Ford, James Carroll, W. W. Boyd, J. E. Chambliss, M L. Laws, W. M. Bell, Geo. A. Lofton. In 1 878, with the General Association in session at Mexico, the following suggestion and recommendation from the committee to the report of the executive board was referred and adopted : "To effect a more perfect reunion in our work, we deem it desirable to locate the board at Mexico." Agencies and Agents. 331 While ihe board was at St. Louis its first president was Rev. Joshua Hickman, who now past his three score years and ten. still resides in St. Louis, a hale, hearty and active pastor. He is a native of Kentucky, but has been a resident of Missouri since 185 1. Since when he has filled important positions in the denomina- tion and an eminent place in the confidence and affec- tions of his brethren. His rare ability as a purely evangelical preacher has kept him in demand for forty- seven years in Missouri. He was succeeded in the presidency of the board by Hon. Nathan Cole, one of the leading citizens of St. Louis. He has been mayor of that great city and has represented one of its districts in the congress of the United States, and has been pres- ident of the Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis. Though now seventy-seven years of age, he is still an active business man, and deacon of the Second Baptist church, St. Louis, of which he has had continuous mem- bership since 1852. He was succeeded in the presi- dency of the board by W. Pope Yeaman. who contin- ued in that ollfice until after the removal of the board to Mexico. The board has been located at INIexico for twenty vears — at this writing 1898 — and its members at differ- ent dates through these years have been : J. C. Maple. W. Pope Yeaman, John A. Guthrie. J. D. Murphy, T. W. Barrett, G. A. Lofton, W. W. Boyd, Wm. Harris, W. C. Busby, J. M. Robinson. J. W. Waddell. J. Reid. Toel Guthrie, John M. Gordon, T. M. James (all the while), L. B. Ely, J. T. WilHams, W. M. Bell, B. L. Bowman (of these nineteen who constituted the first board at Mexico, eight are dead), A. G. Turner, A. C. Aver>% W. F. Elliott, N. T. Mitchell, W. J. Patrick, C. h' Hardin, J. C. Armstrong, Frank Ely, A. F. Fleet. E. L. Goldsberry, E. W. Stephens, J. P. Green, D. J. Hancock, R. C. Clarke, J. J. Brown, G. R. :\IcDaniel. A. C. Rafiferty, W. D. Shepherd, J. W. Southworth, S. 232 Agencies and Agents. Y. Pitts, W. R. Wilhite, S. M. Brown, J. T. Daniel, W. T. Campbell, J. W. Ford, J. T. M. Johnston, J. F. Kem- per, J. L. Applegate, J. L. Lawless, W. M. Senter, J. W. Stewart, R. D. Duncan, J. S. Basket, Byrd Duncan, C. G. Daniels, R. P. Johnston, N. M. Givan, J. T. Cheatham, J. D. Biggs, Lester S. Parker, T. L. West, G. F. Roth well, Everett Gill, J. E. Cook, J. R. Yates, John E. Franklin. The presidents of the board at Mexico have been W. Pope Yeaman until November, i878, when he re- signed to accept the corresponding secretaryship, and was succeeded by Dr. J. C. Maple. This last name oc- curs so often in this book that it is useless to write more than that he was born in the state of Ohio the eighteenth day of November, 1833; that he was educated at Shurtliff College at Alton, Illinois; that in October, 1857, he commenced his pastoral work; and that most of these forty-one years of active and useful ministry have been devoted to Missouri. He continued in the presidency of the board by successive annual elections until 1886, when by reason of his proposed removal to the pastorate of the First Baptist church at Keokuk, Iowa, he declined re-election, and was succeeded by Ex- Gov. Chas. H. Hardin, who continued to hold the office until his death, which was in 1892, on the twenty-ninth day of July. It goes for the saying that Governor Har- din was an active and efficient president of the board. As citizen, lawyer, financier, legislator and governor he was skillful, punctilious and conscientious in the dis- charge of duty. His death was greatly lamented by the entire state. Gov. Hardin was succeeded in the board presidency by W. F. Elliott, Esq., of Moberly, who continued in office until 1896, when by reason of impaired health he declined re-election. He filled the office with great fidelity and efficiency. He brought to bear in the discharge of his duties to the board and the General Association his long and intelligent experience Agencies a)id Agents. 233 as a civil officer and banker, and now thougli retired from active public business, he devotes much attention to church interests, and as a member of the board and chief committees of the William Jewell College, and as president of the Ministers' Aid Society, he is devoted to the duties of his office. In all of the general councils .of the denomination in the state he is an earnest and intelligent worker, and is deservedly honored with the esteem of his brethren. Bro. Elliott was succeeded by Hon. Noah M. Givan, the well known jurist and ex-circuit judge of Harrisonville. Judge Givan continued in office until October, 1898, when detained by professional business from the annual session, he was succeeded by Rev. J. F. Kemper, of Marshall. Bro. Kemper's long mem- bership in the board, and as its vice-president, and as an active, useful and influential member of the General Association pointed to him as the one man for the pres- idential succession. He at the same meeting of the General Association was elected assistant moderator of that body. During the twenty years residence of the board at Mexico, its recording secretaries have been J. T. Wil- liams, J. D. Murphy, J. C. Armstrong, T. W. Barrett and James Reid. Through all of these years Hon. John A. Guthrie has been the faithful, laborious, and generous treasurer of the board. He has, in this relation, done an amount of hard work little understood by those who are not familiar with the operations of state mission work. The sum.s of money handled are not so large as in some secular institutions, but the multiplicity of sources, and the great number of details devolve upon the treasurer as much care and watchfulness as if he were handling millions of dollars in larger sums. Treasurer Guthrie is a native Missourian. He was born in Guthrie, in Callaw'ay county, on the twenty-fifth day of December, 234 Agencies and Agents. 1839. He was reared on a farm, and was educated in the district state schools of his county and at Westmin- ster College, in Fulton. He did not complete the col- lege course, but he has proved himself, by an active, upright, successful and useful course in life, to have been better educated than thousands of college diplo- mates. While at school in Fulton he was converted to Christ, while attending a series of meetings conducted by Presbyterians. He afterwards — in May, 1869 — joined the Baptist church at Platte City and was bap- tized by Rev. J. J. Feltz. He crossed the plains — once known as the great American desert — in 1864, and re- turned in the autumn of the same year; driving an ox team from Denver to Nebraska City, which required thirty days; the tedious journey ending October 12, 1864. He traded in cattle from 1864 to '69 in Kansas and Nebraska. He returned to his home in Callaway county in September, 1869, and in that year married, and lived on the farm for six years. He moved to Mexico in i876, and has continued to reside and do business there to this day. His life in Mexico has been a busy one, yet quiet, unperturbed and undemonstra- tive. He has so gained the confidence of the people in his business capacity and trustworthiness that he has had for years the management of many estates as guardian, curator, etc. For several years his fiduciary business was so great that he has for several years in succession paid taxes on funds intrusted to him, vary- ing from $1,500 to $2,300 a year. For a number of years he gave bonds for the security of trust funds, amounting to $300,000. He has been for a number of years a director of the Southern Bank of Mexico, and for the past five years has been vice-president of that in- stitution. In the meantime he has had his own business to look after, which has been comfortably successful. In addition to all of his secular business he has found time to do the work of the treasurership of as many as Agencies and Agents. 235 five difterent institutions at the same time, and do faith- fully the work of church deacon, Sahl)ath School super- intendent, trustee of Hardin College, moderator and treasurer of his district association. In all of this work he has never worried. Having a strong con- stitution and good health preserved by temperate living, he has been equal to the foregoing work, to which must be added fourteen years as count}- judge, twelve of which he has been presiding judge. His motto has been and is : "Look after details and the ag- gregates will come round all right; do your part well and have faith in Him who controls the destinies of men." One with this principle as a guide, may serve God while serving man and looking after his own interests. There are some men whose names have been writ- ten in these pages whose characters and lives young men may study to great profit. The lives of such men as Gov. Hardin, Judge Guthrie, L. B. Ely, T. M. James, W. F. Elliott. Nathan Cole and E. W. Stephens are demonstrative illustrations of the proposition that large and successful secular business imposes no obstacle or hindrance to a life of active consecration to the service of Christ. It is hoped that this unpretentious volume will in the days to come serve a further purpose than that of a mere compendium of sixty or more years of the history of the General Association. There are in- telligent men and women in the world who seem to think that constant attention to the institutions of Christianity is a waste of time, and a mere indulgence of a weak sentimentality. Let the reader bear in mind a Majors, a Sebree, a Hughes, a Jackson, a Carson, a Hickman, a Wornall, a Senter. a Brotherton. a J. L. Stephens and others of the lay workers in the General Association, all prosperous and prominent men. and judge for himself if the service of God is not better than the service of the world, the flesli and the Devil. But for the eminent lavmcn whom God has given to Mis- 236 Agencies and Agents. souri Baptists, and their willing service of Him, the General Association could never have grown into the useful institution it has become. The preceding brief review of the first agency of the General Association for the accomplishment of its objects, may serve as a preparation for a branch of the subject which, strange to say, was for twenty years of the existence of the Association, from the beginning, and now is to a limited degree a source of anxiety, dif- erence of opinion and solicitude; and that is the ques- tion of a paid agency. For years the Association, and more particularly the board, had seriously debated the question of a paid general agent to promote the work of state missions. As early as 1836, Anderson Woods was "elected gen- eral agent to preach throughout the state and promote the objects of the society," but he declined the appoint- ment. In 1837 Kemp Scott was appointed. It does not definitely appear to what extent this excellent min- ister of the gospel performed the work of general agent. Subsequent to the appointment of Kemp Scott, other steps looking to the appointment of an agent were ineffectually taken. In 1847 Rev. R. S. Thomas moved to so amend the constitution "as to permit the cor- responding secretary to receive compensation for his services." This was agreed to, and on further motion "it was agreed that the amount of compensation of cor- responding secretary be left to the discretion of the ex- ecutive board." Whereupon T. C. Harris offered the following resolutions which were adopted : "Whereas, The appointment of a general agent, to be sustained by the funds of this Association, is in- compatible with the interests of this body, therefore, "Resolved, That we affectionately request twelve ministering brethren of our denomination to gratui- tously devote one month during the ensuing year to Agencies and Agents. 237 present the claims of the General Association, and take up collections to promote its objects." In response to this request twelve brethren volun- teered their services. But the minutes of the following year are significantly blank as to the results of the gratuitous labor. It may have been performed and al- lowed to pass unnoticed, or the "twelve" may have been providentially hindered. The records do not testify. If a company of farmers had requested twelve men to go through the country for a month and gratuitously harvest the crops, or husk corn, the request would have been regarded as a neighborhood joke. That a tal- ented and informed minister of the gospel who had read in "the Book" that "the laborer is worthy of his hire" should have offered such a resolution indicates the in- fluence of popular and ignorant prejudice. The very persons who could contribute to state missions, and wdio would see "the twelve" go forth wathout remuneration were, many of them the very men who would think it offensively ridiculous should they be asked to go and labor a month without compensation. In 1850 Rev J. E. Welch offered the following res- olution : "That the executive board be instructed to appoint a general agent (provided one of suitable qual- ifications can be obtained) to visit the associations and churches of the state, awaken a deeper interest in the plans of this body and increase its funds." The fate of this resolution was like the pledges of the twelve, so far as the records show. Perhaps one of "suitable qualifi- cations" could not "be obtained," or else the board thought best to ignore the "be instructed" of the Gen- eral Association. In 1857, Wm. C. Bachelor offered the following resolution, which was referred to the executive com- mittee. 23^ Agencies and Agents. "Resolved, That Jeremiah Farmer be appointed general agent of this Association, at a salary of $600, and his necessary traveling expenses." It is not ascertainable whether Brother Farmer was offered the position named in the resolution, or having the call, he declined it. Most probable is the first con- jecture. Jeremiah Farmer was an able preacher, an upright man and an influential citizen. In 1855 Rev. Wm. Bell, from the committee on finance, reported, among other matters, the following recommendation: "Your committee would recom- mend the executive board to procure the services of some efficient man in the bounds of each association, to spend as much time as may be necessary to visit each church in their respective associations — to lay before them the objects of this Association — take up collec- tions and pledges, and report the same to this board at the next meeting of this body." Bro. Bell's resolution in spirit and theory is a good one; but it has in substance, been frequently tried, and always with meager and unsatisfactory results. Such resolutions proceed upon the theory that all that is necessary to enlist the approval and cooperation of a good work, is to lay the work intelligibly before his mind. This theory ought to work itself out in prac- tice. But the experience of efforts is to the effect that even good men need to be urged by those whose busi- ness it is to specially represent a given cause. Pastors ought to feel themselves called to work for missions. If they did so feel, and would make decided efforts, the)^ would prove the best of agents. Some pastors can and do take a better collection from their churches than can any agent. But until pastors are concerned that the Kingdom of Christ shall include the uttermost parts of the earth, special agents will continue to be a necessity. Agencies and Agents. 239 In 185T the following resolution was adopted by the General Association : "Resolved, That this Association instruct the execu- tive board to endeavor to procure the services of two active, efficient ministers to canvass the state as gen- eral agents." In 1858, the committee on cooperation, through its chairman, A. P. Williams, made the following recom- mendation: "We recommend the appointment of a corresponding secretary, who shall be a collecting and missionary agent, and devote his whole time to the serv- ice of the General Association." In 1859 the executive board reported to the Asso- ciation: "We regret that the operations of the board have been greatly circumscribed by our failure to pro- cure the services of a competent person to act in the joint capacity of corresponding secretary and general agent, and devote his whole time to the work as recom- mended at your last meeting. * * * So much time hav- ing elapsed, it was then deemed prudent not to make an appointment until the present time, hoping that with a full board, and by consulting with the delegates to the Association, some man could be selected w^ho would agree to enter upon so important a work. The board approves the plan and would still urge its importance. There is no estimating the good that, under the blessing of God, may be accomplished by the energies of one in- telligent, pious mind wholly devoted with tongue and pen, to the accomplishment of infusing into the hearts of the Baptists of Missouri a proper missionary spirit. We are led to urge this policy from the success attend- ing it in other states. "A recent writer, giving a condensed history of the home mission efforts of our Kentucky brethren, says : 'The convention carried on its work with varied success. The great deficiency was a man who could devote his whole time to the work.' That object has 240 Agencies and Agents. been accomplished, and the success attending it has equaled expectations. Corresponding results would most likely attend similar efforts here." For the year ending July 21, i860, the board had, for most of the year, the services of Rev. Nathan Ayers as corresponding secretary. The year was in many re- spects an unfavorable one, but the treasurer's report shows that the board was enabled to report for state mission work $8,629.72. Of which sum $833 was paid to the corresponding secretary, who beside his agency work and correspondence, preached many sermons in different parts of the state. Secretary Ayers, in the conduct of his work for a single year, encountered difficulties and obstacles that discouraged him, such as much more recent secretaries have found confronting them. He found a great "want of appreciation of the work." He complains that the ignorance and suspicion of the work by many brethren were in the way of success. He then adds in his report : "We believe also that there are honest hearted brethren, who believe that the General Associ- ation is a mighty -wheel to roll over them and deprive the district associations of power, and grind them to powder, and therefore they are in favor of withdrawing their cooperation for fear of being crushed. It is pain- ful to know that this obstacle lies in the way of many willfully, who have no cloak for their sin, but ignorance of the transactions of the General Association." The language of Brother Ayers may seem harsh to some, but those who have been where he was are pre- pared to say "the half has not been told." Recent boards of the General Association and the correspond- ing secretary have been charged in public print — claim- ing to be Baptist — with ecclesiastical domination, and as a "ring" for carrying out the purposes of a single man, and as seeking denominational centralization to "crush" as with a "great wheel" associations and Agencies and Agents. 24 1 churches. Secretaricr have had to meet the scowling frowns and discourteous rebuffs of brethren wdio might have been ordinarily polite but for "ignorance of the transactions of the General Association." Even at this late day of popular intelligence and widespread in- formation of the great work of the General Association, there are those who are so blinded by ignorance of the work of the General Association and so shackled by prejudice that they look with suspicion upon any repre- sentative of the General Association. But all of this only serves to emphasize the importance of continued patience and forbearance in state mission work. Much missionary work remains to be done among and with the converted. The anti-mission spirit is not dead, it has only assumed another and more questionable shape. One mission of the General Association is to love the anti-missionary spirit to death. W. J. Patrick succeeded Secretary Ayers as cor- responding secretary, and did office work. There was, however, on account of the w^ar of the states, a vacancy from i860 to 1866, when Bro. Patrick became secre- tary. He Avas succeeded by Rev. Jesse A. Hollis in 1879. Of this man of God, Rev. Dr. G. W. Hyde says, speaking of Secretary Hollis' sudden death : "Thus passed away one of our best educators, best pastors and most useful men." This brings our history of agencies and agents to the secretaryship of Rev. John M. Robinson, beginning in 1868, and ending in i87o. He was an able and effi- cient secretary. Of him and his successors down to the present (1898) enough has been said in other chapters of this book for the purposes of this chapter. Agents are a necessity, but if the agent or cor- responding secretary of the state mission board is faith- ful and diligent in the work of his office, he has no easv 16 242 Agencies and Agents. position, no sinecure. He lives from home, he labors constantly and often under most uncomfortable condi- tions. His compensation is necessarily inadequate to the magnitude of his work. His chief reward is in be- holding the blessings of God upon his labors. CHAPTER XIV. GENERAL ASSOCIATIOX ENDOWMENT. It is interesting and encouraging to observe a gradual but solid increase of a permanent fund for the endowment of the primal and principal work of the General Association — state missions. The disposition and efforts of some persons to live, in good works, after they shall have passed to the re- gions of the dead, is worthy of permanent memorial and earnest commendation. The maxim "let us live while we live" is false in philosophy and religion. For it limits the power and usefulness of the human life to the few short years of life in the flesh. This world's goods have been recognized from the earliest times of a divine revelation as a means whereby man may and must honor God. Offerings of first fruits and tithes has been from the beginning, and must be to the end, an essential service of revealed religion. Such service is effective of a two fold end : First, it teaches a recognition by man of God's right to all things in the universe; second, it serves to separate man's af- fections from the purely carnal, and interest him in the advancement of the spiritual. To be giving to the Lord after one has left the active connection with carnal things, evinces a strong and controlling desire to be of use to man and of service to Christ as long as that service is needed in betterment of the conditions of the one and the glorifying of the name of the other. Such a state of mind must be in fel- lowship with the mind that was in Christ. Uncounted thousands of dollars are expended in monumentally ornamenting the cemeteries of the civil- 243 244 General Association Endoivment. ized world. Individuals, communities and govern- ments are occasionally lavish in the expenditures of wealth to commemorate the name of some revered or honored dead. To the sentiment that inspires this im- pulse, no protest is here offered, although it is doubtless true that worldly vanity is to be credited with much of the art magnificence of the cities of the dead. If one desires the perpetuation of his name among men, or if surviving, would commemorate the worth and virtues of the departed, how appropriate and how beautiful to memorialize one's self or one's friend by such disposition of worldly fortune as shall forever help man on to better conditions of life, and continuously bear testimony to the truth and power of the christian religion, and to the relation that God's temporal gifts to man bear to the kingdom of righteousness. The thought has been expressed that endowments of churches and missionary and other benevolent en- terprises, tends to lessen current contributions to the support and progress of such objects. This theory — if such the thought may be called — is fallacious in prin- ciple and unsustained by facts. He who gives currently to God does so from a sense of individual obligation, if he gives in a truly religious spirit, and is uninfluenced by the giving or the withholding of others. He who re- fuses to give to the Lord because others have given mu- nificently, or he who gives that he may be in accord with general sentiment or prevalent custom is ignorant of the law of giving and robs himself of the luxury of giv- ing from love to God and sympathy with man. The facts in the case contradict the theory. It has ever been true, and shall be true as long as man lives on the earth in present conditions, that to him that hath shall be given. An institution dependent upon the benefi- cence of man, having strength, will grow stronger, much more rapidly than a weak institution can acquire strength. General Association Endon'inent. 345 Early in the history of the General Association of Missouri Baptists, there was a special concern for the permanency of the work it had undertaken, as shown by a few persons making provision for an endowment fund. The first contribution to an endowment fund was as early as 1842-3, by one Judge Neal, of Montgomery county. This was a bequest of one thousand dollars for the use and benefit of the General Association. When it is borne in mind that at the time of this bequest the General Association was not yet ten years in existence, it is easy to infer that notwithstanding the heated and almost malignant opposition with which the young Association was confronted, it must have had a moral and spiritual power in excess of its years, so to have impressed the public as to encourage even one man to divide his fortune with it. Judge Neal's gift had a long and tortuous history. The early records of the Association indicate that there was considerable difficulty in obtaining the payment of the bequest to the General Association. In 1843 Wm. M. McPherson, of St. Louis, was made special agent of the Association to look after the interest of the Associ- ation in the will of Judge Neal. In 1844 "Brother McPherson, through Brother Hinton, asked for further time to report upon the legacy of the late Mr. Neal. Time was granted." In 1849 it was "Resolved, That a committee be ap- pointed, charged with the duty of negotiating to secure the fund bequeathed this Association by the late Judge Neal, and engage counsel, if they think proper, to carry out the spirit of the bequest, under the law of this country." "The moderator appointed the following committee: L. Wright. W. M. Jackson and R. S. Thomas." In 1857 the following action was taken by the Gen- eral Association : "Resolved, That the treasurer of the 246 General Association Endozvnient. General Association be authorized to collect the bequest of the late Judge Neal, of Montgomery county, Mo., amounting to $1,000, principal, and three years' inter- est, and that the treasurer be authorized to pay the same over to the financial agent of William Jewell Col- \ege,proz'ided there be no legal impediment." At the meeting of the General Association in 1858 Rev. J. E.Welch offered the following resolution, which was adopted : "Resolved, That the legacy of one thou- sand dollars, bequeathed to the General Association of Missouri, by the late Judge Neal, remain at interest in the hands of Wm. M. McPherson, of St. Louis, for the present." At this same meeting a committee consisting of James E. Welch and Wm. M. McPherson was ap- pointed to "Examine the will of the late Judge Neal, and report at the next meeting of this Association." In 1859 James E. Welch reported that under the terms of the will of Judge Neal "the General Asso- ciation can not legally apply the bequest of Judge Neal to aid in the endowment of William Jewell College or any other purpose save the cause of missions." This was a wise decision, and seems to have, in other cases, been sustained by the courts. But under the provisions of the will, as interpreted by "Baptistic" conceptions and rules (?) there comes the question: what is the Baptist church? The will of Judge Neal reads : "Fourthly. At the death of my said wife, I give to the Missouri Missionary Baptist church, one thousand dollars, to be by them appropriated to the mis- sionary cause, in accordance with the rules of said church regulating missions." Now it is evident that if there existed a "Missouri Missionary Baptist church" having rules "regulating missions," the money bequeathed by the testator could have been lawfully paid to such church. The questions are, *do the Missionary Baptist churches of Missouri General Association Endozvment. 247 constitute a church? And as such churcli, has it rules regulating missions? These questions are of great practical importance, effecting not only bequests for Baptist missionary pur- poses, but also, in certain cases, the title to church prop- erty. In a certain town, in this state, a few years ago, certain members of the Baptist church in that town who professed to have reached sinless perfection, claimed the church house, as the true Baptist church of the town, and barred out that element of the church that had not attained unto sinlessness. The iiiisanctified sued for the possession of the property. On the trial of the case in the circuit court the author of this book was present by subpoena as an expert. The learned and gentlemanly circuit judge asked the witness: "What is the doctrine of the Baptist church touching and concerning the doctrine of human sanctification ?" The witness replied : "Will his honor please desig- nate the Baptist church of which he makes inquiry?" "Well," said the judge, "the Baptist church of the United States." The witness replied : "There is no such organiza- tion, may it please your honor." The judge, not a Baptist, was of course somewhat nonplussed for a moment, but being a man of quick perception and discriminating judgment, he asked : "What are the views of the Christian denomination generally known as Baptists, touching the doctrine of sanctification ?" In answer to this question the witness gave what he understood to be the general teaching of Baptist theologians and churches, concerning sanctification. Without following this illustrative case further, suffice it, the unsanctified side of the case in question obtained the church property. The General Association, after several years further of perplexing effort, obtained possession of the Neal 24S General Association Endoivment. fund from W. M. McPherson, principal and interest, and invested in bank stock. The whole sum, with the ex- ception of a few hundred dollars interest, or dividends, collected and expended in missions, was ultimately and finally lost by the failure of the National Bank of the State of Missouri, while Col. James H. Britton was president of that bank. Efforts were made after the failure of the bank to obtain something from the Fed- eral government, for reimbursement of the loss of the Neal fund, but the comptroller of the currency in- formed this writer that the prior claim of depositors taking precedence of stockholders' claim would leave nothing for the Neal fund. This incident is given here to suggest that bank stock is not the safest investment of endowment funds. In Duncan's History of Baptists of Missouri, on page 356, it is written : "Under these circumstances,"re- lating to the condition of things for the past few years, "Dr. Yeaman filled the ofiice of corresponding secretary for part of the year; $2,461.03 (including the Neal fund) were collected." This is an inadvertence on the part of that painstaking historian. Not the Neal fund, nor any part thereof was collected in the year 1868-9, or any subsequent year. The whole of the Neal fund had been lost before the year mentioned, except the col- lections of small interest money in preceding years. To secure bequests to the permanent endowment of the mission work of the General Association, it is quite safe to bequeath an amount to some one named in the will as trustee, to be held and loaned for the use and benefit of the state mission work of the General Asso- ciation. It would be well for the state mission board to prepare a form of bequest, and have it annually pub- lished in the minutes or record of proceedings of the Association in like manner as the constitution is printed as standing matter. Bequests in manner above sug- gested are sustained by ample judicial decisions. When General Association Endoivment. 249 the gift to the endowment is ante mortem, the giver can designate a trustee, and the condition of the gift, and place it in the hands of the chosen trustee ; in such cases the courts will, if necessary, see that the trust is protected and faithfully used according to the wishes of the giver. In pursuance of this plan, substantially, the endow- ment fund of the General Association has reached to a sum exceeding twelve thousand dollars. The "Butler Fund," Mrs. Emeline Butler, of Cal- laway county, Missouri, died in 1874, and by her last will and testament left the sum of $5,000 to John B. Wornall in trust for the General Association. This fund was faithfully administered by Brother Wornall during his life, and at his death it was transferred to John A. Guthrie for the same purpose, and by him se- curely loaned and the interest promptly applied to state missions dow-n to the time of this writing. A study of the fruits of this fund should dismiss all doubts from the minds of those who have questioned the propriety of missionary endowments. The inter- est on this fund for a period of twenty years sums up $8,000. Now an analysis of the work of the General Association wall show that it is conservative to count the conversion of one person for every ten dollars ex- pended in state mission work in Missouri. On this basis the Butler fund is blessed by the conversion of forty persons each year for twenty years, bringing the whole number of conversions by use of that fund up to eight hundred. But further, it should be remembered that that fund is to continue through the ages of the fu- ture. And let it be further borne in mind that while the conversion of a soul is the greatest event that takes place on earth, yet, without the presence and life of the churches, conversions would be rare. The church is the "light of the world." It is the church that "holds forth the word of life." Missionary funds, whether 250 General Association Endozvinent. permanent or current, are largely used in sustaining, strengthening and building up the churches that must grow from weakness into power. And further still, the preaching of the gospel is the abiding protection and safeguard of society. The good that Mrs. Butler has accomplished by the bequest to the General Association can not be computed by earthly figures, for who can tell how much good has been accomplished by the influence of those who were converted by the use of her money. Let this matter of endowment of missions be looked at from yet another point. How many churches are there in the state whose contributions will average $400 a year, for a series of years, to state missions. There is but one in the state, and that is the Third Ghurch in St. Louis. Yet many of the churches have an aggregate taxable wealth that would many times over duplicate the principal of the Butler fund. If the Baptist churches in the state of Missouri would pay eight per cent per annum upon the surplus wealth of the membership — the unencumbered wealth — they would not then have reached the tithing system — one tenth of income — and yet what a revenue to the Lord's treas- ury would accrue ! Mrs. Butler, whose maiden name was Emeline Davis, was born in Flemming county, Kentucky in i8o7. In the '20s she came with her parents to Mis- souri. She was twice married. Her first husband was Dr. W. C. Pugh, who lived but a few years. Her sec- ond husband was Martin Butler, who died in 1864, leaving Mrs. Butler with two chlidren, both daughters. Elizabeth J- and Susan E. One of them was married to John A. Guthrie, the other to Richard Gentry. Mrs. Guthrie has been dead a number of years, leaving one son, who bears the family name — Martin Butler Guth- rie. The memory of his grandmother should be to him a holy inspiration. His mother's life was beautifully exemplary of the excellencies of the christian religion. General Association Endozvnienf. 251 Mrs. Gentry still lives to most affectionately adore the memory of her sainted mother. Besides Mrs. Butler's bequest to the General Asso- ciation, she bequeathed a like sum to Dryfork church, in Callawa}' county, to keep the church house and cem- etery in repair and to sustain the regular ministrations of the gospel : the accruing interest on the bequest only, to be used. The "Emeline Butler Fund" is the most appropri- ate and sublimest monument that could have been founded to a good and noble woman, whose prudence, thrift and practical economy, with the spirit of holy consecration enables her to speak though dead. The "Adam C. Woods Fund." This is a fund of $500, given by the widow of Adam C. Woods, Mrs. M. E. Woods, as a memorial of her departed husband. The record of the General Association concerning this fund is as follows in the minutes of 1881, pages 20-21 : "Mrs. M. E. Woods, widow of the late Adam C. Woods, has paid to the corresponding secretary the sum of five hundred dollars, to be placed in the hands of a trustee, who is to be nominated by Dr. Yeaman, and appointed by the missionary board, which sum shall be loaned by the trustee so appointed, and the accruing interests used for state mission work. At the end of ten years the principal shall be appropriated to any good work desig- nated by the General Association. "This sum of five hundred dollars was given to carry out the wishes of Mr Adam C. Woods, the late husband of Sister M. E. Woods, and is to be called in our records the 'Adam C. W^oods Fund.' " In carrying out the commission and autliority to nominate the trustee for the foregoing fund, the writer, who is named in the above extract from the records of the Association, nominated John A. Guthrie, who was thereupon chosen ]:>y the board as such trustee. The fund has been faithfully manasfed now for about six- ^52 General Association Endowment. teen years, yielding in the meanwhile, to this time, $640 interests; on the basis suggested as to the Butler fund, this interest can be computed as accomplishing not less than sixty-four conversions, besides much fruit in other directions. At the expiration of the ten years named in the record, the missionary board decided to designate the gift to the "good work" in which it had been employed from the beginning. Adam C. Woods was not a Baptist. He lived and died a Cumberland Presbyterian. He was a good man. He was not remiss of duty to his own church. He loved his wife, and she loved him, and for his memory, at his suggestion, the $500 was given to the Baptist General Association, of which Mrs. Woods (Glover) has been a warm and helpful friend for many years. Some years after the death of Mr. Woods she was married to W. B. Glover, M. D., a staunch Baptist. Dr. Glover, who was a friend and supporter of the Gen- eral Association, died several years since. Mrs. Glo- ver resides in Marshall, and with unabated interest in the General Association, attends its -annual meetings and ceases not to contribute to its state mission work. The "Annie B. Peyton Fund" of $4,935.00 came about in this wise. The giver of the fund was advanc- ing in years and in feeble health in i876, when at her request she was visited by the writer, who was then chancellor of William Jewell College. With him she took counsel as how to dispose of a portion of her mod- est fortune so as to accomplish the greatest good for her Savior. She manifested an interest in mission work. She was then and there counseled to divide what she had to give to the Lord between William Jew- ell College and state missions. To this she assented with seeming heartiness. The visitor made a memo- randum of the interview, and after a most pleasant talk of christian experience and christian work, by which General Association Endozvuient. 253 the visitor was most profited, he took his leave, and never more saw the good woman. Upon retiring from the work of the college, he furnished the college agent, Bro. L. B. Ely, with the memorandum, with the sug- gestion that he see the sister, which he did, and after- wards informed the writer that the suggestions would be carried out. This good woman has gone to the "man}' mansions," to be represented on earth by her ex- emplary piety and her thoughtful love-gifts to the Lord. "The C. H. Hardin Fund" is a bequest to the Associational endowment fund, of $1,050.00, by the will of the lamented Ex-Gov. Hardin, of whom more elsewhere. Besides these there are the Isabel Hickman fund of $400, the Mary P. McKillop fund of $205, the Mrs. Sarah L. Farmer fund of $200, the New Hope church fund of $7o. These several funds now aggregate the sum, principal, $12,360.00. The interest accruing to state missions for the year ending October, 1898, amounted to $953.75. The summary of the endowment as ofificially certi- fied at last date is as follows : ENDOWMENT FUNDS. Dr. Cr. To Emeline Butler fund $ 5,000 00 To Annie B. Peyton fund 4-935 00 To C. H. Hardin fund 1,050 00 To Isabel Hickman fund 400 00 To Mary P. McKillop fund 205 00 To Adam C. Woods fund 500 00 To Sally Farmer fund 200 00 To New Hope church fund 7o 00 To total interest collected 953 75 To total fund and interest $13,313 "^5 By interest to state missions. . . . $953 '^5 To total endowment fund $12,360 00 Examined and found correct. James L. Applegate, Auditor. 354 General Association Endoivment. It is especially worthy of observation that of the eight several sums of the endowment funds, six of them are by women. From the trying days when woman was last at the cross and first at the tomb of the Savior, she has been the steadfast and self-sacrificing friend of the cause for which her best friend lived and died and lived again. As long as the glory light of Calvary shall beam upon womankind, so long shall the city set on a hill, gleam its radiance upon a sin-bedarkened world. If the present amount of the endowment fund were doubled, the interest from the investment would pay the salary of a corresponding secretary, and part of the incidental expenses of conducting state mission work. Then practically every dollar contributed by churches, associations and individuals to the current funds would go undiscounted to the missionaries and mission fields. It has already been shown in these pages that money invested for any purpose should pay its own way. This is a business proposition that practical common sense will not controvert. But if the benevolently disposed should by an adequate endowment provide for all nec- essary incidental expenses of the work, perhaps the fault-finders might cease, at any rate the cloak for their sin of covetousness would be taken and they should then have to stand in the hideousness of their disrobe- ment. CHAPTER XV. SUNDAY SCHOOL WORK OF GENERAL ASSOCIATION. As paradoxical as it may appear, it is nevertheless true that it is very difficult to make a most interesting chapter out of a most interesting topic germain to the scope of this work. Early in the history of the Mis- souri Baptist General Association, the minds and hearts of the best informed and most progressive Baptists of the state had a full appreciation of the worth of Sabbath School work, and as early as 1845 the General Associ- ation began to formally recognize the work and to take steps for its promotion in the churches. A careful reading of the action of the General As- sociation for a period of half a century discovers a zeal interrupted and hindered by a prevalent and perplex- ing apathy. The resolutions of the Association and the reports of committees are not unlike the efforts at animal respiration in a heavy and oppressive atmos- phere, or like the agonies of one in a night-mare. Al- most all deliverances of committees are elaborations of the primal questions of Sunday Schools, or glittering generalities of their worth, and exhortations to zealous activity, interwoven with lamentations of lack of gen- eral interest and neglect. There can be no doubt that Sabbath School work is a factor in the forces of religious progress, and a legitimate, even essential part of missionary enterprise; and it may seem a mystery that a body of christians so intelligently and conscientiously bent on mission work, as the Missouri Baptist General Association, should for so long a time feel embarrassed and hindered in the work. Perhaps an explanation is at hand. Sabbath School enterprise is particularly and especially the 255 256 Sunday School Work of General Association. work of the local churches ; and pastors are the divinely constituted leaders of the churches. So long as pas- tors fail to realize that they are responsible for the spiritual and working condition of the churches, so long will spiritual apathy prevail. So long as a pastor feels that his duty is discharged by the preaching of a few perfunctory sermons, and making a few socio-re- ligious visits to the membership, with an annual pro- tracted meeting thrown in for good count, so long will Sabbath School work be neglected. It may well be worth the while of the General As- sociation to consider the best means for enlisting the convictions and energies of pastors in Sunday School work as the best Sunday School missionary methods. Indeed this suggestion might be considered yet a little further : Would it not be well for the schools of proph- ets to institute and wisely conduct a Sabbath School normal department in connection with the seminary course? In the very near future all of our stronger and more influential churches will have as their pastors, preachers from the theological seminaries. And inas- much as the Sunday School work is distinctively a church work, it is not going too far to urge that the teachers of pastoral theology are under religious obliga- tion to train men up to qualification for this vitally im- portant work. There are two apparent objections to pastoral management of Sunday Schools, but they are only ap- parent: First. The pastor has not time. To this it may be replied : If the pastor has not time to give to the Sabbath School, then he has not time for the over- sight of the flock. But he has the time. It is not nec- essary that the pastor take official superintendence of the school, yet an instance could be given where the pastor of a large and leading church in a certain city, superintended the Sabbath School for two years, be- Sunday School Work of General Association. 257 sides preaching twice every Sunday to his congrega- tion, attended prayer meeting every Wednesday even- ing, and lectured to his young people every Friday evening. Those two years were the most prosperous of a six years' prosperous pastorate; and the work did not kill the pastor. There are only certain emergen- cies that should demand the pastor's active official headship of the Sunday School, but when such emer- gencies arise he should be equal to the occasion. Sec- ond. The Sabbath School has in many places so far assumed a distinctive institutional character that the superintendent looks upon his school as something apart from the church, and regards all pastoral sugges- tion and direction as an interference with his vested rights. The manifestation of this spirit on the part of superintendents has held back pastors not a few from active participation in Sunday School work. If in every case the church would organize and control the Sabbath School as a part of its work, the pastor would be free and bound to give it due and ef- fective oversight. In 1845 the General Association so far recognized the American Sunday School Union as to become prac- tically an auxiliary to that organization. The Sunday School Union was organized and professedly conducted on a non-sectarian basis. It had its representatives and agents distributed throughout the entire country. In 1845 the General Association appointed a committee "On American Sunday School Union." That commit- tee had as its members R. S. Thomas, Wm. Duncan and B. Anderson. This committee reported as follow^s : "The committee on the American Sunday School Union, beg leave to report that this society was organ- ized and has been conducted on the most catholic prin- ciples. It is composed of members of the most ortho- dox churches, wdiose great object seems to be to estab- lish in everv neighborhood in the United States a 17 35S Sunday School Work of General Association. Sunday School in which every youth may be instructed in the general principles of the christian religion. "No book is published by the society until ap- proved by the committee of publication, which com- prises a member from each of the different churches composing the Union, any one of which may reject any book submitted for investigation. "By this arrangement it is impossible that any- thing sectarian or of an immoral character can appear in their publications. * * * Your committee deem it unnecessary to enlarge upon this interesting subject; but recommend to the Association to encourage, by all means within its power, the operations of the Sunday School Union." The report of the committee was adopted. In 1846 the committee on Sunday Schools was composed of T. C. Harris, A. P. Williams and M. D. Noland. This committee reported a decided indorse- ment and advocacy of the Sunday School Union : "The committee on the American Sunday School Union re- spectfully report that this society is still pursuing the even tenor of its way; strictly adhering to the catholic principles upon which it was organized, and is still worthy, therefore, of our attention and patronage. * * * "Our churches should be admonished to remem- ber that great benefits are to be derived from Sunday Schools that can not be obtained through any other medium. As we forget not in age what we learn in youth, we should learn in youth what we ought to re- member in age. This may be done in the Sunday School. "As we look forward to a period when christians and christian ministers shall see eye to eye, and speak the same things, may we not cherish the belief that the Sunday School Union, by its anti-sectarian but purely evangelical publications, inculcating in the minds of our youth the same sentiments, and strengthening their SiiJiday School Work of General Association. 259 love for the truth will greatly assist in bringing about this most desirable result." This report was adopted. The report was, perhaps, not written by the com- mittee. It makes a statement not sustained by the publications of the Union. Those publications were professedly non-sectarian, but they were not "anti-sec- tarian." They did not directly teach the peculiar tenets of any denomination ; but there are persons living to- day who were in Sunday School classes in the '40s, at the time the books of the Sunday School Union were generally in use, and who remember that there was nothing in those books to suggest to a child or youth the truth of the distinctive principles of the Baptists ; but very much, indirectly put, to incline the youthful mind otherwise. In 1847 the committee on Sunday Schools was composed of W. C. Ligon, T. C. Harris and W. M. Jackson. They reported as follows : "The American Sunday School Union still adheres strictly to the catholic principle upon which it was organized, and is widely circulating its useful and truly evangelical pub- lications. It appears from their annual report, pub- lished in May last that, during the year preceding that report, their agents, in addition to their Sunday School labors, have put in circulation useful books, valued at $10,216.50, w-hich at the price of the Society $10 libra- ries would exceed 100,000 volumes averaging 120 pages each. In addition to which they have distributed 6,000 Bibles and testaments. "Their efficient agent in this state. Eld. R. F. Ellis, has, since last winter, organized fifty new schools, dis- tributed for the benefit of Sabbath Schools about 1,000 Testaments and $200 worth of other books." * * * Report adopted. A comparison of the substance, language and com- position of the three foregoing reports suggests a single authorship. Eld. Ellis was at each of the meetings, and 26o Sunday School Work of General Association. there can hardly be a question that each committee availed itself of the service of the "efficient agent" in preparing the reports for the Association. The Sun- day School Union was again commended in 1848. In 1849 no mention is made of the Union in the report from the committee on Sunday Schools. Rev. E. S. Dulin was chairman of that committee, the report urges upon the churches greater attention to and cooperation in the work. In 1850 Rev. J. E. Welch was chairman of the committee, the report concludes with the following res- olution : "That we have entire confidence in the books and cooperation of the American Sunday School Un- ion, and recommend to our churches to secure for their Sunday Schools a suitable and ample library from the Depository of that Society and the American Baptist Publication Society." In 185 1 J. E. Welch is again chairman of commit- tee on Sunday Schools; no mention is made in the re- port of the Sunday School Union. The report laments that "the efforts or recommendations of this association seem to have had but little influence in prompting the churches to more vigorous action in the Sunday School cause, if we may judge from facts." In 1852 T. C. Harris is chairman of the committee, and in the course of the report uses this discouraging language : "Your committee can not withhold an expression of surprise at the apathy of our churches upon this subject." In 1853 no mention is made of the Sunday School Union, though R. F. Ellis is chairman of the committee. From this time forward there is a manifest disposition to de- nominationalize the Sunday Schools, and in a resolution of E. S. Dulin the association declares for denomina- tional literature. In 1855 the Association was solici- tous for more interests in Sabbath Schools, and the committee for this year, consisting of E. I. Owen, J. E. Hughes, and J. E. Welch, was to report on "the means Sunday School JVork of General Association. 2,61 of increasing their number in the state." The com- mittee says : "We regard with deep sohcitude and grief the condition of Sunday Schools in our state, as represented in the statistical report to which we all lis- tened with so much interest and earnestness." The re- port concludes with the following recommendations : "That the executive board be instructed to require all their missionaries to pay special attention to the inter- ests of Sunday Schools wherever they may labor." In 1857 the Association makes no deliverance on the sub- ject; the same is true of 1858. In 1859 a committee composed of A. P. Williams, J. C. Maple and M. M. IModisett was appointed on Sunday Schools. This committee made an able report on the general and special utility of Sunday Schools, and concluded by a recommendation to the churches : "The importance of getting up and sustaining Sunday Schools in their midst." The report of the following year, Rev.G. Ander- son, chairman of committee, in an able paper, conclud- ing with the recommendation of the year before. In 1 86 1, no committee, and no action. In 1863 the commit- tee reports through John T. Williams, and says : "It is lamentable how few of our churches appreciate the moral power of the Sabbath School." In 1865 (there was no meeting in '64) the Sunday School committee consisted of John Hill Luther, J. A. Hollis and X. X. Buckner. The report concludes with these words . "That in the administration of our Sunday School af- fairs, we avoid all practices and all appliances contrary to the simplicity of our denomination and to the word of God." Here is an intimation that there had been or was a recognition of "practices and appliances" not in accord with Baptist views. In 1866 G. W. Hyde, as chairman of committee on Sunday Schools, concludes the report with the fol- lowing resolutions which were adopted : 262 Sunday School Work of General Association. "ist. That we hail with deHght the organization of the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, and that we promise to sustain it with our prayers, our sympathies and our means ; "2d. That we will use in our schools the publica- tions of said board, especially their delightful little pa- per called Kind Words, for little children. "3d. That whenever practical we will make our schools thoroughly denominational. "4th. That we will, as Baptists, enter with re- newed energy and zeal upon the prosecution of this work, and will endeavor under God, to interest, instruct and convert our children." In 1867, the interest in Sunday Schools is still apa- thetic, and Geo. W. Rogers, chairman of committee, re- ports : "The importance of Sunday Schools is realized by so few of our pastors and churches, that your com- mittee despairs of awakening a proper interest in a brief report." * * * The third recommendation of this re- port is that superintendents and teachers encourage Kind Words, Yonng Reaper and Child's Delight. We have now reached the end of the first period marked out for the review and discussion of the subject of this chapter. It will be seen that the General Asso- ciation was not "in active cooperation with the Sunday School Union" during this period. Within, and for a short time, of that period there was such active cooper- ation. In 1868 a convention for Sunday School mis- sionary enterprise was organized at Paris, Monroe county, while the General Association was in session at that place. The convention adopted a constitution, and named the organization "The Missouri Baptist Sunday School Convention." It was organized by making E. D. Jones president. There were a number of vice-presidents, and an execu- tive board, secretary and treasurer. S. W. Marston I Sunday School Work of General Association. 26 o was made General Agent, afterwards, designated "Mis- sionary Secretary." The convention entered vigor- ously upon the work of promoting Sunday School interests in the state. It made report of wonderful progress. Its reports showed the organization of many hundred Sabbath Schools, and as many as sixty auxil- iary Sunday School Conventions. The fourth annual session of this convention con- vened with the church in Glasgow, at the time of the meeting of the General Association. At that meeting preliminary steps were taken for the consolidation of the executive board of the convention with the state mission board of the General Association. The consol- idation was not effected until October, i878; when the constitution was so amended in 1879 as to read: "After article 9 ; a new article :" "Article 10. The Sunday School work of this body shall be carried on through a Sunday School Board, consisting of ten members (exclusive of gen- eral agent) who shall be chosen yearly, and shall have like quorum and powers with the missionary board." In 1889, the constitution was again amended by striking out the tenth article, and so amending the eighth article as to make it read : "The State Mission- ary and Sunday School business of this Association shall be conducted by a board, etc." Thus the Sunday School work under separate and special administration ceased, constitutionally in Oc- tober, 1879 — provisionally from October, i878. It follows that until 1889, from 1868, the Sunday School work was conducted by the convention until [878, and from that time to 1889, by a Sunday School board of the General Association. The many auxiliary conventions organized by the State Convention are no more heard of. How many of the many hundreds of schools constituted by that administration are now in existence there is no way of 364 Sunday School Work of General Association. ascertaining. The indications are that only a few have survived their sensational birth. For the last year of the convention and for at least one year under the Sunday School Board of the General Association, Rev. M. L. Laws did efficient service as Sunday School Missionary Secretary. He was a man of peculiar characteristics and exceptionally good quali- ties. He gave up the work of Sunday School Secretary in 1 88 1 to accept the pastorate of the Baptist church in Decatur, Illinois. But owing to declining health he was compelled to resign that work about the first of February, 1882. From this date until his death he was a great sufferer. He died May 3, 1882, not yet forty years of age. In his last moments he said : "I now^ take a ride in Israel's chariot," and forthwith his spirit was borne to the General Assembly and church of the first born. All who really knew M. L. Laws loved him for his genuine affectionateness of heart, his unaffected candor and stern christian integrity. Though dying out of Missouri, he lives in that state in the hearts of those who knew him. Bro. Laws was succeeded in the office of Sunday School Missionary Secretary by Rev. T. W. Barrett. He commenced work January, 1883, and conducted the work from his office, not feeling justified in giving up his pastoral connections. At the board meeting in the following July, Bro. Barrett resigned the work, and John T. Williams was chosen to succeed him. Rev. I. R. M. Beeson was appointed Sunday School missionary for the northeast quarter of the state, and Rev. J. E. Norvell for all of the state south of the river. These brethren were faithful in the discharge of their duties, and the Sabbath School was materially advanced in their fields of labor. The summary of the work as re- ported by brethren Barrett and Williams for themselves and the Sunday School missionaries is as follows : "Addresses, 200; sermons, 120; baptized from Sunday Sunday School Jl'ork of General Association. 265 Schools, 9T ; churches visited, 51; Sunday Schools vis- ited, 86; families visited, 81; Sunday Schools organ- ized, 20; conventions held, 24; tracts distributed, 643; received for Sunday School work, $542.86." In October, i884,Brother N. J. Smith was chosen Sunday School secretary. The executive board says : "He promptly entered upon the duties of the position to which he was called, carrying with it his comprehen- sive understanding of the work and his devotion to it." Bro. Smith conducted the work of 27 Sunday School institutes; delivered 195 addresses; organized 1 5 new Sunday Schools, and collected of money for the work $553.33. During this year, through the agency of Dr. C. C. Bitting, in correspondence with the cor- responding secretary of the General Association, the American Baptist Publication Society rendered cordial cooperation and material support to the work. In ad- dition to Bro. Smith's work, the general missionaries, acting under instructions from the board, visited 14? Sabbath Schools; delivered loi Sunday School ad- dresses, and organized 20 new schools. Bro. Smith was continued in the work for another year, and in October, 1886, reported the organization of 60 new schools, the attendance upon 28 institutes. The board, in its report, says : "The organization of conventions and institutes has progressed so far as to give reliable promise of greater zeal and efficiency to the work of another year. Four district conventions have been organized, with four executive boards, com- posed of the best men for the work. These conven- tions, it is believed, will prove a decided aid to the work and prospect for grand results. Brother Smith's visits to churches, Sunday Schools and associations ef- fect a good to the cause of Christ that can not be esti- mated by statistics. The incentives to personal piety and christian work whicii his addresses furnish, give a 266 Sunday School Work of General Association. value to his work equal to that which can be definitely reported." At the October meeting of the board in 1886, Bro. Smith was chosen for the third time as Sunday School secretar}^, but at the end of one month's work, he re- signed, and W. L. Boyer was chosen to succeed him. Bro. Boyer continued in charge of the work for the en- tire state until October, 1888. For these two years he visited 88 Sunday Schools, attended 26 institutes, or- ganized II institutes, delivered 350 addresses and or- ganized 7 Sunday Schools. His total collections for the two years amounted to $1,769.87. In the report of the board for 1888, it is said: "The Sunday School work has been prosecuted with gratifying success. The State Sunday School Missionary, Bro. W. L. Boyer, has labored a great deal of the time in the most desti- tute portions of the state, and yet his collections of means to prosecute the work are gratifying in every respect. 'Send us Bro. Boyer again,' is the word which is sent to the corresponding secretary from many destitute fields. The denomination has reason to thank God for the raising up of this man 'called of God' as we believe to his peculiar work." Bro. Boyer in his annual report, says : "The Baptists of Missouri are awakening as never before, to a realization of their privileges and responsibilities in this department of the church work." In the autumn of 1888 the plan of Sunday School missionary operations was changed from one general missionary to one for each of the four quarters of the state. Under this arrangement, brethren W. L. Boyer, for northeast Missouri, Rev. J. S. Buckner for the southwest district, Rev. J. E. Denham for the north- west district, and Rev. Joshua Hickman in the south- east district, from the beginning of the second quarter of the year, and in connection with his work as general missionary. This arrangement continued until 1891, with some changes as to district missionaries. Rev. W. Sunday School JVork of General Association. 267 A. Jones labored six months in the southeast district for the year ending October, 1890. Brethren Boyer and Buckner spent the entire year in the work, and Bro. Denhani about nine months. For the year ending October, 1891, Brother Boyer labored until the middle of the month of February, 1891, and Brother Buckner until April 15 of the same year. For these three and a half years the district work resulted in the organization of 87 Sunday Schools, the reopening of two schools, visits to 146, organiza- tion of 16 institutes and visits to 36 others. Sermons preached, 979; Sunday School addresses delivered, 1,098; conversions, 45; amount of money collected by Sunday School missionaries, $4,742.48. During the whole time of Bro. Boyer's superin- tendency and field work, and during the operation of the district plan, the American Baptist Publication So- ciety was rendering material aid in money and books. For this work from i887 to 1890, the General As- sociation paid out in salaries the sum of $8,084 56 Of this sum there were field collections. . .. 4,742 48 Amount contributed by the American Baptist Publication Society 1.561 4° Amount derived from S. S. resources $6,303 88 Balance chargeable to state mission fund. . .$i,78o 66 Or, in other words, the Sunday School work was short of self-sustentation by the amount of the balance chargeable to state mission funds. In addition to the Sunday School missionary work, there was a colportage and depository work managed and conducted by Bro. W. L. Boyer, by means of which many pages of religious tracts, some religious literature in more permanent form, and a number of Bibles were distributed in the state. In 1892 the state mission and Sunday School board reported as follows: "While the board has had no 268 Sunday School Work of General Association. distinctive Sunday School missionary in the field, all the missionaries have been charged with the Sunday School interest. To the question, Ts the board doing any Sunday School work ?' we make the reply of the follow- ing statistics of the schools in our mission churches and the Sunday Sthool work done by our general and local missionaries : Number of schools, 38 ; number of teach- ers, 290; number of average attendance, 2,921; num- ber of schools organized by general and local mission- aries, 10; number of schools visited by general and local missionaries, 206; number of addresses, 197." In the years 1893-4 and 5, the board continued the policy of carrying on the Sunday School work through the missionaries and missionary pastors under its com- mission. In 1895 the number of schools organized through this instrumentality was 13; number of school addresses, 168. Forty-two associations reported 732 Sunday Schools, with an aggregate enrollment of 53,- 012, and an average attendance of 45,406. Twenty associations report 86 Sunday Schools, but give no sta- tistics, while eight minutes give no Sunday School report. At this same meeting, a committee appointed by request of the board, reported through its chairman, Prest. A. K. Yancy, the following recommendation : "The committee recommend the appointment of two strong, godly, consecrated men as Sunday School mis- sionaries, one to labor chiefly on the north side, and the other on the south side of the river ; that they work un- der the general supervision of the State Board of Mis- sions and Sunday Schools, and report to the General Association through this board. We further recom- mend that the board be authorized to pay these mission- aries stipulated salaries sufficient to compensate men suited for such work, and that the missionaries be in- structed to raise on their fields as much as practicable toward the work of the board." Sunday School Work of General Association. -69 In pursuance of the foregoing resolution, the board, at its January meeting in 1896, engaged the serv- ices of Rev. M. L. Bibb for the north side of the Isl'xs- souri river, but for lack of prospect for sufficient money, no one was engaged for the south side of that river. Bro. Bibb labored diligently and ably. He delivered 158 sermons and addresses; visited 112 churches and Sunday Schools; attended 12 Sunday School conven- tions; organized 8 Sunday Schools; and witnessed 8 conversions. He received from Sunday Schools, $320.93, and from churches and associations, $260.50. His traveling and incidental expenses amounted to $137.75. He w^as paid by treasurer of General Associa- tion $495. The salary and expense account together was only $57.32 in excess of gatherings from the field. This was financially a better showing for work and re- sults than is common for Sunday School missionary labor in Missouri. Rev. AI. L. Bibb is well known to Missouri Bap- tists as one of their intellectually strong and religiously correct preachers. He is a vigorous preacher and diligent pastor, doing with his might what his hands find to do. As a writer he is reckoned one of the clear- est and most impressive. He is a son of Rev. M. T. Bibb, who was one of Missouri's most useful and ex- emplary ministers of the gospel of the Son of God. He died at a good old age without a blemish upon his name, leaving to his children a godly heritage. The interested reader of this chapter can not fail to observe that the Sunday School department of the evangelistic enterprise is attended with no small occa- sion for anxious solicitude to those who are engaged in missionary effort; and they are likely to conclude with the conviction that the suggestion of the beginning of the chapter, that the prosperity and efficiency of Sab- 370 Sunday School Work of General Association. bath Schools is, after all, with the pastors of the churches. This chapter has been compiled and written from authentic records, more as a convenient and reliable reference, than as a discussion of any particular theory, or to entertain with incident or personal narrative. The Sunday School is, as this work goes to press, deeply engaging the thought of the General Associa- tion, and it is hoped that the record history here thrown together may serve a convenient and useful end. The present accomplished and efficient correspond- ing secretary of the General Association, Rev. T. L. Wist, has published a statistical table of the denomina- tion in Missouri, from which is here given the Sunday School statistics : Number of schools, 1,031 ; number of officers and teachers, 6,577; number of scholars en- rolled, 60,134; average attendance, 43,324; Sunday School contributions for the year closing October, 1898, $22,357.68. Out of seventy-five district associations there are but eleven that fail to report Sunday Schools within their bounds. Blue River Association has 43 Sunday Schools, the largest number reported for any association. This association includes Kansas City, and is composed of 45 churches — leaving only two without a Sunday School. The association having the smallest number of Sunday Schools is Camden county; there are five schools reported for this association. There are twenty-two churches in the association. Texas County Association has forty-one churches and but six Sabbath Schools. A study of a reliable statistical table will indicate the fields for Sunday School missionary work. CHAPTER XVI. CENTERS OF POPULATION. The General Association, after some years of doubting hesitation and anxious misgivings, timidly ventured to look after the salvation of souls and the ex- pansion of Christ's Kingdom in the centers of popula- tion. The Association was conceived and brought forth of rural thought and christian enterprise. In its infancy and early youth it did not venture to "go to town'' for its annual conferences and deliverances, and its efforts at aggressive work were mainly in regions congenial with its originators and origin. Its careful and seemingly tardy invasion of the strongholds of sin and Satan were altogether natural and not without practical excuse. In the earlier days of Missouri's so- cial life, as in all other parts of our great country, the relation of town's people and those of rural districts were not the most cordial. There were no clearly marked animosities, but the country people did not wear "store clothes" every day in the week, nor were their houses, as a rule, so showy and well furnished as those in town. For these and other reasons the country peo- ple were a little "shy" of their more pretentious neigh- bors, and some of the scantily endowed town's people really thought themselves to be the descendants of a better Adam than were the "clod hoppers." This condition very naturally engendered a trifling spirit of jealously that operated somewhat as a wall of sepa- ration. Besides this, the Association was quite limited in resources and straitened for means to do the work demanded by the rural fields of religious destitution. But after awhile the philosophy of missions began to impress itself upon the minds of the leading spirits of the Association. 27l 272 Centers of Population. Towns and cities are as much a necessity of man's gregarious instincts as is the well known and recog- nized fact of social interdependence. It goes for the say- ing, that individual isolation is in conflict with the laws of humian life, and that communities of individuals are a result of, and forces in social progress. The rural dis- tricts would be put to great disadvantage without "trade centers ;" and such centers would be in sad plight with- out agricultural products. Exchange, transformation and transportation of products, either of the farm or the mill, call for business centers. These centers become the convenient bases of financial negotiations and the depositories of surplus wealth. These facts of social life naturally lead to the investment of the centers of business with an influence extending beyond corporate or accidental limit. With the facts of man's social constitution and re- sulting interdependence in the affairs of secular life, must be associated the other fact that the religion of Jesus Christ is a practical religion taking cognizance of the active principles of human nature, and is, therefore, itself a social system. The field for christian activity and usefulness is humanity. Man serves God just to the extent that he religiously does his duty to his fel- low man. To love thy neighbor as thyself is an equal obligation with the command to love God. "Do good to all men" is the summing up of practical Christianity, and "bear ye one another's burdens" is the fulfilling of the law. It is impossible to eliminate the social element from Christianity. To recognize the significance of so- cial life in its full comprehensiveness is to start at the basis of the missionary enterprise. Any other start must be followed by an imperfect work and inadequate results. Social influences, though resultant of secular condi- tions, must be utilized in the interests of Christianity. Aggregations of secular forces — such as civic, com- Centers of Population. 273 mercial and financial activities — have a strength of in- fluence about commensurate with numbers, pursuits, wealth and compactness of organization. The large city is more influential than the village. The village admits this by borrowing its fashions from the city, and in the preference given to metropolitan newspapers. The large church is more influential than the small one. The visitor to the city, from the village or farm, will, as a rule, if he seeks a church for a Sunday's service, pre- fer the large church, thereby admitting its influence over him. The thought and fashions of a city extend to rural districts about in proportion to proximity and means of communication and transportation. The influence of urbane upon rural populations is no greater in giving taste and method to social life and customs to trade and commerce, than it is in giving character and color to christian life. This is especially true since city and country are brought practically so close together as at the present time. Efforts to evangelize the world should be governed by the fact that natural laws in their relation to and effect upon human hfe are not separate from, but coop- erative with the laws of spiritual life. The laws of thought are natural, but the thinking should be brought under the dominion and direction of the Spirit of God. The social element of human life is that natural force with which the religion of Jesus Christ mostly concerns itself for the life of man this side of eternity. As the propagative and aggressive economy of the gospel lies in human instrumentality under the directing agency of the Holy Spirit, it is easily understood why the gospel takes account of those conditions of life resultant of hu- man nature. If communities are the outworking of the laws of life, then to communities must the gospel go for its most effective instrumentality. Hence church or- 18 274 Centers of Population. ganizations, which are but communities of believers brought together by the spiritual guidance of social qualities inherent in man. Christ and His Apostles, all of whom were mis- sionaries, recognized the force of social law. The dis- ciples were commanded to tarry at Jerusalem until the Pentecostal manifestations of the Holy Spirit. They were not to be endued with power in cloistered seclu- sion, but in a great city on a public occasion so that there would be witnesses to testify abroad the wonder- ful things concerning Christ. In conformity to the same idea, the principal missionary operations of the apostles were in such centers of population as Antioch, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, Rome, etc. Missionary work at points removed from centers of population is not, of course, to be neglected ; but the idea — all too prominent — that missionary work means preaching the gospel in out-of-the-way places exclu- sively, has no warrant in the scriptures, and has in no small measure heretofore hindered the gospel. From the time of the organization of the General Association down to the present there have been, and are, good breth- ren who have seriously questioned the propriety of ap- propriating money for providing for the preaching of the gospel in large towns and cities. This opposition proceeds from a failure to recognize the importance to the world of christianizing the centers of population; and in part out of the erroneous notion that the cities are amply able to attend to this work themselves. It is true that the principal wealth of a nation is concen- trated in its cities ; but it is further true that, these same cities are the haunts of extremest poverty. The masses of the people in rural districts are better supplied with this world's goods than the masses of the people of the cities — the average of living is much better in the coun- try. Centers of Population. 275 It is worthy of further consideration that, while there is abundant wickedness in the agricultural dis- tricts, the cities are the strongholds of iniquity. There Satan's seat is. The great mass of the people of great cities dwell in the shades of the frowning ramparts of the Prince of the power of the air that works in the hearts of the children of disobedience. Temptations to every manner of vice are manifold and the moral at- mosphere debilitates the resistive powers of the tempted. More than this, every heretical ism known to infidelity finds a forcing bed and nurturing soil in crowded populations. Certainly it is true that, where the gospel is needed there the gospel should be taken. Christian people in cities are not indifferent to the conditions that confront them. Some of the fairest types of christian character and noblest examples of christian liberality are to be found in city churches. The country churches can not complain of the absorp- tion of state mission money by the cities. A large per- centage of state mission contributions come from the churches of cities and large towns, and as they are dis- posed to do state mission work through the General Association, it is but fair as a question of reciprocity that the General Association give attention to city mis- sion work. But this is not the chief consideration. The interests of humanity and the glory of Christ demand it. The young people of the rural districts are drifting to the towns and cities. Each succeeding year shows an increased number of young men from the farms seeking and finding employment in cities. The char- acter and salvation of these youths are to be looked af- ter by the churches. For this reason city churches should be upheld and prospered. These young men help to give character to the influence that goes out from the city to the country. The country owes to itself the duty of ministering to the religious and moral development of the cities. 276 Centers of Population. From a denominational view point, the importance of city mission work can not be overestimated. The personal influence, literature and general characteris- tics of a great city are silently but surely impressed upon the people of contiguous rural districts. This influence goes along with the prestige of the city; it is not asserted ; it is not an aim of the city people, it is a natural sequence of aggregated social potentialities. Notwithstanding the apparent tardiness of the General Association to direct its efforts to the advance- ment of Christianity in the centers of population, it has come up to the measure of its duty in this regard to the extent of its ability, and has done a good — even a grand work. It is at once interesting, instructive and encour- aging to pursue the history of this branch of work by the Association. It was not until 1855 that a commit- tee was appointed to report to the Association on "Aiding feeble churches." That committee consisted of John Teasdale, J. H. Keach and J. F. Smith. For some reason the records do not show that this commit- tee ever reported. In 1856, a committee consisting of W. M. Beh, Joseph Flood, E. I. Owen and A. T. Hite was appointed for the same purpose, and submitted the following report ; "* * * In looking over our state, the sad truth forces itself upon our minds that there is a large number of churches of our denomination not only destitute of pastors, but even of occasional preaching. Some of these, no doubt, possess the means of support- ing themselves, provided suitable ministers could be obtained. Others could do something towards sup- porting a pastor. But a very large proportion, from the fact they are few in numbers and poor, are unable to supply themselves at all, many of these are located in populous neighborhoods, and could they be aided for awhile by this Association, would, doubtless, become self-sustaining. Your committee would therefore rec- ommend to the executive board the importance of as- Centers of Population. 277 sisting such churches rather than pursue the former mode of having an occasional sermon preached here and there at the discretion of the evangeHst employed, and constituting new churches which, in all probability, will be left to wither and die for the want of ministerial labor." It is intimated in the foregoing report that some churches were seeking aid from the Association, that "could do something towards supporting a pastor, but relied wholly on outside help." x'Vpropos to such cases is the language of the committee of the next year of which Dr. A. P. Williams was chairman : "An able bodied man, who is lazy and will not work, has no claim upon the charity of his neighbors. Hence the apostolic maxim is, 'If a man will not work, neither shall he eat.' If a rich man should send his servants to cultivate the farm of a man who was able but unwilling to cultivate it, it would be upholding and encouraging that man in his laziness. So we think in regard to aiding able but lazy or stingy churches." In 1859 tl^s committee on aid to feeble churches, reported, through J. S. Green, the chairman, "we rec- ommend that the executive board of the General Asso- ciation be directed to render such aid to feeble churches located at important points, as the means at their dis- posal will justify." In i860, J. W. Warder, chairman of like commit- tee reported ; "* * * But in the second place there are churches located at important points in populous neighborhoods, in thriving villages or cities, situated in important and growing sections of our state, must have aid, or their existence will become jeopardized. If helped through the crisis, many of them may become self-supporting, which otherwise may succumb to the pressure." The next committee on this subject was in 1866, with John Hill Luther as chairman; that committee 27S Centers of Population. said: "* * * It is the conviction of your committee that the true policy is to aid such churches only as will yield returns for the money and labor expended, and our appropriations should be made with the view of se- curing the greatest measure of success. Feeble churches are advised to consolidate their strength. * * * Your committee would call the attention of the executive board to the following important points : St. Louis, Mexico, Boonville and Chillicothe." These references are sufficient to indicate the ten- dency of the mission work of the Association toward permanency and influence. There were in early days, as at present, brethren who regarded the General As- sociation as a mere supply institution, and have felt that the poverty of the church was a sufficient plea for mate- rial aid, overlooking the prime consideration of all mis- sionary enterprise,which is expansion — the enlargement of the Kingdom of Christ. Some preachers have been recommended to the board for appointment as mission- aries on the plea that they were poor and needy with families to support. Such brethren seem not to con- sider that the General Association exists for the pur- pose of promoting the spread of divine truth and not for the purpose of distributing alms to the needy. A preacher may be poor and morally worthy, and yet ut- terly unsuited to the work of a missionary. To feed and clothe the poor is a duty and a great privilege. But such charities are not necessarily in the line of christian progress, in the sense of aggressiveness and expansion. Before the deliverances of the Association on the subject of aiding churches and looking after centers of' population, the board had made a start in that direc- tion, and it was, perhaps, this action of the board that called forth the appointment of committees for informa- tion and recommendations to the Association. It ap- pears of record that the first appropriation of money by Colters of Population. 279 the board for city missions was in T847. This appro- priation was in aid of the church at the City of Jeffer- son, the seat of the state government. Rev. W. W. Keep was assiq-ned by the board to this struo-jrlin!^ interest at a most important center. At times, the proposition to sustain the cause at the state capitol seemed a vain one and the undertaking almost without hope of satisfac- tory results. The many illustrations of faith in God that christian work affords indicate its superiority to logic and its indefinable influence on the purpose and effort of the faithful. Many a christian enterprise has struggled long through adverse conditions that would have suspended or finally ended a secular undertaking. Rev. W. J. Patrick was induced to assume the re- sponsibility of the church at Jefferson in 1868. In the report of the board for 1869, there is this paragraph: "Bro. W. J. Patrick occupied Jefferson City, the capi- tal of the state, a very important, yet one of the hardest fields in the state. They are now without a house of worship, but struggling hard to build one; have pur- chased a lot favorably located, and have a portion of the money for building. The little band has passed through severe trials, but are now hopeful and strong in faith." Bro. Patrick's labors in Jefferson City were substantially eft'ective. While resident there he was made chaplain of the senate, and by his dignified, cour- teous and unobtrusive bearing- won the highest esteem of senators. Down to the present writing Dr. Patrick has been an able and effective pastor, and in the general enterprises of the denomination his faithfulness and in- telligent devotion have gained for him distinguished in- fluence. As a close, critical and progressive student he has made great achievements in all branches of knowledge relating to his high calling. In the prepa- ration of the life and labors of Ex-Gov. C. H. Hardin, to which work he was invited by the widow of the dis- tinguished statesman, he has rendered an invaluable 28o Centers of Population. service to the public, and to the memory of a useful christian citizen. To the church at Jefferson City subsequent appro- priations were made for pastoral sustentation. Rev. T. W. Barrett was one of the successors to Dr. Patrick. He toiled faithfully against the many adverse condi- tions incident to the field, until he was called to the presidency of Stephens College, when he was suc- ceeded by Rev. Ray Palmer. This pastorate was of short duration. He was succeeded by Rev. J. T. M. Johnston, who bears the full name of his father. The elder J. T. M. Johnston was one of the fast friends of the General Association in days of conflict with anti-missionary Baptists. He was a meek, devout and able minister of the New Testament. His labors and his fortune were at the service of his Lord and Master. Education and missions appealed not in vain to his heart, his mind and his money. As a citizen he ranked with the first. Dr. J. T. M. Johnston is a worthy son of a worthy sire. He is a native of Boone county, Missouri. In early life he entered upon the pursuits of secular life as a merchant. Success soon rewarded his enterprising spirit and good name. While yet in his youth he be- came an influential man in his native county. While he never held nor sought civil office he attained a high degree of political influence, and this without compro- mising the proprieties of a christian gentleman. His fine physique, his genial dignity and generous heart made him a universal favorite. In early manhood, with fortune and secular distinction beckoning him on- ward, he was greatly troubled by convictions of duty to preach the gospel. Yielding when he could no longer be disobedient to the heavenly call, he left his business in the hands of his partners and entered the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, at Louisville, Kentucky. Completing his theological course, he was Centers of Population. 281 called, at the suggestion of President Barrett, to the pastorate of the church at the state capital. The church was still feeble. The General Association con- tinued its aid. The house of worship was inferior to others in the city, badly located and uncomely. Pastor Johnston entered upon his work with a threefold pur- pose : a self-sustaining church, an enlarged and trained membership, and a new house of worship. To the ac- complishment of these ends he brought to bear his in- domitable energy, his business tact, his faith and his personal fortune. His success was almost phenome- nal. He did not fail in either of his threefold aims. In a few years a self-sustaining church of about four hun- dred members was occupying an elegant and ample house of worship. Not only this, but the church soon became a liberal contributor to state missions and every other good, christian work. Dr. Johnston's resignation from the capital church was regretted by all the people of the city. In 189?, when he felt called of God to accept the call to the pas- torate of the Delmar Avenue church, St. Louis, and the time came for his removal to the great metropolis, the people of Jefferson City met in mass in the chamber of representatives in the state house and gave him a fare- well ovation. Christians, and christian ministers of all denominations, state officials and citizens generally were present to express their affection for the genial preacher and enterprising citizen. The long and tedi- ous and often discouraging work at Jefferson with the ultimate success, fully vindicates the wisdom of that missionary work that judiciously gives aid to feeble churches at centers of population and influence. It is related by Deacon T. M. James, of Kansas City, that, years ago, before he was a member of the executive board of the General Association, he, in per- son, made application with urgent appeal for an appro- priation to mission work in Kansas Citv. The board 282 Centers of Population. declined to make the appropriation on the ground 01 insufficient treasury, and that the City of Jefferson was a much more important field, as there was no probabil- ity that Kansas City would "ever be much of a place." The future demonstrated that even a mission board can not tell what may be on the morrow. Nevertheless there are reasons for believing that a good providence was guiding the Lord's servants. The church at the capital now enjoys the pastoral services of Rev. W. C. Taylor, lately to this state from Virginia. His scholarly sermons, thoroughly evan- gelical thought, and pastoral diligence have won to him the high esteem of his congregation and of the Gen- eral Association. There is every reason to hope that henceforth the capital city church will be a tower of strength to the denomination. The beautiful and prosperous city of Hannibal, whose eastern line is washed by the waters of the "Great River," was the next important center to receive the aid of the General Association. In 1848, when the General Association was in session at Big Lick church, in Cooper county, an appropriation was made to aid the church at Hannibal. A Brother Granger was the mis- sionary pastor. The struggle at Hannibal was a severe and prolonged one. Its pastoral changes have been somewhat frequent. But each incoming incumbent found in Rev. W. C. Busby, who on account of ill health retired from that pastorate years ago, a warm friend and sympathizing helper. The faith and per- sistent purpose of a devoted membership, ever ready to offer their worldly possessions in the interests of spir- itual progress, has made this one of the strong churches of the state, and from it — the First or Fifth Street church, has gone out a colony now aided by the Gen- eral Association. The original church has for its pas- tor the gifted Everett Gill, whose eminent qualification Colters of Population. 283 for so important a charge gives assurance of continued prosperity. In 1850 or '5 1, while the masterly and honored J. B. Jeter, D. D., was pastor of the Second Baptist church, St. Louis, he threw his energy and wisdom into the work of church extension in the city. At that time the Second was the only Baptist church in the city. Dr. Je- ter's desire and efforts to enlarge the Baptist represen- tation in the city were not favorably considered by some of the leading mernbers of the church. These succeeded in making it more agreeable to Dr. Jeter's refined taste and sensibilities to retire from the pastor- ate than to continue. He resigned the charge of the church and returned to Richmond, Virginia. But not until he had succeeded in some good measure in secur- ing church expansion in the growing city. If Dr. Je- ter's wise and beneficent policy had received the sympa- thy and cooperation it deserved, the Baptists of St. Louis would, doubtless, be stronger to-day than they are. Nevertheless his efforts were rewarded by the founding of the Third and the Fourth Baptist churches. The Third now the strongest and most useful church in the state. In 1 85 1 the executive board of the General Asso- ciation made an appropriation for pastoral support at the Third church. Rev. Joseph Walker was the mis- sionary pastor. The feeble health of this venerable preacher, and that of his family, made his work diffi- cult, and in some degree inefficient. He was succeeded bv Rev. John Teasdale, a brother of Deacon James H. Teasdale, who from the time of the constitution of the church until his death was a faithful and influential christian and courteous and highly respected gentleman. His services to the church were efficient and indeed in- valuable. Rev. John Teasdale met an untimely and frightful death, by the falling down of a railroad bridge that spanned the Gasconade river. The Mis- 284 Centers of Population. souri Pacific railroad had just been opened for traffic, and g^ve a passenger excursion to Jefiferson City. Many eminent citizens, gratified at the opening of the new road, went on the excursion. As the train was on the bridge it gave way and many of the passengers were severely injured, and quite a number, among them the lamented Teasdale, were killed outright. Mr. Teasdale left a large family, one of his sons, A. Salmon Teasdale, is an exemplary and useful member of the Delmar Avenue church ; other descendants of the hon- ored minister are members of the Third church. This church has had in the pastorate J. V. Scho- field, W. Pope Yeaman, Geo. A. Lofton, John P. Green, W. R. L. Smith and at present the accomplished orator and vigorous thinker. Dr. R. P. Johnston. The Third church, which is in a sense a monument to the wisdom and usefulness of the General Associa- tion, is now a mother of churches. It has always en- couraged church extension in St. Louis, and has been generous in contributions to state mission work in other parts of the state, and to general home and foreign mis- sions and to education. But for this church the Bap- tist Sanitarium in St. Louis would not have been founded. This institution is the outgrowth of the be- nevolent and enterprising spirit of W. H. Mayfield, M. D. The chief church that has gone out from the Third is the Delmar Avenue, now comfortably and elegantly housed in the "west end," the popular and prosperous section of the great city. This colony from the Third has sustained itself from the start — founded in 1 877, by the author of this book. The Fourth, and other churches in St. Louis have had the fostering care of the General Association, so that since 1851, the number of Baptist churches in that great metropolis has increased from one to fourteen. Had there been united and cooperating church exten- sion effort in the citv, there might now have been not Centers of Population. 385 less than twenty-five self-sustaining Baptist churches. But the oldest of the existing churches has never fa- vored colonization but has cherished the theory of one grand mother cathedral church having oversight of sub- sidiary and dependent mission stations. St. Joseph, the staunch, conservative and enlight- ened city of the northwest section of the state, was the object of the attention of the General Association in that early period when the present site of the city was familiarly known as the "Black Snake Hills." The first church of that city — one of the strongest churches in the state — was in its early days assisted by the Gen- eral Association. One of its leading members, R. E. Turner, Esq., is president of the board of trustees of the William Jewell College, and an active and influential member of the General Association. The church now occupies one of the best church houses in the state, and has the able ministrations of pastor J. Ernest Cook. Far back — in the '50s, this church had the ministra- tions of the now venerable and honored Joshua Hick- man. While the author of this book was correspond- ing secretary, a mission was founded, under the auspi- ces of the General Association. It was soon organized into a church with Dr. E. S. Dulin as missionary pastor. Subsequently, Rev. N. R. Pittman was induced to un- dertake the work. Under his administration, a new house of worship was erected near Pattee Park, and the name of the church changed to Pattee Park Bap- tist church. In 1895 it was the pleasure of the General Association to hold its sessions in the capacious home of this one of its daughters. Rev. Dr. J. L. Lawless is the devoted and self-denying pastor, applying every energy to the further development of this interesting and important church. Savanna Street church, in the same city, is another child of the General Association, as also yet another mission. 2Su Centers of Population. At Kansas City, the General Association, in coop- eration with the Blue River Association and the Kan- sas City Baptist Union, has done a work happily dem- onstrating the worth of state mission work. In 1884 the state mission board reported to the General Asso- ciation as follows : "Take again the mission at Kansas City. Three years ago the board of state missions in- structed the corresponding secretary to respond to a request from that city to consider the propriety of es- tablishing a mission there. It was manifest that the two Baptist churches in the city were not equal to the demands for church extension in that city of marvelous growth. As a result of the conference between our corresponding secretary and the mission board of Blue River Association, a mission was established. It has been a great struggle to maintain the mission, but it has been sustained, and under the labors of Rev. W. T. Campbell, missionary, the mission has grown into a church, of which Brother Campbell is pastor. Now the little church of sixty members is working faithfully with full hope and prospect of prosperity. They have regular services twice every Sunday, a Sabbath School with an average attendance of no, and weekly prayer- meetings. They have secured an eligible lot on Ninth street, in the eastern part of the city, situated at least one mile from the nearest Baptist church, and in a part of the city that is rapidly improving with substantial and elegant buildings. This lot has been paid for, and a substantial and beautiful chapel is in course of erec- tion, which the pastor expects to have completed and paid for before the winter begins. This outgrowth of the mission, began three years ago, demands and is entitled to the sympathy and aid of every Baptist in the state." This mission is now the Olive Street church. The increase in numbers has been encouraging. They oc- cupy a prominent place in the city. Bro. Campbell's Centers of Population. 287 work and patience and sacrifice have not been in vain in the Lord. The OHve Street church now enjoys the pastoral labors of Rev. John R. Brown, a young man of rare ability. Since the formation of Olive Street church from a mission, other missions have grown up and re- ceived the fostering care of the General Association; South Park, Tabernacle, Emanuel, William Jewell, Centropolis, Leeds, Elmwood, German, and perhaps others. Deacon T. M. James has lived to see Kansas City become "much of a place." But whatever may be his innocent pride in the growth of his city from tMO or thrte insignificant cabins about "West Port Landing." into the second city of the state, with its 200,000 peopte, ard mighty prospective enlargement, he has a mucii gt cater consolation in seeing the realization of his laug cherished desires and untiring efforts for the extension of the Baptist cause in that city of almost fabulous growth. One energetic and purposeful and faithful layman can do wonders for Christ. It is not contended here, nor does Deacon James claim that he has built up the loved cause in Kansas City. But it so happens that he who writes this book can testify from long personal knowledge that no other one man has been used of God as has Deacon James in giving Baptists a favorable showing in the city of his home. He has had colabor- ers among the laymen, but these, a Shouse, a Wornall, a Lyford and others have gone to their reward. A Peak and a Ferguson and others are left to uphold the hands of this Father in Israel, who ceases not to work. For more than a quarter of a century he has regularly attended the meetings of the state board, and is as ever ready to vote help to other points as to his own city. He has been honored by his brethren with the position of assistant moderator of the General Association, a position which he honored by his modesty, dignity and 28S Centers of Population. aptness whenever called to duty. As a member of the board of trustees of William Jewell College, he has been diligent as a counsellor, and generous with his fortune. Useful men are the diadems in the crown of the King of kings. Springfield in the long ago was a field for the at- tention and aid of the General Association. The early- days of the First church, now blessed by the pastoral services of Dr. Skilman needed and obtained the help of the state mission fund. Other interests have been originated and aided by the same instrumentality, so that now the metropolis of the southwest has its several instead of one Baptist church. That thriving church in Mexico, in Audrain county, is another living witness to the wisdom of nourishing churches at centers of population. In i860, Rev. J. E. Welch writes to the board under date of April i7 : "As three months have passed and gone since I last wrote you, I suppose I ought to report progress. Things at Mexico remain about as they were when you were there last. The brethren are again talking of making an effort to build a house of worship. Mexico is a hard field. The cause has been mangled by imprudent youth, and the board must make up their minds to 'hold on to it' for several years, or they may as well give it up at once." He writes again July 13 : "Here I have been for a week laboring for the folks. We have $1,- 500 subscribed for a house of worship. To-day I have been looking out for a lot, seeing workmen and drawing plans, etc." Again, in 1861, the board says: "Church at Mexico — Eld. James E. Welch pastor to the seven- teenth of April, at which time he resigned, writes, the church is without a house of worship, had commenced building, but have for the present given it over. Thinks that but little good can be done at Mexico without a house, * * * intimates that the church is not alto- gether at peace among themselves." No doubt that, in Centers of Population. 289 1861 there were factions, frictions and alienations — those were trying times. In 1868. the board was "holding- on" at Mexico. Bro. S. A. Beauchamp — an able and faithful minister of the New Testament — was missionary pastor. He reports : "This is an important field, surrounded by strong opposition, has one house of w^orship, a union prayer meeting and Sabbath School. Have preaching two Sabbaths in each month, and now have forty-five members." There appears no further reference to Mexico as a mission station. The amount paid for this point, as appears from the treasurer's report for 1868, was $156. What had been appropriated does not ap- pear. In the summer or autumn of 18T0 the writer vis- ited Mexico for the first time. This was to preach the dedicatory sermon of a very neat and, for the time, a sufficiently capacious house of worship, paid for; S. A. Beauchamp was then pastor. That house has been torn away to make room for a more modern and ca- pacious house. This was during the pastorate of Rev. A. E. Rogers. The present pastor, successor to Bro. Rogers, is Rev. N. R. Pittman. His pulpit work is of a high order; he is tactful and enterprising as a pastor, and finds time to interest thousands of readers by his "Fragments" in the columns of the Central Baptist, a vigorous and chaste and popular Baptist journal pub- lished weekly at St. Louis. Perhaps it is not transgressing the bounds of prob- ability to suggest that but for the Baptist church at Mexico, Hardin College would never have been founded there. If this be so, how inestimable the aid rendered the church by the General Association ! It is not needful to go further with detailed illus- trations from the records. Many other churches at centers of population have been either originated or 290 Centers of Population. helped, or both, by the General Association. A few of the many will now be given, in further confirmation of the value of work at centers of population: Warrens- burg — now having the pastoral services of the talented and studious Frank Y. Campbell, A. M. Fulton, with Dr. B. G. Tutt as pastor. Boonville„with the scholarly and devoted C. M. Truex; Kirksville, with the able preacher and vigorous pastor W. A. Simmons; Joplin, where the genial and efficient pastor Milford Riggs is to welcome the next meeting of the Association; Ma- con City, where the sturdy and thoughtful H. E. Truex ably ministers as pastor ; and these others : Louisiana, LaGrange, Chillicothe, Weston, Canton, Marshall, Shelbina, Plattsburg, Memphis, Tipton, Clinton, Inde- pendence, Montgomery City, Cameron, Versailles, Fredericktown, Charlestown, St. Charles, Poplar Bluff, Knobnoster, Rich Hill, Brookfield, Webb City, Har- risonville, Trenton, West Plains, California, Montrose, El Dorado Springs, La Plata, Appleton City, Gallatin, Albany, Cape Girardeau, Maryville, Lebanon, Marsh- field, Milan, etc. This list could be much more than doubled, but this suffices. If the student of state missions will care to take the pains to consult the carefully detailed reports of treasurer Guthrie, he will be entertainingly impressed by the fact that state mission contributions come largely — in the main part in fact — from churches that have grown up under the fostering care of the General As- sociation. He will find the same to be true of con- tributions to all other missionary enterprises, to educa- tion and to general benevolences. Such a discovery puts beyond all question the almost supreme importance of maintaining a general organization from which goes forth a moulding and inspiring influence in behalf of progressive Christianity. Centers of Population. 291 Another conclusion will impress itself upon such a student — the Baptists of Missouri would not have been what they are but for the work of the General Associa- tion. Such an examination reveals the fact that the be- neficent hand of the General Association has been ex- tended to every quarter and to every section of the state. The General /Association essays to do, without partial- ity, state mission work. CHAPTER XVII. THE PRESS. The question of utilizing the press in the interest of progressive Christianity received the attention of the Missouri Baptist General Association at an early day in its history. While many people east of the great river and remote from it were enjoying their conceits, and thinking of the Missourians, when they deigned to think of them at all, as a semi-heathen and untutored community of "backwoods" adventurers, the Missouri- ans were intelligently laying broad and deep the foun- dations of a social system upon which is assuredly ris- ing the superstructure that is to mark the west as the seat of empire. It is a part of the economy of the mind-world that in the struggles of adversity and af- fliction men are often building wiser than they know. Their successors, reaping the harvests of early sowing, are too inclined to flatter themselves that their wisdom and might begot the opportunities and advantages they enjoy. It may be well that the inheritors of an ad- vanced civilization are unmindful of their indebtedness to pioneers whose manner of life is a thing of ridicule to their snobbish inheritors. The opulent descendants of scrap-iron mongers and coonskin dealers turn with scorn from the men who are employed as their ancestors were. Nevertheless, it must ever be as it has ever been : Society's obscure toilers are the world's social benefactors. The lone missionary, with meager wardrobe and primitive modes of conveyance, penetrating trackless forests and traversing wide untenanted prairies, shelter- ing for the night beneath the hospitable clap-board roofs of pioneer cabins and preaching in forest shades, 292 The Press. 393 and diminutive log school houses and rude barns, opened up the way to comfortable pastorates for tailor attired pastors. A little band of rural Baptists gath- ered in a little meeting house where primitive farmers assembled once a month for worship, laid in tears the foundation of an organization that has more than helped to supply our towns and cities with churches and church houses. Of the same character is the history of Baptist periodical publications in Missouri. Nothing but an intelligent perception of the power of the press upon individual thought and social conditions can excel in interest a history of the efforts of Missouri Baptists to establish a denominational journal. The councils, the struggles, the attempts and the failures ; the sacrifices and ultimate permanent success of a persistent ef- fort illustrate the force of that mystic principle so vital to christian life and enterprise — simple faith in God's purpose to care for the Kingdom of the Son of His love. The progress of society evolves from preexisting and current conditions changes in mental habit and sources of influence on life that Christianity can not af- ford to ignore. Truth is the same yesterday, to-day and forever, but methods and conditions of mental awakening and intellectual improvement change with the changes effected by the progress of a material civil- ization. While the glorious gospel of the blissful God is and must ever be intrinsically and essentially the same under all conditions of human life, yet it would be contrary to the laws of thought and the suggestions of Apostolic teaching and example not to adjust the methods of unfolding the truth to conditions of time and place. The New Testament pastoral epistles are examples of this law of adaptation. The time was when the popular mind was depend- ent on public oration for information and mental grasp of all subjects and questions in which the public was in- 294 The Press. terested. Men could know but little of the institutions of government or of religion, but little of philbsophy and the principles of economics except as they were taught by the acceptable and accepted orators of the time. That day has passed not to return. The press has in a large measure supplanted the rostrum. Not that the pulpit has been supplanted nor its necessity re- moved. It must always be that by the "foolishness of preaching," God will save them that believe. But while this is true, it is an accomplished fact that printed thought sways the mind- world. That the present is a reading age, none will ques- tion. That the printed page is more permanent and influential than public speech is evidenced by every in- telligent consciousness. Even a flippant and falacious paragraph in a newspaper will gain more credence than the profoundest utterance of truth from the rostrum or the sacred desk. Not only is this so, but in the familiar lingo of the period, the press has "come to stay." r 1 The unmistakable, even manifest power of the printed page upon the current age, is evidenced in the aptness of children to grasp the significance of subjects, facts and questions which but a comparatively short time in the past were beyond their power of perception. The close observer can not have failed to observe the dif- ference in the intellectual habit and range of thought of the children of the present, as compared with the limited information and narrow range of reflection of the chil- dren of a half century in the past. The youth — even the child — of to-day is as eager for the newspaper or the magazine as was the adult twenty-five years ago. In all efforts for the evangelization of an enlight- ened and progressive people the current avenues to thought and feeling must be hunted out and followed. To do othenvise would be to ignore the laws of thought and to defy the indications of providence. Christianity The Press. 295 has grasped this great truth, and the christian intelli- gence of the age has seized upon the press as the great- est engine for driving the wheels of christian progress. In this she has but been obedient to the calls of conse- crated common sense as it responds to the Apostolic truth : "All things are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." Furthermore, Christianity is not unmindful that the press is as powerful for evil as it is for good. The christian press must seek to counteract whatsoever is of evil in the secular press, as much as to propagate and enforce the truth. The secular press — especially the daily and weekly and monthly issues — are admitted fac- tors in the forces that uplift and advance society. Nev- ertheless, it is none the less true that for much of the immorality, sin, vice and crime with which the land is afflicted must be laid at the door of the same mighty agency. The evils of secular literature are not limited to the periodical press. Books and pamphlets written for money, and much of printed stuff in leaflet form for the dissemination of infidelity and a thousand and one cor- rupt and corrupting isms, are thrown broadcast of the land, filling the social atmosphere with deadly miasma. In the early days of the General Association the need of a Baptist paper in Missouri to resist the con- taminations of vicious literature; to indoctrinate the membership of the churches ; to disseminate informa- tion concerning evangelizing enterprises; to bring scattered brethren into communication, and to promote a higher degree of spiritual life was fully discussed by the ablest men of the denomination. In 1840, there being no denominational paper pub- lished in the state; and as there was not immediate prospect for the establishment of such an organ, the General Association by resolution indorsed and recom- 296 The Press. mended the Western Pioneer and Baptist Banner pub- lished in Louisville, Kentucky. The same paper now everywhere known as the Western. Recorder. This venerable and honorable sheet, still having its home in Louisville, is the progenitor of western and southern Baptist journalism. In 1842 there appeared from the press in St. Louis the first number of a monthly issue called the Missouri Baptist. This effort was in pursuance of a resolution of the General Association in 1842, authorizing the ap- pointment of a committee "to inquire into the expedi- ency of publishing a Baptist periodical as speedily as possible." This paper was edited by Revs. Isaac Hin- ton and R. S. Thomas. Twelve numbers of this Mis- souri pioneer of denominational journalism were issued at a loss to the publishers of $100.45. ^ special com- mittee of the General Association of 1843 recommended that the paper be continued. It was further recom- mended that in order to a more frequent issue of the paper, a plan of cooperation with the Illinois Baptist State Convention be effected, and that the convention be at liberty to appoint an editor for the Illinois depart- ment. This arrangement was agreeably consummated. Of this union there came forth the Missouri and Illinois Baptist. This new and uncapitalized enterprise strug- gled against the disadvantages incident to such an un- dertaking, and survived not more than a year. It is a suggestive and interesting illustration of de- nominational and general progress that, now after the lapse of a half century, each of the states that entered into this combination scheme has a strong and influen- tial Baptist Journal of more than national reputation — The Central Baptist in Missouri and the Standard in Illinois. The struggle was not given up in Missouri when the cooperation scheme failed. In 1845 the Association met at Columbia. At this meeting W. M. McPherson, The Press. 297 S. H. Ford, and R. S. Thomas were appointed a com- mittee on religious periodicals. The committee re- ported, the rc])ort was "read and laid on the tahle." Whereupon Brother Leland Wright offered the follow- ing resolution : "That a conimittce of five he appointed to devise ways and means for the pul)lication of a Bap- tist periodical in this state, and report at our next an- nual meeting; or commence its publication earlier if practicable." Upon the adoption of this resolution the following committee was appointed : Leland Wright, Fielding Wilhite, R. S. Thomas, Roland Hughes and Wm. McPherson. In 1846, at Lexington, the committee on religious periodicals was composed of R. S. Thomas, Wm. Mc- Pherson, T. C. Harris, S.W. Lynd and Roland Hughes. That committee reported as follows : "That a commit- tee of three be appointed, whose duty it shall be to prepare a prospectus of a religious newspaper, to be published in St. Louis, and to furnish such prospectus to ministering brethren and to friends friendly to the en- terprise throughout the state, and request their agency, and as soon as twelve hundred and fifty responsible subscribers are obtained, to commence the publication of the paper, upon the individual responsibility of those who may be willing to enter into it. And that said committee are hereby authorized to do all things nec- essary in the premises for establishing such paper, pro- vided that the General Association shall not be liable for such paper, nor any deficiency or expense beyond the printing of the prospectus, and the postage of the committee. At the meeting of the General Association at Wal- nut Grove church in 184?, Dr. S. W. Lynd, from the committee on religious periodicals, read a report, set- ting forth many reasons why a Baptist journal should be established by ^lissouri Baptists, "ist. As an organ of notification. Here could be made known to Bap- 298 The Press. tists in any particular section, the appointments of ministers and agents and important meetings which are often held, and to which the attention of the com- munity ought to be called. 2d. An organ of informa- tion: Here could be conveyed to the brethren intelli- gence concerning all the christian enterprises of the day, the societies engaged in them, the plan of their operations, the amounts of money received and ex- pended in all the different departments, and wliat is passing on in the world. * * * 3d. As a means of ex- hibiting the great principles of our faith: These are but imperfectly understood by large portions of the community, and often misrepresented, to the injury of the truth. Even among ourselves it is desirable by the discussion of important views to secure a large amount of uniformity in principles and practices. 4th. To supply to some extent, the want of pastoral labor. * * * 5th. Especially to operate as an economical mode of promoting the object of the Association in diffusing the missionary work through the state. In no way can the cause of missions be advanced within our bounds so effectually as by a religious periodical. * * * The committee feel that there must be twenty-five good brethren in the state who would be willing to sacrifice $50 each to see the consummation of this work: an established weekly religious periodical of hi^h charac- ter — a blessing to the state now and for generations to come." In 1848 the General Association, in session at Big Lick church in Cooper county, the following named per- sons were appointed committee on religious periodicals : S. W. Lynd, R. S. Thomas, W. F. Nelson, T. C. Harris and Jno. Keach. Dr. Lynd for the committee offered the following report : "* * * That in the month of May the committee felt justified in making a contract for the publication of the paper. * * * The second number was issued on The Press. 399 the sixtli of June and sent to 1,023 subscribers. Since then the prospect has been encouraging. * * * The subscribers now number i,o75, and the payments on subscriptions to the nineteenth of August, amount to $858.75 ; which will compare with the payments made for any denominational paper in the country. * * * The committee can not omit to state, that no provision was made for compensating the editor. Bro. Lynd has so far undergone the labor of editing the paper without any provision for his compensation." Rev. S. W. Lynd, D. D., was a mild mannered, genial and scholarly minister of the gospel. He was at one time a student of the distinguished Dr. Straugliton, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, \yhose daughter he married. Dr. Lynd remained in St. Louis only a few years. After leaving there he became connected with the Western Baptist Theological Seminary at Coving- ton, Kentucky, an institution founded under what seemed auspicious conditions. But as it was jointly founded and owned by Baptists on both sides of the Ohio river, it was soon involved in the slavery agita- tion of the country. The magnificent property on Eleventh street, Covington, and endowment lots in the southern part of the city, were sold, and the proceeds divided, one part going to Georgetown College, Ken- tucky, and the other part to some institution in Cincin- nati. The Kentucky institution was entitled to over $100,000 of the proceeds of the sale. But payment was delayed a great while, and perhaps never fully made. The contract for publishing the journal above alluded to was let to Bro. T. W. Ustick, who faithfully performed his part of the work. After reading the report to the Association in 1847, an effort was made to procure the names of "twenty-five good brethren who would be willing to sacrifice $50 each to secure the consummation of the good work." The effort was not a success, and the 300 The Press. subject was "laid over until the afternoon." The sec- ond effort met with no better response than the first, and on motion of a Brother Hill the "subject was laid over for the present." Misfortune seemed bent on trying the faith of Mis- souri Baptists. Before the completion of the first vol- ume of the Western Watchman — for such the child of tribulation was christened — the publishing office was destroyed by fire, and the paper was discontinued. It appears from records that an association called the Watchman Publishing Society was organized in 1849 by a convention called at the instance of Rev. J. M. Peck, at the time and place of the meeting of the Gen- eral Asociation at Mt. Nebo church,, in Cooper county. This convention appointed a committee consisting of J. M. Peck, Roland Hughes and W. F. Nelson to draft and report a constitution for the proposed society. The committee submitted a constitution for permanent or- ganization. The object of the society was to secure the permanency of the Watchman by a stock company. There seems to have been no sum of money fixed as the capital basis, but the plan was a share holding com- pany — the shares valued at $10 each, and the business affairs to be conducted by an executive board, to be chosen by the stockholders. The scheme was ephem- eral, and was the suggestion, no doubt, of discourage- ment bordering on dispair, and failed of anything more than a tentative measure. The publication of the Western Watchman was resumed, and in 185 1 Dr. Wm. Crowell was made ed- itor and proprietor. From this time on the enterprise became practically individual. Dr. Crowell assumed all responsibility. There were now about i,7oo subscrib- ers. Dr. Crowell continued to publish the Watchman until 1861, when it was suspended, or rather discon- tinued. The Press. 301 As early as 1849 tlie IVatchiiian beg^an to decline in fayor with the denomination in the state. There were probably two chief reasons for this declension: The paper was not in sympathy with the conviction of many Baptists in the state, that Baptist churches should not receive into their membership persons baptized by the ministers of other denominations. And again the in- clination of the paper was to the anti-slavery side of a question that was an abiding- irritant in Missouri soci- ety. The last cause of dissatisfaction could not have been otherwise than expected. At that time the Bap- tists in Alissouri were mainly slave holders. And whatever may have been their opinions of the right- eousness or unrighteousness of the system of labor, it was an existing institution and all measures calculated to disturb the relation of master and slave were natur- ally irritating to the former. These slave holders were not slave traders. They had inherited the institution and the slaves. It was not reasonable to expect hearty sym- pathy and active support of a journal that antagonized the sentiment and domestic interests of its readers. Slavery in America is a thing of the past; and as the institution — right or wrong — is no longer a bone of contention, it is gratifying that intelligent and conserva- tive persons of both former sides of the issue are more and more disposed to supersede the question by vital and present interest. The question of the validity of baptisms not ad- ministered by authority of a Baptist church is one about which American Baptists have never been of one opinion, and likely never will be. Opposition to alien immersions was well implanted in the convictions of most of IMissouri Baptists, and as the life of a Baptist journal in Missouri depended on the support of Baptists in the state, it was not good policy for the Watchman to put itself in opposition to those upon whom its life depended. 30-2 The Press. In view of the attitude of the Watchman to these irritating questions, a movement was set on foot in 1859 for the estabHshment of another Baptist paper in the state. In April, 1859, ^^ ^^^^ Charitan church in Howard county, a society called the Missouri Baptist Publication Society was formed by a small convention of leading and influential brethren. The objects of the convention are set forth in the two following articles of the constitution adopted as the basis of operations : "Article 2. The primary object of this society shall be the establishment on a firm basis, of a religious newspaper to advocate our denominational principles and polity in the state of Missouri, and form a nucleus for a periodical and book establishment to meet the growing wants of our people in this great central valley. "Article 3. Any person being a member of the Baptist church in good standing may become a stock holder in this society by subscribing the sum of $50, of which sum twenty per cent shall be paid into the treas- ury as soon as $5,000 are secured." This convention designated and authorized D. H. Hickman, E. S. Dulin and Noah Flood as commission- ers to negotiate for the purchase of the Western Watch- man. These negotiations were instituted, but failed of consummation of the object. After a delay of several months, the Missouri Baptist Publication Society began the publication of a paper called the Missouri Baptist. T. W. Ustick was the publisher and Dr. S. H. Ford, then of Louisville, as editor of the Christian Repository — now Ford's Christian Repository published in St. Louis and con- ducted by Dr. Ford— was the editor. The first issue of this paper was March 3, i860. In July of the same year Dr. Ford was engaged as permanent editor, and began to make arrangements to settle in St. Louis. The first issues of the Missouri Baptist made a decidedly The Press. 303 favorable impression, and the growing popularity of the paper gave substantial promise of large and perma- nent success. But alas, after a vigorous life of less than a year and a half, the hopeful prospect vanished under a war cloud, June 15, 1861. The cruelties of the raging conflict were more than the enterprise could re- sist. In the meantime the Western Watchman had failed and was discontinued. Again Missouri Baptists were without a denominational journal. It is an historic fact of more than ordinary signifi- cance that poverty, persecution and perplexities had, through the ages, been impotent to quell the zeal or stay the hand of human love for the unseen Savior and King of kings. There is a mystic power in faith that ties the human to the divine and brings the finite into forceful affinity with the infinite. There is scarcely a human enterprise in all the history of progress that has with- stood such reverses and hindrances as have been en- countered and overcome by the faith of God's people in struggling for the triumphs of the Kingdom of Christ. History verifies the promise: "Lo, I am with you in all the days." Human infirmities constantly manifest themselves in all that is human ; and divine purposes committed to human instrumentalities are subject to the laws of human life, but beneath the ele- ments of weakness there is a power that can give strength to babes and sucklings, and that makes the wrath of man praise the God of the faithful. Man's work may be, yea is, imperfect, and failure often seems written upon his best endeavor, but the promise is that Christ "shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." It is no doubt best for man that his efforts to serve Christ are made in weakness and that his bur- dens are borne in affliction, for thus he comes to know the worth of the work of redemption. 304 The Press. A new era dawns upon Missouri Baptists. An overruling providence rifts the dark clouds and lets in the sunlight of hope. The roar of cannon and the clank of arms are hushed. The hatred and spirit of revenge that poisoned the social atmosphere and tainted christian sentiment still linger, slowly yielding to the antidoting power of peace and reason. The spirit of persecution and oppression that dominated the puny brains of usurping law makers is skulking from the spectres that haunt the abodes of the ignoble. Justice is making ready to strike down the edicts of ignorant assumption. The barricades of the route to liberty of speech and the freedom of the press are assaulted by an indignant public opinion; and Baptists are drinking in fresh courage. Such heroes of faith as A. P. Williams, X. X. Buckner, E. S. Dulin, W. R. Rothwell, Jesse A. Hollis, D. H. Hickman, Y. R. Pitts, W. R. Painter, S. A. Beauchamp and a host of others who had fought in tribulation and tears for Baptist journalism in Mis- souri and had witnessed failure and defeat, are resolved to make another and a heroic effort. The denomina- tion felt the need of that inspiration that a truly evan- gelical weekly visitor brings to heart and home and church, yet the people of God had not rallied from the depression of a dark and eventful recent past. They needed fearless and confident and God trusting leaders. They were at hand. The men whose names have been written above, induced John Hill Luther and R. M. Rhoades to lead the venture into the field where disaster and humiliation had befallen others. Luther was a Rhode Islander, recently to Missouri from South Car- olina. Rhoades was a native Missourian of one of the most respected and influential families of the state. A prospectus for the Missouri Baptist Journal was issued from Palmyra. The projectors of the move- ment rallied to the support of their chosen standard The Press. 305 bearers. Several of them made personal canvasses of the state. W. R. Painter, a man of fervent piety and rare preaching ability, fresh from the rugged experi- ence of the field and the tent, threw himself into the new enterprise with as much zest and genial zeal as ever he went an angling. Town and hamlet and farm house were sought for support to the new enterprise. He ceased not his efforts by day nor by night until he had secured one thousand subscribers. The Journal was established. Williams and Rothwell and Pitts and Beauchamp and Buckner had done their part well. But it may be said that, but for Painter the Journal would not have followed close after the prospectus. On the eighth day of January, 1866, there came forth from the press at Palmyra, in Marion county, the first number of the Missouri Baptist Journal. A fitting celebration of the anniversary of the battle of New Or- leans, where Andrew Jackson and his army of patriots brilliantly illustrated the valor and heroism of Amer- icans. Notwithstanding the editor-in-chief, John Hill Luther, was under bond in the sum of $1,000 to answer at the next term of the circuit court for Marion county, the grave charge of having preached the glorious gospel of the blissful God, without having made affidavit that he had no sympathy for, nor had given a cup of water or a morsel of bread to "persons" engaged in the war for southern independence; the paper made signs of freedom and independence of thought. The first issue was hailed with an enthusiasm that time proved to be more than a mere impulse. Dr. Luther was in every sense an editor of rare ability. He is not only a scholar, but has a mind well stored with comprehensive knowledge, and a quick perception of the significance of the incidents and events of life in their bearing upon social and religious condi- 20 306 The Press. tioiis. His writings are masterpieces of English. His style is chaste, smooth and direct. His editorials gave him high rank in the journalistic world. This scholar and educator and poet and preacher now resides in Texas, has passed the three score and ten line in life, with mental vigor and lively interest in all things per- taining to the Kingdom of Christ. The motto, "The Faith, the Ordinances, the Life," that has stood for nearly a third of a century as the sub-caption of the Missouri Baptist Journal and its successor, is an abiding monument to Dr. Luther's conception of the true char- acter and mission of a religious journal. Rev. R. M. Rhoades was an able coadjutor to Dr. Luther. He is learned, prudent and practical. He now resides in Atchison county, where he renders effi- cient service to the churches, and hesitates not to answer the calls of his fellow citizens to civic positions where his knowledge and practical habit of thought bring him in demand. In September, 1866, there appeared from the press of St. Louis a Baptist weekly journal bearing the title The Record. This publication was the offspring of the "Baptist State Convention," of which a preceding chap- ter of this book gives a brief sketch. The Record was founded and conducted by authority of the following resolution of the Convention at its sessions for 1865 : "Resolved, That the executive board be authorized to perfect, at the earliest practical moment, some plan by which a first class religious weekly paper may be se- cured." Rev. A. A. Kendrick was chosen editor, and C. R. Barnes publisher of the Record. Rev. A. A. Kendrick was then a youthful preacher and pastor in St. Louis. He was w^ell equipped for editorial work, by education and habit of thought. Following his first pastoral life in St. Louis he devoted twenty years to the presidency of Shurtlefif College at Alton, Illinois — his Alma Mater. The Press. 307 Upon retiring from the presidency he returned to the pastorate in St. Louis, having the care of Immanuel church on Gates Avenue, a thriving and beautiful part of the "West End" section of the great city. In August, 1868, after conferences of the friends of the Journal and the Record respectively, the two pa- pers were consolidated under the name THE CENTRAL BAPTIST. This union was effected at the suggestion of Dr. A. A. Kendrick, with the view to removing all occa- sion of friction of the two elements of the denomination in the state resultant of the war of 186 1-5. The result did not disappoint the design. The arrangement was generally and heartily approved and was followed by a new spirit in all denominational enterprises in the state. A printing and publishing company was organized and capitalized and incorporated under the name and style of "The St. Louis Baptist Publishing Company." A thoroughly equipped plant was established. An ex- ecutive committee had charge of the entire business of the company. E. D. Jones, a banker in St. Louis, was made chairman of the committee, and Chauncy R. Barnes was put in charge as foreman of the establish- ment. John Hill Luther was chosen editor-in-chief, with A. A. Hendrick and Norman Fox as associate editors. Dr. Fox was at the time professor of History and English Literature in the William Jewell College. His accomplishments as a scholar, his ability as a writer, his high moral and religious character, blended with unaf- fected gentlemanly courtesy, gave him great influence in Missouri. He now resides in the state of New Jersey, in the suburbs of New York City, where he has promi- nent recognition as a writer and public spirited citizen. 3^S The Press. Some of his views recently published in an attractive volume are not in accord with the prevailing convictions of the Baptists of the country, and his expectations of adverse criticism have not been disappointed. But he has the consciousness of holding the respect and confi- dence of his vast circle of acquaintances in and out of the denomination. In i87o, W. Pope Yeaman having removed from the City of New York, where he had been engaged in the pastorate, to St. Louis, was soon invited by Dr. Luther to association in the work of conducting the Central Baptist. The company having ownership and control of the paper had been losing money in the job department. Some members of the company complained that the paper was not the source of as much money in- come as it should be. The president of the board and the foreman of the office were particularly persona non grata to Dr. Luther. Neither of them knew anything about religious journalism, yet presumed to dictate the editorial management. This course Avas an unmitigated annoyance to the editor, who felt that he was subjected to humiliating and hindering interferences. He felt that he was not producing such a journal as he could and would produce if unhampered. He proposed to W. Pope Yeaman that he come to his relief. This was to be effected by purchase of the Central Baptist separate from the printing establishment. After no little con- ference and negotiation, the purchase was effected at the price of $4,000 for the name, subscription list and "good will" of the paper. John Hill Luther and W. Pope Yeaman became joint proprietors and coordinate editors. At the time of this arrangement the subscrip- tion list to the Central Baptist had fallen below five thousand. By January, i872, the list had increased to about seven thousand. In this year the partner of Dr. Luther realizing that all had been accomplished for which he had been invited into the connection, retired The Press. S^P from the paper and A. Salmon Teasdale became asso- ciated with Dr. Luther under the firm style of Luther and Teasdale. In 1875, the new firm having become embarrassed financially, the disposition of the paper was determined as the only escape. A number of brethren insisted that W. Pope Yeaman should come to the rescue. He hesi- tated and shrank from the burden of editorial work and business management of the paper, added to the respon- sibilities of the pastorate. He finally consented to go into the ownership and conduct of the paper in connec- tion with Rev. Wiley J. Patrick. It required five thousand dollars to clear the plant of incumbrances and get possession. The firm of Yeaman & Patrick con- tinued for several months, when, because of insufficient resources. Dr. Patrick retired from the concern, after disposing of his interest to Yeaman, who now became sole proprietor and editor. During his sole control of the paper he was made chancellor of the William Jew- ell College. He found his labors as pastor, editor and chancellor too great a burden, he called to his aid Rev. Wm. Ferguson as assistant editor. In i877 Mr. Fer- guson bought the paper, after its business and credit had been well restored. Mr. Ferguson soon associated with him his special friend, Rev. J. C. Armstrong in editorial v^ork. Dr. J. T. Williams was engaged for field agent and correspondent. LTnder this management the paper was relieved of the debt Mr. Ferguson as- sumed in the purchase and the judicious attention to the general business of the concern resulted in making the establishment a valuable plant. In 1882, owing to failing health, Mr. Ferguson sold the paper to Dr. William Harrison Williams, of Virginia. Dr. Williams continued sole proprietor and editor of the paper until August 24, 1893, when he suddenly and altogether unexpectedly died in the rail- road depot at Alexandria, Missouri. At the meeting of 3IO The Press. the General Association following the death of Dr. W. H. Williams, suitable and impressive memorial services were held in expression of the esteem in which the de- parted brother was held by his co-laborers. The fol- lowing communication to the Association was received from the widow of the lamented dead : "The days of the last two months have been as night in our home. The story of a great sorrow can not be written. But the darkness of our night has been made less oppressive by the many tender words that have come from my friends and those of my sainted husband. Healing and helpful, these expressions have been to us a very 'Song in the night.' I can not do more and I would not do less, than to gratefully acknowledge all these tokens which the friends have kindly given of their feelings for us. "As to the future of the paper, it shall be my earnest and prayerful purpose to maintain its same courteous, conservative and firm policy which has won the wide and hearty support of the denomination. I need and crave the support and prayers of all the friends of the paper, that those to whom its immediate management is committed, as well as myself, may be divinely guided so as best to honor our Master and serve the brotherhood. "(Signed) Mrs. W. H. Williams." Dr. Williams was born in Richmond, Virginia. July 1 8, 1840. He was an acceptable and successful pastor of several churches in important centers of influ- ence. In Missouri he was actively interested in every good work, and was an earnest and influential friend of the General Association, and sought by his personal effort and the energy and influence of the Central Bap- tist to promote every work to which it gave moral and active support. His death was a felt and acknowledged loss. I r he Press. 3'' I^Irs Williams leases the paper to Dr. J. C. Arm- strong and A. W. Payne, who conduct its busmess un- der the firm style of Armstrong & Payne. Dr. Arm- strong is editor, and A. W. Payne is business manager. This is an excellent combination of talent. Dr. Arm- strong's superior ability as an editor is too well and too generally known, and so exemplified in every issue of The paper, that words of commendation here would be out of place. Brother Payne's business management has won for the paper and for himself the utmost and Gladsome confidence of the entire brotherhood His repeated elections to the ofiice of recording secretary of the Association is sufficient testimonial to his position in the denomination. . . Dr. Armstrong is a native of Missouri, born in Franklin countv, November lo, 1847. His collegiate education was at the William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri, of which institution he is an alumnus, having successively won the degrees of A. B. and M. A. He has never ceased to be a thoughtful and systematic stu- dent From his Alma Mater he received the degree of Doctor in Divinity, which unsought distinction he wears modestly. His devotion to the interests of the de- nomination in Missouri has won for him deserved m- fluence. ^u i The Central Baptist has a strong hold on the de- nomination in the state, and ranks high in American religious journalism. Although the ownership ot the paper is personal, as it has been from the start, and is essentially an individual enterprise, it is the acknowl- edged organ of the General Association of Missouri ^ At the meeting of the General Association held at Roanoke in 1866, the following resolution was adopted : "Resolved, That we, the Baptist General Associa- tion of Missouri, do recognize the Missouri Baptist Journal, J. H. Luther editor, as our state organ and commend it to the patronage and support ot all the 312 The Press. friends of our cause throughout the state, and that we earnestly request all our ministers and members to labor for the increase of its circulation." The Central Baptist is a continuation of the Journal and the Association has never failed to regard it in the light in which it was recognized and avowed at Roa- noke in 1866. This relation to the Association is a well merited right. The paper has never sought to direct the affairs of the Association nor essayed to be a radi- cal reformer of its fundamental law or established poli- cies. It has ever diligently striven to advance every interest espoused by the Association and has never an- tagonized its methods. Without it, the enterprises of the denomination in the state must have lagged and perhaps utterly failed. Its timely, wise and efficient help has been repeatedly recognized by resolutions of indorsement and commendation. And so long as it pursues the course of the past it will doubtless be the recognized organ of the General Association. Its struggles have been trying and its tribulations many, but under God's blessing it is now, to all human ap- pearances, beyond peradventure. It has never been questioned by the General Asso- ciation, nor by its recognized organ that, any individ- ual having a desire to do .so has a natural right to es- tablish and conduct a Baptist newspaper in the state. The question of the expediency of exercising this nat- ural right rests with the person whose zeal or ambition as the case may be, inclines him to embark in the under- taking, and so embarking he is entitled to all that the voyage may bring him of success or of failure. It is likewise the natural and inalienable right of the Gen- eral Association to decide for itself what paper or pa- pers it will recognize as an exponent of its principles and cooperator in its work. The time has been, and recently, when the work of the General Association was hindered by the sys- The Press. 313 tematic and persistent effort of a journal in the state, claiming to be par excellence the Flag of the denomina- tion. Yet this same journal repeatedly sought the in- dorsement of the body it antagonized, and then menac- ingly waved its banner because the Association declined to be brow-beaten and cudgeled into submission. The General Association has survived the assaults made upon it, while its assailant — more courageous than pru- dent, has quietly subsided. It is not within the province of a history of the General Association to make note of things or persons not actually connected with that institution, either by its recognition, or by enforced relations like that of op- position and antagonism. But as Rev. S. M. Brown has been prominently officially connected with the General Association, and is personally a member and active and influential worker for the promotion of its enterprises, it is not going out of the way to note that he, in connec- tion with Rev. R. K. Maiden, D. D., is publishing a sprightly and vigorous Baptist weekly in Kansas City, called the Word and Way. This journal has qualities commendatory, and it is to be hoped that it will develop into an active adjunct to the General Association in all of its undertakings when good conscience and prudence will permit. The power of the press is universally admitted by all civilized people. The safeguard to society and the progress of pure religion and upright morals are largely dependent upon the character of reading matter with which the people are daily and weekly supplied. To maintain the religious press in a christian country is one of the first duties of personal Christianity. CHAPTER XVIII. AUXILIARY RELATIONS AND UNIFICATION. In the first decade of years of the Missouri Baptist General Association, the American Baptist Home Mis- sion Society was recognized, and the Association placed itself in the attitude of an auxiliary and even secondary or subordinate institution, and designated the Home Mission Society as the"parent society." As early as 1844 the executive board of the General Association, in its annual report uses this language : 'Tn the southeast cor- ner of the state the Parent Society has three mission- aries under the superintendence of the New Cape Gi- rardeau Association, whose joint salaries are $300 per annum. It will be seen that the aggregate amount ex- pended in Missouri by the parent society is $76o, a liberality which calls for our grateful acknowledg- ments, and is well worthy our imitation. We again suggest the propriety of conforming our minutes to the plan recommended and solicited by Brother Hill, its corresponding secretary." It was the aim of the Home Mission Society from the start to have all state or local missionary organiza- tions to formally recognize it as the common and min- istrative center of all organized missionary operations in the United States, for home mission work. Their corresponding secretaries and agents sought to influ- ence local organizations into recognition of this rela- tion. The American Baptist Home Mission Society is but two years older than the Missouri Baptist General Association, having been organized April 27, 1832. The first annual collections by this society for general missionary operations were but $6,586.73, not as much 314 Auxiliary RcIatio)is and I'liificatioi. o'D as one half of the sum raised by the Missouri Baptist General Association in 1884 for state missions. In the sixth year of the Home Mission Society's operations its collections amounted to $17,232.18, not more than $2,000 in excess of what Missouri Baptists have col- lected in a single year on their own field for their own work. These figures will indicate that the Home Mis- sion Society could not have done enough in the matter of financial aid, to have been the parent of a State Association, when it was only two years old. Besides this, the constitution adopted by the Missouri "Central Society" — afterward the General Association — made no mention of the Home Mission Society or any other organization to which it was organically related. The corresponding secretary, Rev. Benjamin M. Hill, of Troy, New York, of the Home Mission Soci- ety, was an able, consecrated and efficient servant of the Divine Master. His services as corresponding secre- tary were of incalculable worth to the Baptist cause in the United States, and especially in the west and south. He no doubt felt that the success of the society and the unity of the brotherhood would be promoted by bring- ing all state Baptist missionary organizations into close and secondary relation to the Home Mission Society. But as a matter of fact the Home Mission Society was and is a local organization, though its aims are gen- eral and beneficent. The Society owes its existence to Rev. J. M. Peck, whose name is so intimately connected and interwoven with the early history of Missouri Bap- tists. The visit of this veteran and heroic missionary to the east, after nine years of missionary labor in the west, was the means of interesting Jonathan Going, D. D., then pastor of the church in Worcester, Massachu- setts, in the claims of the west for more systematic and thorough evangelizing efforts. Through his earn- est and urgent efforts the Society was organized in New York, with Hon. Herman Lincoln, of Massachu- 3i6 Auxiliary Relations and Unification. setts, as its president, and Dr. Jonathan Going as its corresponding secretary, and William Colgate for its treasurer. These three truly great men, with their co- operating brethren of New York and Massachusetts, made the Society a great institution. Dr. Hill suc- ceeded Dr. Going in the secretaryship in 1839, ^^^"^ con- tinued for many years to superintend the operations of the Society's missionary work. He is the author of that motto of the Society : "North Am.erica for Christ." A sentiment and a purpose that should fill and direct every christian heart on this great continent. The General Association continued in auxiliary relation to the American Baptist Home Mission Society until 1846, when Dr. S. W Lynd, from the committee to whom the proposition of becoming auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention had previously been re- ferred, submitted the following report : "The committee to whom was referred the subject of dissolving our connection with the American Bap- tist Home Mission Society and becoming auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention, have given such at- tention to the subject as the time allotted, and other en- gagements would allow. "It is the opinion of the committee that this Asso- ciation is under obligations of gratitude to the Ameri- can Baptist Home Mission Society for the aid which they have heretofore rendered in the support of mis- sionaries in this state, and which they are still disposed to continue, as far as their means will justify. "While the circumstances which have produced division between the north and the south have been be- yond our control, and the division itself, in many re- spects, to be deeply regretted, yet we can not but hope that, in the providence of God, it will result in a wider diffusion of the blessings of missionary effort. "From the local position, the institutions of the state and the general feeling of the people, it appears Auxiliary Relations and Unification. V7 to your conmuttee to be obviously proper that so far as union with anv organization as an auxihary is con- cerned, this Association will better harmonize with the views and the enterprise of the Southern Baptist Con- vention. 'The committee therefore recommend the adop- tion of the following resolutions : "i. Resolved, That this Association become auxil- iary to the Southern Baptist Convention. "2. Resolved, That the secretary of this meeting be instructed to notify the corresponding secretary of said convention of this resolution." This report was adopted, and by this action the General Association became auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. The reader will observe that the foregoing report mentions "division between the north and the south." To many who have reached mature years within the last third of a century, these words may seem strange, inasmuch as they speak of a time many years before the war of the states. It is therefore particularly per- tinent to this place to refer briefly to the origin of the Southern Baptist Convention. For several years prior to 1845 the Baptists of the United States carried on their missionary operations through one general organization known as the Tri- ennial Conventiop. This convention had a board of foreign missions located at Boston, Massachusetts. In 1845 the city of Boston and the New England States, or part of them, were greatly excited by the annexation of Texas to the United States, with a constitution au- thorizing slavery. This excitement was increased by the treatment that a certain indiscreet Mr. Hoar, of Massachusetts, received at the hands of a few indiscreet South Carolinians at Charleston. The members of the Boston Board of missions partook of this excitement, and introduced the troublesome question of slavery 31^ An.viliary Relations and Unification. into their board proceedings. They began to question missionaries holding commissions from the board, con- cerning their relation to the institution of slavery, and such missionaries as ov/ned or had an interest in slaves were urged to purge themselves of the iniquity (?) This unwarrantable action of the Boston board called forth from a Brother Bushyhead, of Alabama, who was a missionary to the Indians, under commission from the board, a question designed to call forth ofificial declaration from the board as to whether the secret in- quisitorial processes with the missionaries were to be re- ceived as an intimation of the board's future policy. To which the board replied : "* * * If, however, any one should offer himself as a missionary, having slaves, and insist on retaining them as his property, we could not appoint him." The result of this extra constitutional action of the board, was a call issued by the Baptists of Alabama for a southern convention. That call was responded to by the Baptist churches of the southern states, and the "Southern Baptist Convention" was organized. It is a strong and influential body, and such Baptists of Mis- souri as attend the meetings of their General Associa- tion are familiar with the face and eloquence of the vig- orous and accomplished corresponding secretary. Rev. Dr. I. T. Tichenor. In 1850 Dr. J. B. Jeter, chairman of committee on "Southern Baptist Convention," submitted report to the General Association, as follows : "Your committee to report on the condition and prospects of the Domes- tic Mission Board of Southern Baptist Convention, submit the following : "* * * Your committee are of the opinion that the interests of our denomination may be greatly promoted in our state by a closer union of our Association with that board. * * * The board can not only furnish us money, but what is more important Auxiliary Relations and Unification. 319 still, men to occup)- many-of the important towns and neighborhoods in the state. * * * "In view of these considerations, "i. Resolved, That the board of this Association be authorized and instructed to enter into such arrange- ments with the Domestic Mission Board of the South- ern Baptist Convention as may secure their most effi- cient cooperation within the limits of the state, and that the agents and missionaries of that board may act un- der the sanction of our board. "2. That the thanks of this Association are due, and are hereby tendered to the Domestic Mission Board South for their generous appropriations to support mis- sionary labor in St. Louis; and in other places within our state." In 1 85 1, the report on the Southern Convention was submitted by W. W. Keep, chairman of the com- mittee, as follows : "A review of domestic mission efforts presents an encouraging aspect. * * * Too close a union with the Southern Domestic Board can scarcely exist. * * * Many of our important towns are in very pressing need of assistance, and a small amount of means, di- recting the labors of the right sort of men would doubt- less be attended with the most happy results. Your committee would present the capital of our state, to- gether with Hannibal and St. Joseph : one the center of political influence, and the others large commercial points." For the benefit of younger readers, it is noted that the word "Domestic" before the word board, has been substituted by the word "Home." The Domestic Mis- sion Board was for a long time at Marion, Alabama, now the Home Mission Board is at Atlanta, Georgia. The General Association continued to cooperate with the Southern Convention until the interruptions of 320 Auxiliary Relations and Unification. relations and communications by the civil war of 1861-5. At the meeting of the General Association at Pal- myra in 1865, the following resolution was promptly adopted : "Resolved, That we resume our former relations to the board of domestic and Indian missions, located at Marion, Alabama, and that we pledge our prayers, sympathies and contributions to its support." And in 1866 the following resolutions were adopted at the meeting of the Association at Roanoke : "That the General Association instruct the executive board to cooperate with the Domestic Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in sustaining any minister whom they may appoint to build up an inter- est in St. Louis or in any other portion of the state ; and to cooperate with the Sunday School Board of that Con- vention." In 1869, as a concession to the element that had formed, and after the third meeting dissolved, the "Mis- souri Baptist State Convention," the Missouri Baptist General Association amended the first article of the con- stitution by striking out the words "and shall be auxil- iary to the Southern Baptist Convention," thus leav- ing the Association without organic auxiliary relation to any missionary organization. This amendment however was of small consequence, as all Baptists, and Baptist churches and district associations were at lib- erty to designate and cause to be transmitted their con- tributions to any cause and through any channel they might prefer and select. Of course, the amendment was unsatisfactory to the sentiment of those persons who felt that the convention is entitled to formal ex- pression of the fellowship of the Association. But the convention was not injured, nor was any other organization benefited or in any sense a victor. Auxiliary Relations and Unification. $21 A result of the amendment of the constitution was to offer an "open door" to all missionary organizations who desired to enter Missouri by their agents. This open door opportunity was soon utilized. It was not long until the state was canvassed for contributions by not less than four different agents. One for the Mis- sionary Union, the foreign missionary organization of the northern brethren; one for the American Baptist Home Mission Society; one for the Richmond Board of Foreign Missions of the Southern Baptist Convention, and one for the Home Mission Board of that conven- tisn. The efforts of these agents in the state brought more or less of confliction, and somewhat of friction. Besides this, the Baptists and the Baptist churches of the state, and the meetings of the district associations felt that the visitations of agents were so frequent that their own affairs and times of public worship were in- terfered with and interrupted more than was to their comfort and the progress of the cause at home. This feeling was not without cause and the protestations were not groundless, particularly on the part of churches that hold services but one Sunday in each month. The coming of the four agents already desig- nated would take one fourth of the Sabbaths in a year ; and then in addition to these there would come the rep- resentative of the General Association; then a college agent, and now one half of their preaching days for the year were occupied by presentations of claims for money. Then a special agent must be heard occa- sionally. The stronger of the district associations would be visited by all of these representatives, each feeling that his cause had special claims and was entitled to prece- dence of hearing and the "first fruits." It was but a natural result that there should have groAvn up and gone forth a gentle wail of complaint. 2J 7,22 Auxiliary Relations and Unification. Brethren were not opposed to the interests represented. They were willing — many of them — to do their respect- ive parts for the good interests pressed upon their at- tention, but they came to feel that the pressure was a little too combined, and that they had interests of their own that deserved some attention. The conditions grew to such proportions that the question of relief for the churches and district associa- tions found its way into the meetings of the General Association. In October, i887, with the General Association in session at Maryville, the following preamble and reso- lutions were introduced by Dr. S. H. Ford, and after appropriate discussion were adopted : "Whereas, There are two distinct boards in each of the departments of home and foreign mission work in the United States, and in the home work ; one known as the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the other as the 'American Baptist Home Mission Society ;' and in the foreign work one is known as the 'Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention' and the other as the 'American Baptist Missionary Union,' and "Whereas, there being no difference of faith or doctrine existing to cause this separation, therefore be it "Resolved, That, it is the sense of this Association that in union there is strength. "Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the moderator, with instructions to open a corre- spondence with the general missionary boards of the de- nomination looking to and inquiring into the possibility of unifying our missionary agencies in the state — with the ulterior view of the unification of all our missionary boards in the United States — to report at the next ses- sion of this body." Auxiliary Relations and Unification. 323 Upon the adoption of the preamble and resolu- tion, the moderator appointed the following persons on the committee provided for: Dr. S. H. Ford, N. J. Smith, E. F. Rogers, T. M. S. Kenney and Dr. B. G. Tutt. The contemplation of this proceeding of the Gen- eral Association was farreaching and in the right di- rection. The immediate result has not been "the unifi- cation of all our missionary boards in the United States," but there are encouraging indications that this Missouri movement has not failed to awaken thought on the subject, and that the day approaches when the great Baptist family of this land, where the Baptists of the world do mostly live, shall see eye to eye and be of one mind and one heart and speak and do the same things, and that sectional lines and differences of polit- ical views shall not mar the beauty nor impair the strength of the Lord's hosts. At Clinton, in 1888, at the fifty-fourth annual ses- sion of the General Association, the following action was taken : "Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the committee on unification, whose duty it shall be to attend the meetings of the various mission- ary boards at Washington, D. C., November 28, 1888, for the purpose of representing us in that meeting." The committee on unification designated the following committee in pursuance of the foregoing resolution : W. Pope Yeaman, S. H. Ford and E. F. Rogers. This ap- pointment was confirmed by. the General Association. Looking to the carrying into effect the suggestion to unify the mission work in Missouri, Rev. Manly J. Breaker gave notice of certain proposed amendments to the constitution. This was at the meeting in 1888. In 1889 these amendments were referred to the commit- tee on unification; and on motion the moderator added seven members to the committee, to wit: M. J. Breaker, W. R. Painter, J. P. Greene, W. R..Wilhite, E. 324 Auxiliary Relations and Unification. W. Stephens, W. J. Yates and J. W. Ford. These names, with the original committee: S. H. Ford, E. F. Rogers, N. J. Smith, B. G. Tutt and T. M. S. Kenney, made a committee of eleven members, to whom was committed the whole question of unification and consti- tutional amendments. The report from this commit- tee, of which Dr. S. H. Ford was chairman, was awaited by the General Association with much interest and even anxiety. On Thursday evening, October, 1889, the committee submitted its report. The hall of the house of representatives at the capital city in which the Association met, was crowded to its utmost capac- ity. The governor of the state and many other state officials were present to witness the method and manner of a Baptist convention in disposing of a great and ex- citing question. The committee submitted the following report : "In pursuance with the instructions of your body at Clinton, two members of this committee, to wit : S. H. Ford and E. F. Rogers attended the meeting of con- ference held in the city of Richmond (the place of meet- ing had been changed from Washington), Virginia, in December, 1888. At the meeting there were present representatives from the Missionary Union, the Home Mission Society, the Publication Society and the Southern Baptist Convention. These representatives took the following action : It was agreed that, in Mis- souri the agents representing these bodies should not undertake to collect funds from churches known to be in sympathy with the other, and that the large territory which had evinced no sympathy with either should be cultivated by the two agents under an arrangement to be agreed upon by them. This agreement of the com- mittee was made subject to the ratification of the boards of the Home Mission Society and of the Conven- tion, The board of the (Southern) Convention promptly ratified the agreement, of which it gave notice Auxiliary Relations and Unification. 3-5 to the board of the (American Baptist Home Mission) Society in New York. The board of the Society de- cHned to ratify it 'as a finahty,' aijd claimed that it must be privileged to appeal to "all the churches of Mis- souri." Your committee took no part in the* agree- ment and have no comment to make on this action. "We have carefully considered the proposed amendments and recommend * '' * that, the constitu- tion be amended as follows : * * * "The present article lo to be stricken out, and a new article lo to read: The board of General Home and Foreign Missions, consisting of nineteen members, shall have charge of raising in this state, and of for- warding funds for these missions. It shall have power to choose its own officers and agents, and shall make to the Association full annual reports of its operations. ******** "We have given the preamble and resolutions re- ferred to us our careful and prayerful attention, and while we recognize the justice of the complaints therein set forth, yet as a compromise of conflicting opinions, we heartily and unanimously recommend the following in lieu of said preamble and resolutions : "i. We respectfully and earnestly request the boards at Boston and Richmond, and New York and Atlanta, immediately to withdraw their agencies from our state and to leave the work to our board. "2. We recommend to the board of General Home and Foreign Missions to conduct its work in the way that will create the least possible friction, and with the full recognition of the fact that a very large majority of our members are in sympathy with the Southern Baptist Convention. "3. And that we further instruct this board in all its operations carefully to respect the known prefer- ences of brethren, churches and associations, and to divide all funds not otherwise designated on a basis 326 Auxiliary Relations and Unification. derived from a comparison of the receipts in Missouri of the several boards for the past five years." The question on the motion to adopt this report eHcited an animated discussion in which many mem- bers participated, and also visiting brethren : Dr. I. T. Tichenor, of the Atlanta board, Dr. Dwight Spencer, representing the Boston board, and Dr. T. B. Bell, of the Richmond board. After the discussion the re- port was adopted by a rising vote. The committee on nominations was instructed to report the names of nineteen persons to constitute the "Board of General Home and Foreign Missions." That committee reported the following names : E. W. Stephens, A. F. Fleet, T. W. Barrett, S. F. Taylor, W. Pope Yeaman, E. H. Sawyer, W. R. Wilhite, W. J. Patrick, A. F. Baker, M. J. Breaker, A. E. Rogers, T. C. James, T. M. S. Kenney, Louis Hofifman, J. H. Bur- rows, J. P. Greene, J. W. Ford and E. F. Rogers. This was the first board of General Home and Foreign Mis- sions of the Missouri Baptist General Association. The first regular meeting of this board, after ef- fecting permanent organization at Jefferson in Octo- ber at the time and place of the meeting of the General Association, was held at Columbia, December 3, 1889. A committee on by-laws had been appointed at Jeffer- son, of which the writer of this book was the sole mem- ber. These by-laws, with a single amendment, were adopted by the board. The draft of by-laws as pre- sented for the consideration of the board, provided for but one corresponding secretary to have charge of the active operations of the board. The proposed laws were amended by substituting "two" and "secretaries" for the words "a" and "secretary." This amendment was carried by a majority of one vote in a full meeting of the board. The by-laws provided that the headquar- ters of the board should be at Columbia, and that the officers should be a president, a secretary, a treasurer Auxiliary Relations and Unification. ,^27 and two corresponding secretaries, at a salary of$i,500 each per annum for the corresponding secretaries. E. W. Stephens was chosen president, T. W. Barrett, sec- retary; A. F. Fleet, treasurer and Rev. S. F. Taylor, corresponding secretary of the home department, and Rev. T. AI. S. Kenney corresponding secretary of the foreign department. Great deliberation and care was taken in entering upon the work committed to this board. The members were impressed by the seriousness and importance of the recognized departure from long established usages. Before the meeting at Columbia for perfecting organ- ization, it had been determined at the preliminary meet- ing not to enter actively upon the work of the board until the first of the following January, so as to give the different boards then operating through their agents in Alissouri ample time to adjust their affairs to the new order of procedure. In the meanwhile these sev- eral boards were notified of the appointment of the Missouri board, and they were requested to withdraw their agents, which they did. President Stephens, in the first annual report of the board, says : "The various boards north and south, some of which at first looked with distrust upon our plan and were slow to yield its cooperation, had, with- out exception, expressed full satisfaction, and are now, so far as we are aware, in cordial acquiescence. The Missouri plan has attracted the attention of the country, and its success may yet effect an innovation in mission- ary methods, north and south. The most gratifying experience has been the favor with which it has been received by the churches. Their approval seems to be practically unanimous. The spirit of sectionalism which a year ago menaced harmony and prosperity has disappeared, and the contrasted condition as evinced at this meeting of the Association is itself evidence of the benefit which has ensued. Nor have financial resources 32S Auxiliary Relations and Unification. been diminished by the change. * * * The Missouri plan appeals with special force to every Missouri Bap- tist. It means a unification of our missionary work, a closer sympathy between the churches, a burial of sectional bitterness and an undoubted impetus to the mission cause." In 1891 the board said: "We are set- ting an example for the nation. We are illustrating that it is possible for a state to manage all of its mis- sionary contributions, foreign and domestic, as well as state and local, and we believe that in the near future the result will be an enlarged benevolence along all these lines, a more thorough unification and a greater prosperity.'* In February, 189T, Rev. S. F. Taylor resigned the secretaryship of the home department. He was suc- ceeded by the election of Bro. W. L. Boyer. At the close of the first year's work Rev. T. M. S. Kenney de- clined re-election to the secretaryship of the foreign de- partment and was succeeded by the election of Rev. B. G. Tutt. Secretaries Taylor and Kenny did efficient and successful work. Besides their collections it devolved upon them as the first secretaries under the "Missouri Plan" to explain the reasons for and the advantages of the departure. They did their work well as the rapid increase of the popularity of the plan fully cer- tified. Secretaries Tutt and Boyer continued in office un- til October, 1896, when the General Home and Foreign Board adopted the plan originally suggested by the writer in his draft of the by-laws — the appointment of but one secretary for both departments, and Manly J. Breaker, D. D., was chosen to the secretaryship, and is still the incumbent. Bro. W. L. Boyer is a layman (?) of rare ability as a speaker on religious subjects. He is indeed a very good preacher without the form and title of the clergy (?) His spiritual devotion, courteous deport- Auxiliary Relations and Unification. 329 ment and christian uprightness have won for him many and abiding friends. Rev. Dr. B. G. Tutt is so well known for his supe- rior qualities that to write of him in his lifetime seems superfluous. But it is hoped that this little volume of history will survive him, and that future generations may read of a man whose whole manner of life illus- trated how the claim of the gospel on human consecra- tion meets with willing response and surrender from the best talent, and scholarship of the strongest and purest men. Dr. Tutt could have attained eminent success in any sphere of secular life. But he made choice of the afflictions of the cross and has with un- flinching devotion and modest demeanor given himself to the work of the Master. As preacher, pastor, occa- sional contributor to current religious literature and as missionary secretary he has made his impress for good on Missouri Baptists and Missouri people. The unification or "Missouri plan" continues to work to the satisfaction of Missouri Baptists, and it is not improbable that it will ultimately demonstrate itself as the best system of auxiliary relation of state mission- ary organizations to more general societies or conven- tions. From an early day in the history of the Missouri Baptist General Association it evinced lively interest in. all efforts for the spread of divine truth, and made itself, informally, auxiliary to every organization that gave an opportunity for rendering or receiving assist- ance in efTorts for general evangelization. The Amer- ican and Foreign Bible Society, the American Baptist Publication Society, as well as to Baptist organizations originating and working in the state. It-has been sing- ularly free from jealousies and consequently never in- volved in acrimonious controversies. And now moving on towards its three score years and ten of constant, harmonious and progressive work, it is not likely ever to be less influential and useful. CHAPTER XIX. EDUCATION. Whatever, or wherefore the prejudices of the unin- formed concerning Missouri, and the egotistic conceits of other religious persuasions concerning the spirit and attitude of Baptists to education and an educated min- istry; the truth of history as it testifies of the country at large, and especially to Missouri Baptists, indicates that the denomination can well afford endurance of gratuitous animadversions. If the number, progress and influence of educa- tional institutions evidence the culture and intelligent enterprise of a christian denomination, then Baptists may claim preeminence in Missouri. Without boasting, but with devout gratitude to a beneficent providence, and the guiding spirit of the Infinite, Missouri Baptists may point to the William Jewell College at Liberty, Missouri, as the best en- dowed, most largely patronized and most widely and favorably known non-Roman college in the state. In direct connection with the General Association, Stephens College at Columbia may be named as second in prop- erty value, elegance of buildings and thoroughness of equipment to no other college for female education in the state. Besides these there are others to be men- tioned that sustain an indirect relation to the General Association that rank with the foremost of the colleges of other denominations in the state. And without any invidiousness'of comparison it may be unhesitatingly claimed that, for mental culture and critical learning the Missouri Baptists can boast — if boasting is excus- able — a larger number of ministers than any other de- 330 Education. 331 nomination of christians in the state. The time was, it is true, when some Baptists feared, and that not with- out sufficient cause that, mere learning- was Hkely to supersede the demand for spiritual qualifications for the gospel ministry. This fear naturally led some minds to the extreme of opposing an educated ministry. These conscientious, but ill informed brethren, were outspoken with their views, and other denominations were, at one time in the history of our country, only too willing and ever ready to accept and proclaim these good christians as exponents of Baptist views of an educated ministry. It is furthermore true that Baptists have never legis- lated a certain standard of education as an indispensa- ble qualification for ordination to the ministry. For this, there are two quite competent reasons: ist. Bap- tists would put nothing in the way of a divine call to the ministry: 2d. Baptists recognize no ecclesiastical au- thority superior to the local church organization. There is among them no organization of legislative or judi- cial power to prescribe qualifications and enforce con- ditions of the gospel ministry. It rests with a local and independent church whether one shall be admitted to the ministry of the word. There may be apparent evils in such a system, but, be that as it may, God has prospered the Baptists and made them leaders in chris- tian education and in an educated ministry. That Baptists were pioneers in liberal education in the British- American colonies and in the United States is a well attested fact in American history. In i7ig Thomas Hollis, a Baptist, founded two professorships and ten scholarships for "poor students" in Harvard College. In i722 the Philadelphia Baptist Association proposed that the churches make inquiry for young men "hopeful for the ministry and inclinable to learn- ing." In 1765 Rhode Island College, now Brown Uni- versity, was organized, and in i767 received the first contributions to its endowment. In i775 a Baptist Ed- 33- Education. ucation Society was formed at Charleston, South Car- olina. In 1789 the Philadelphia Association gathered a fund "for the education of young men preparing for the gospel ministry." The Warren Association of IN'lassachusetts, did the same thing in 1793. It is not the province of this volume to trace the history of Bap- tists educational enterprise and institutions in the United States, .any farther than to indicate that they have never been opposed to education, nor to an edu- cated ministry. It is now a truth of officially authenti- cated statistics that they have in institutions of a high order more ministerial students than any other denom- ination in the country. Baptists may well treat with deserved contempt all charges and insinuations that they are an ignorant people. Of course there are many illiterate persons in their church memberships, but Bap- tists are learned enough to know that illiteracy is no bar to the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven. Con- cerning Christ it is said "the common people heard Him gladly." In Missouri, while it was yet a territory, the few Baptist pioneers were the first to take steps for the es- tabhshment of a seminary of learning. This was in what was sometimes called the "St. Louis district," and the school was located in the region of the present site of Bridgeton or Fee Fee Baptist church: The Missouri Baptist General Association was not yet ten years old when it began to consider the matter of founding within the state a denominational college. The subject of originating such an institution had been discussed in an informal but earnest way in the 'thirties.' William Jewell, M. D., an eminent citizen of Boone county, and a leading Baptist layman became deeply in- tersted in the proposition to establish a Baptist college in Missouri. He proposed to give $10,000 as a money beginning to such an enterprise. In 1843 the General Association influenced and encouraged by Dr. Jewell's Education. 333 munificent offer, appointed a committee of eminent brethren to meet the conditions and receive the prof- fered $10,000. This committee consisted of Urial Sc- bree, R. E. McDaniel, Roland Hughes, Wade M. Jack- ' son. Fielding Wilhite, Eli Bass, David Perkins, Wm. Carson. Jordan O'Bryan, Jason Harrison, James W. Waddell, G. M. Bower, and I. T. Hinton, This com- mittee was empowered to locate the college and "to do all other acts usual and necessary to carry on a literary institution." At the session of the General Association in 1844 the following resolutions were adopted : "Resolved, That under the circumstances of the denomination in Missouri it appears to this Association that it is not pos- sible to raise, at this time, the sum required by Dr. Jew- ell, as the condition of his donation — and this Associa- tion feels compelled, respectfully, to decline the offer on the terms mentioned. "Resolved, That it is our immediate duty to pro- vide suitable means for the gratuitous instruction in scriptural and general knowledge of the brethren who may be approved by our churches and are desirous to become more thoroughly qualified for the work of the ministry." The action of the Association thus far, indicates un- mistakably, two important truths: First, that even at that early day in Missouri, Baptists were more inter- ested in general education than the means at their com- mand would enable them to provide for, and, second, that they were especially interested in ministerial edu- cation. There is no doubt that the inspiration to the college enterprise was a wish to provide for an educated ministry. As said by Dr. Wm. R. Rothwell in his ad- mirable address at the semicentennial meeting of the General Association, "The first thoughts of founding a Baptist college were awakened and chiefly sustained by the felt want of such an institution for young men 334 Education. called of God to preach the gospel." Indeed, the solic- itude for this end has ever been very great with the General Association, and is at every session of that body an item of business commanding greatest attention and interest. At the meeting of the General Association in 1856, an earnest report on ministerial education was presented by a committee consisting of W. M. Jackson, Noah Flood, B. T. F. Cake and Nathan Ayers. The following action was taken on the report: "Resolved, That the pastors throughout the state be requested to read this report to their respective churches at the first meeting after the reception of the minutes." From 1844, when the report on the Jewell propo- sition was discouraging, until 1847, no decisive action was taken in the matter of founding the proposed col- lege, yet the project was not permitted to die for want of attention. Feeble and undeveloped as it was, it was nourished and warmed by generous and persistent dis- cussion. In 1847, with the General Association in session at Walnut Grove Baptist meeting house, in Boone county, the following action was taken : Rev. Dr. S. W. Lynd offered the following resolution : "Resolved, That a committee of five persons be appointed a provisional committee on education, whose duty it shall be to orig- inate an institution of learning for the Baptist denomi- nation in this state, provided the same can be accom- plished upon a plan by which its endowment and perpe- tuity may be secured." In pursuance of this resolu- tion the following persons were named to constitute the committee provided for by the adoption of the reso- lution: Roland Hughes, William Carson, W. M. Jackson, R. E. McDaniel and David Perkins. In 1848, the college committee reported to the Gen- eral Association that the sum of $16,936 had been se- cured for promoting the college enterprise, and recom- mended that the provisional committee, as soon as they Ediication. 335 should think it advisable, proceed to locate a college, ac- cording to the condition expressed in the paper to which contributors had subscribed their names. It was fur- ther provided that the persons constituting the provi- sional committee should be a committee "to make appli- cation to the Legislature of this state for a charter for the college, and to appoint a board of trustees." In 1849, ^^'^th the General Association in session at Mt. Nebo, in Cooper county, the provisional commit- tee reported, through Wade M. Jackson, as follows : "Your committee report that it was made their duty by a resolution of the last General Association, to locate the college at such time as they might think it advisable : in pursuance of which we caused notice of the time and place to be published, in accordance with the subscrip- tion, notifying the share-holders to meet in the city of Boonville, on the twenty-first day of August, 1849, ^^^ the purpose of locating the college, and that on said aay there were 884 shares represented by persons and prox- ies, and that a majority of shares were cast for the loca- tion of the college in the town of Liberty, Clay coimty. * * * That the persons locating the college, did at the same time, compl} with the act of incorporation for the college (which requires the persons who locate the col- lege to name the same) by calling the college 'William Jewell College.' " The charter to the college was obtained upon the representations and by the application of the committee appointed by the General Association. The charter is by action of the General Assembly of the Missouri Leg- islature, and approved by the governor, twenty-seventh day of February, 1849, ^"^ ^s entitled "An Act to char- ter a college in the state of Missouri." (See Session Acts 1849, P^g^ 232.) As the question was occasionally raised in the past : Is the college secure to the Baptists of Missouri? The General Association took the following action in i877 : 33^ Education. Bro. G. W. Huntley offered the following resolu- tion, which was adopted : "Whereas, There are questions raised as to the statutory guarantees to the charter and property of William Jewell College ; therefore, "Resolved, That a committee of three members of this body, consisting of the chancellor, W. Pope Yea- man, Bro. J. L. Peake, and Bro. H. C. Wallace, be ap- pointed to carefully and critically examine the charter of said college, and if any legislation should be neces- sary in order to secure the rights and property of the Baptist denomination, represented by the Baptist Gen- eral Association, to the institution, that said committee take such measures as may be necessary to obtain such legislation. '■'^REPORT ON CHARTER OF WILLIAM JEWELL COLLEGE. "The committee appointed at the last session of this body 'to carefully and critically examine the charter of William Jewell College, and if any legislation should be necessary in order to secure the rights and property of the Baptist denomination, represented by the Baptist General Association to the institution — that said com- mittee take such measures as may be necessary, to ob- tain such legislation' — respectfully report that, they have as carefully and critically as they could, examined the charter of William Jewell College, being an act en- titled, 'An Act to charter a college in the state of Mis- souri,' enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, and 'approved February 27, 1849,' ^^^ give it as their opinion that no additional legislation is nec- essary to secure the rights and property of the Baptist denomination, as represented by this Association, to said institution. We think the act aforesaid gives all the powers necessary for the efficient and successful op- eration, maintenance, management and control of said college, under the auspices and in the interest of the Baptists represented in this body. Education. 337 "While the enacting clause, or body of said act, does not in terms declare that the college corporation thereby constituted, is, or was, to be, a Baptist college, still, we find, and give it as our opinion, that the purpose and object of said enactment, as gathered and deduced from the preamble thereto, was and is clearly to enable the united Baptists in Missouri, and their friends, to endow and build up a college in this state ; which preamble to said charter is as follows, to wit : " 'Whereas, The united Baptists in Missouri and 'their friends are desirous of endowing and building up 'of a college in the state, and for that purpose have un- 'der the direction of the General Association of Baptists 'in Missouri, already secured pledges to the amount of 'about twenty thousand dollars for the endowment of 'the same, in shares of forty-eight dollars each, payable 'in installments of six dollars per share annually. Now, 'therefore, to enable the parties above mentioned to 'carry out their contemplated purpose,' " 'Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri,' etc. "By the well established rule for the construction of statutes, 'the preamble may be resorted to in restraint of the generality of the enacting clause, when it would be inconvenient if not restrained ; or it may be resorted to in explanation of the enacting clause, if it be doubt- ful ;' and this legal rule agrees with the common accep- tation of the term 'preamble,' which Webster defines to be that 'which states the reason and intent of the law.' "The object and 'purpose' of said charter being so manifestly for the 'endowing and building up of a col- lege in this state' under the patronage of the 'United Baptists in Missouri' and their friends' as deduced from and shown by the preamble, we have no hesitancy in saying that, in our opinion, no respectable and compe- tent court would ever fail to declare : For over a quar- ter of a century, the Baptists of Missouri, have been 22 33^ Education. engaged in building, endowing, and controlling a col- lege under said charter, by the name of William Jewell College, and no question as to their right to do so, has ever been raised by the state or any other corporation or denomination; nor have, their legal rights to the property of said corporation ever been questioned in the courts; and we feel satisfied if such questions had been, or should be raised, they would be decided in favor of the college and the United Baptists of Missouri. We repeat, therefore, that in our opinion, no further legis- lation is necessary to secure the right and property of the Baptist denomination represented in this Associa- tion to said institution ; and we would further say that we regard the agitation of this subject as unfortunate; as tending to impair the confidence of the Baptist brotherhood an^ their friends in the stability and per- manency of William Jewell College as a Baptist insti- tution : so long as the Baptists of the state do their duty and control as they have a right to do, under said char- ter, the appointment of professors, officers, agents and teachers of William Jew^ell College, and maintain and support said institution, so long will it be and remain a Baptist college under the auspices of the Baptist de- nomination represented in this Association. "All of which is respectfully submitted. W. Pope Yeaman, H. C. Wallace, ' of Committee." It is not the plan of this chapter to give a history of the Wm. Jewell College. That duty has been ad- mirably performed by Prof. J. C. Clarke, of Wm. Jewell College, and published in a handsome volume. The aim of this work is to set forth the interest of the Gen- eral Association in christian education and the intimate and altogether satisfactory relation the college sustains to the Association. WILLIAM JEWELL. Education. 339 It has been slated, and correctly so. that the Wil- Ham Jewell College does not belong to the General As- sociation. As a legal proposition this statement is en- tirely true. Nevertheless the College does belong to the Baptists of Missouri by legislation, by common law and by tradition. It is perhaps better that the re- lation should be just as it is. The General Association, even if it could hold the title to property, might by some peradventure cease to exist. In such an event, if it held the title to the property of the College, the college would in law, cease to exist. The board of trustees who hold the title to the College property can not be- come extinct unless they choose to do so. Then and in such an event, the Baptists in the state would have full remedy in equity and could provide another board of , trustees. There is no earthly reason why the Baptists of Missouri should desire any change in the legal status of the College, unless it should be such amendment of the charter providing that no one but a Baptist in good standing in some Baptist church be qualified for a trustee of the institution. But as the College is now practically fifty years old, and no trouble has arisen, prescription settles all possible questions of title. For many years the General Association has nom- inated to the board of trustees all members that have been chosen by the board for terms of office or to fill vacancies. So that time and custom have fixed the re- lation between the College and Association as close and permanent as could be done by statute, and safer than by such bungling statutes as sometimes come from legislatures. It is scarcely possible to make a safer investment than by putting money into the endowment or realty of the Wm. Jewell College. Nor does the General Asso- ciation do a better work than that of fostering and pro- moting the interests of that institution, which it has continuously done since the inception of the enterprise. 340 Education. The two institutions are so historically interwoven that, to think of or suggest either of them is to recall to mind the other. God has joined them together and none can put them asunder. Dr. William Jew^ell, for whom the college was named, was a native of Louden county, Virginia, and was born the first day of January, 1789. The family left Virginia and settled in Gallatin county, Kentucky. William Jewell studied medicine in Nelson county, Kentucky, after which he matriculated at Transylvania University, where he took the degree of M. D. He moved to Missouri in 1820 and settled in Franklin (now called old Franklin) in Howard county. After a residence of two years in that historic town, he removed to Columbia. He became eminent in his pro- fession, and as a citizen. As a physician he was ambi- tious for high rank, but none the less conscientious in the discharge of his duties to his patients. As a mat- ter of respect for his profession, and as well as a senso of duty, he was a constant and life-long student. As a citizen he w^as active and disinterested in every public enterprise contemplating general, material and social improvement. He was frequently honored by the call and suffrages of his fellow citizens to posts of public duty and trust. He repeatedly served in either branch of the General Assembly of the Legislature. In such relations he was superior to the influences that too often control the law-makers of a state. His sense of right and his disinterestedness bore him above all sinister considerations such as influence the mere politician. But it is especially his christian character and life that give his name deserved preeminence. He was more than a mere professor of faith and church mem- ber. His life and his possessions were consecrated to his divine Master. To do good to other men was his chief aim. His church, and missions and education had first claim on his time, his talent and his means. Education. 34' His religion entered into his professional services. Conscientiously doing all that was possible for the re- covery of the health of his patients, he was ever ready when' the hope of physical recovery was gone, to min- ister to the comfort or seek the salvation of the dying. On the east hill at Liberty is the noblest monument that could have been built to the memory of a good and truly great man. On the seventh day of August, 1852, the spirit of Dr. William Jewell took its flight from Liberty, Missouri, where he had devoted, as building commissioner of the college, his best energies to a fond duty. . . Another monument adorns College Hill. It is "Ely Hall," named in honor of Lewis B. Ely, who de- voted the last twenty years of a life both good and grand, and grand because good, to the interests of an institution for which he seemed willing to lay down that life. For years he was the efficient, cautious and suc- cessful financial agent of the college— in fact its min- ister of exchequer. Everything pertaining to the finances of the college was committed to his judgment and management from i8?7 to iSgT. He was in all matters save class work and discipline, de facto the president of the college. President Greene, of William Jewell College, has written of Bro. Ely : "He was not a preacher, and yet he did more and better preaching than any of us. He was no lawyer, and yet in matters of business involving points of law his counsel was as safe as that of the wisest attorney. He was in no sense a collegian, not having gone to school a day since he was fourteen years of age, but I am frank to say he had more college sense than any man I ever knew." There was no man in Missouri who commanded more genuine respect, and for whom there was more genuine love, than Lewis B. Ely. Starting in life with- out fortune, and thrown upon his own resources at the age of fourteen years, he amassed a considerable 342 Education. fortune, maintained an unblemished character, was ac- tive in all religious and benevolent enterprises and abounding in liberality with his money. He was for more than thirty years an active member of the General Association, and for three consecutive years its hon- ored moderator. Lewis B. Ely was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, May i8, 1825, and died at St. Joseph, Missouri, Jane 18, 1897. In October, 1898, James L. Applegate, a deacon of Third Baptist church, St. Louis, was chosen by the board of trustees of the Wm. Jewell College as finan- cial agent. He has been for many years an active mem- ber of the General Association, and its auditor by re- peated annual elections for a number of years. He has served several consecutive years as a member of the Board of State Missions and Sunday Schools. The St. Louis Baptist Sanitarium and the society for the relief of aged and dependent ministers have had his efficient and effective official service, since the time of their or- ganization. He was a devoted friend and ardent ad- mirer of the lamented L. B. Ely, and it is hoped that the mantle of the departed worthy may suitably rest upon his chosen successor. There is an interesting and equally important period in the history of the William Jewell College, and that can not with propriety be omitted from this chap- ter. It was resolved by the "American Baptist Edu- cation Commission" to utilize the centennial of Ameri- can independence (i876) in the interest of Baptist colleges in the United States, and in 1873 Dr. J. W. Warder introduced for the action of the General Asso- ciation, the following preamble and resolution : "Whereas, The American Baptist Educational Commission have proposed that a combined and general effort be made by the Baptist denomination of the United States, to raise funds for the promotion of Education. 343 higher eckication, this effort to culminate during the centennial of the National independence, therefore be it ^'Resolved, That the General Association of Mis- souri gives its hearty indorsement to this great move- ment, and that brethren A. H. Burlingham, W. Pope Yeaman and S. H. Ford be a committee to confer with the executive board of the American Baptist Educa- tion Commission in regard to the best plan for realiz- ing the object of the centennial in our state, and make report thereof at the next session of this body." The committee provided for in this resolution, in the hope of accomplishing decided results for educa- tion in Missouri, immediately put itself, through its chairman, in correspondence with Dr. S. S. Cutting, corresponding secretary of the Commission, and to the General Association for 1874, recommended that the work be organized and vigorously prosecuted in Mis- souri. The committee was by action of the Associa- tion, continued for another year with instructions to perfect a plan in accordance with the suggestions of the report. At the meeting in 1875 the committee reported urging the work upon the attention of the Association. In the meantime the Education Commission had held a meeting in Washington, D. C, and had designated W. Pope Yeaman as the member of the Commission for Missouri. This appointment made him, under the con- stitution of the Commission, a member of the South- western Advisory Board. This board was called to meet in Nashville, Tennessee, April, 1875. Before at- tending that meeting the Missouri member had a con- ference with the trustees of the William Jewell College, of which board he was a member. It was the opinion of the board that the centennial effort should be con- centrated upon that college. The financial condition of the college was such that the board of trustees had been compelled to ask of the faculty a curtailment of 344 Education. their vSalaries, and would possibly have to do so for the next year. It was in view of this condition that the board instructed the Missouri member of the Commis- sion to urge an indorsement of the singleness of the ef- fort in Missouri. It was then asserted and agreed thatas soon as the William Jewell College was relieved of the then pressing emergency, the interests of other Baptist colleges in the state, and especially Stephens College, which had by action of the General Association been made the denominational school of the state for female education, should have the attention and aid of the churches, with the influence of the trustees of William Jewell College. With these instructions and with this understand- ing, the Missouri member of the Commission proceeded to Nashville, Tennessee, and attended the meeting of the Southwestern Advisory Committee, and suggested that the committee indorse and recommend the pro- posed plan for Missouri. This the committee did, and suggested a meeting in Missouri of Baptist educators and educationists. Such a meeting was called for Jef- ferson City, for the twenty-eighth day of May, 1875. This meeting was well attended by representatives of different Baptist Colleges in the state. After extended and somewhat controversial discussion of the plan pro- posed, it was decided to adopt that plan on condition that, when the centennial effort was closed, the other colleges, and especially Stephens College were to have an open field in the state. When the centennial committee, appointed in 1873, and continued by the General Association, came to- gether to prepare a report for the session for 1875, W. Pope Yeaman proposed to incorporate in it the report of the Jefferson City convention of the preceding May. To this proposition, the other members of the commit- tee, Drs. A. H. Burlingham and S. H. Ford, objected, on the ground of discrimination in favor of the William Education. 345 Jewell College, as against the rights and interests of other institutions. All three members of the commit- tee signed a report omitting any reference to the Jef- ferson City proceedings of May 28, 1875. Yeaman said he would not present a minority report, but that, when the Association proceeded to consider the report, he would, as a private member, offer an amendment to the report, embracing the action of the Jefferson City meeting. The amendment was offered as follows : "(i) That we cordially indorse and commend the action taken by the American Baptist Educational Com- mission, in calling the Baptist educational mass meet- ing at Jefferson City, for the twenty-eighth day of May, 1875, for the purpose of better perfecting and organ- izing the centennial work in Missouri ; and that we ap- preciate and commend the work and labors of the cen- tral centennial committee appointed by said mass meet- ing, as being highly promotive of the best interests of the Baptist cause in this state. "2. That while we extend our hearty sympathy and give our earnest prayers to all our denominational schools, and recommend their thorough and efficient endowment at the earliest practical moment, and while we recognize the unquestioned right of every brother to give whatever direction he may desire to his bene- factions; yet, we most cordially and earnestly recom- mend to the churches and Baptists of the state that, the centennial movement be prosecuted with special and particular reference to the completion of a full, efficient endowment of William Jewell College, with special reference to ministerial education; believing that, as a missionary body, our first and most imperative duty is to prepare for the better and more thorough education of our young ministers. "3. That a committee of seventeen be appointed by this body, whose duty it shall be to organize the 34^ Education. Baptists of Missouri for the prosecution of the centen- nial movement in accordance with the spirit of these resolutions." This amendment was adopted by an overwhelm- ing majority. On Saturday afternoon of the Association, while the author of the amendment was seated in a railroad coach at the St. Joseph depot, having left the Associa- tion to be at his church the next day, the following tele- gram was handed him : "Come back to the Association immediately, or all is lost." (Signed) H. C. Wallace, J. B. WORNALL." Rev. Dr. J. D. Murphy was sitting in a nearby seat in the coach, and asked if anything serious had been telegraphed? The telegram was then read to him by the recipient. Dr. Murphy said : "Well, you will go back, won't you?" "No," was the reply. Just then, as the train had begun to move, a hand was laid on the shoulder of the last speaker, and there fell upon his ears these words : "Yes, you shall," and looking up he saw Prof. A. F. Fleet moving off with the valise of the receiver of the telegram. He followed his "grip." When he left the train it was in motion. The omnibus had left the depot — no street cars then — no carriages left at depot. The walk to the church, full a mile, was rapid and fatiguing. Upon reaching the Association, it was found that the body had voted to reconsider the question upon the motion to adopt the amendment to the report of the centennial committee. The question then pending was upon the adoption of the amendment. A discussion followed, the like of which, it is hoped, will never again occur in our blessed General Association. The amendment was readopted with only six dissenting votes. Education. 347 The policy of concentrating the centennial effort oil the William Jewell College was settled. In June. 18.75, \y. Pope Yeaman was made chancellor of the college, having declined election to the presidency. He was made chairman of the centennial committee of sev- enteen, raised by the General Association in October, 1875. The other members of the committee were: W. M. Bell, A. H. Burlingham, S. H. Ford, J. B. Wornall, G. W. Hyde, Jas. L. Stephens, H. Talbird, J. C. Maple, A. J. Miller, T. W. Barrett, G. W. Morehead, Geo. Kline, J. L. Peak, G. W. Huntley, C. H. Hardin, W. D. Shepherd. This committee requested its chairman, in the ca- pacity of chancellor of the college, to conduct the work. He made a canvass of the state delivering addresses upon the centennial of American independence in its relation to the progress of education and freedom of conscience in matters of religious faith. The committee reported to the General Associa- tion at its session in Hannibal in i876, that through the labors of its chairman the sum of $22,041 had been raised in money and notes for the college. At this meeting of the Association, at the recommendation of the centennial conmiittee, a committee of seventeen was appointed and called the college endowment committee, designed to continue the work after the expiration of the centennial movement. This committee consisted of W. M. Bell, J. C. Maple, G. W. Hyde, W. R. Roth- well, T. W. Barrett, J. B. Wornall, A. F. Fleet, FranV Ely, W. C. Busby, T. J. Musgrove, G. L. Black, D. G. Minter, W. J. Patrick, M. L. Laws, J. L. Peak, George Kline, and W. Pope Yeaman. On motion of W. AT. Bell, Yeaman was made chairman of the endowment committee. There is no doubt that the efforts of the centennial movement and of the endowment committee, while not 34.8 Education. adding materially to the endowment fund, gave a fresh impetus to the college and contributed immeasurably to the prosperity that soon followed. That no more money was raised by the centennial effort is explained by the board of trustees of the college in their report to the Association for i876: "In these respects the trus- tees can report that the institution during the past year has not only held its own, but even made advance. While saying this, it is matter of regret that they must also say that during that period they have not been able to add anything of moment to the permanent endow- ment funds. The causes of this are two, viz.: ist. The financial condition of the country, and this readily suggests itself to anyone acquainted with public affairs ; and, 2d. The inability of the trustees to secure a person who can make the endowment of the college, if need be, his life work." From this time until his death, L. B. Ely devoted much of his busy time to the material interests of the college, greatly developing the revived spirit of college work, resulting in removing the embarrassments under which the college had suffered for years, as well as to add largely to its material wealth. What has now been written is sufficient to fully indicate the intimate, continuous and effective relation of the General Association to William Jewell College from the inception of that institution to this day of its strength and prosperity. The board of trustees as now organized has R. E. Turner, Esq., of St. Joseph, as president; Jas. L. Ap- plegate, as treasurer and general agent, and G. L. Black, D. D., as secretary. Second to L. B. Ely, no man not in administrative connection with the college has been more useful in promoting its progress than Dr. Black. Aside from his efficient and faithful offi- cial work he has as preacher, pastor and citizen ever been an active, prayerful and influential friend of the Education. 349 institution. As financial agent of the board of ministe- rial education he rendered invaluable service for many years. But office nor salary were necessary to enlist the best energies of this man of consecrated brains and affections. If Dr. G. L. Black were not a living man it would be a pleasure to write him in history as a model preacher, a christian citizen and the realization of an ideal gentleman. But it is pleasant to indulge the fancy that, in a hundred years in the future, the occa- sional reader of this chapter will reflect that there lived and labored in Missouri a Baptist who as preacher, pastor and general public servant, envied no man his position, was jealous of none, rejoiced with those who rejoiced and wept with those who wept; a wise coun- sellor, a safe exemplar and a sincere friend. The General Association has had no warmer ad- herent, no more useful colaborer and none less self- seeking than this brother beloved and honored by all who know him. Under his labors in connection with the board of ministerial education the department of theology has witnessed an immense increase of students, and the provision for their education and material as- sistance has become less a burden than hitherto. The interests of Baptists in education has not been confined to the education of males. The education of women is not undervalued by the intelligence and christian understanding of the denomination. It is admitted on all hands that the excellency of the home, the good conditions of society, the purity and progress of the churches and the stability and worth of the state are dependent upon intelligent and upright wifehood and motherhood. The reasons for woman's superior influence are written in human nature and in the his- tory of social progress, and need no elaboration here. The man who has failed to see that the pillars of the fabric of civilization rest upon the home hearthstone is 35^ Education. too obtuse to be reached by disquisition or the logic of facts. The only serious fault in the American system of education by colleges is that institutions for the educa- tion of males have, in the main part, received the mu- nificence of the patrons of education in the endowment and thorough equipment of colleges. For this discrim- ination there is no competent explanation. It is a relict of mediaeval misconception of the dignity and worth of womanhood. A long established precedent is difficult of removal, even after its fallacy has been discovered. But the in- telligence and conscience of the American people are awakening to the call of the rights of woman to the highest intellectual and moral recognition. The pres- ent generation is likely to witness the ample endowment of colleges for the education of females. In i87o, when the General Association was in ses- sion with the Second Baptist church in St. Louis, the committee of the preceding year "on State Female Col- lege" submitted a lengthy report. The committee was composed of E. S. Dulin, S. C. Major, R. H. Smith and W. R. Roth well. The committee quoted from the report of the preceding year the following very pertinent and strong deliverances : "We plead for as extensive and thorough intellectual culture for our daughters as we provide for our sons. We can not see why our daughters, possessed of equal mental abil- ities, should be robbed of their birthright, by being de- nied equal advantages. Reason, justice, revelation; the position assigned to woman by her creator, the sphere in which she moves ; the fact that she is the first teacher of every generation, all combine to render it obligatory that enlarged provision be made for her mental development and education. We believe the time has already come when we should rear a female college, a college not in name but in fact — endowed as Education. 35 1 richly and amply supplied as we contemplate doing for William Jewell College. We would have it a separate and independent institution, furnishing our daughters every facility that our universities furnish our sons." The committee reported further and urged : "We believe that such an institution is needed, because par- ents are compelled to seek, out of our state, higher culture and larger advantages for their daughters, than can be obtained at home in our denominational schools. "Therefore, In addition to the schools which we now have, or may have of a similar grade, we should have a college equal to the best out of the state, and will afford our daughters every facility for acquiring as thorough an education — literary, scientific and orna- mental — as can be obtained elsewhere." Upon the adoption by the General Association, of the report from which these extracts are taken, Dr. E. S. Dulin moved that, "we now proceed to locate the Baptist female college for the state." This motion prevailed, and nominations of points of location were made : Columbia, Lexington and Jennings Station were put in nomination. The vote resulted in the choice of Columbia, with the understanding and agreement that the property of Baptist college located at Columbia, with all of its rights, possessions and hereditaments should be tranf erred to a board of curators to be held in trust for the General Association. After the vote resulting in the choice of Columbia had been formally and officially announced, the follow- ing resolutions were unanimously adopted : ^'Resolved, That we accept the offer made by the curators of Baptist Female College at Columbia." Brethren Wm. Carson, J. R. Yates and J. T. Wil- liams were appointed a committee to nominate curators for the State Female College. This committee submitted nominations which were confirmed. The following named persons constituted 35^ Ediication. the first board of "'curators of the State Female Col- lege:" J. L. Stephens, J. M. Robinson, W. T. Hick- man, James Harris, R. T. Prewitt, S. T. Hughes, N. J. Smith, X. X. Buckner, George Buell. J. W. Russell, Noah Flood, A. Ellis, T. H. Hickman, G. W. Hyde, W. Carson, W. H. Vardeman, Marshall Brotherton, A. R. Levering, A. C. Avery, O. Houx, E. W. Stephens, E. S. Dulin, C. Whiting, G. T. Brayton, H. C. Lollar, L. Wilson, Joel Guthrie, J. F. Cook, J. M. Flemming and D. M. Ford. The General Association having located and or- ganized the State Female College, the following pream- ble and resolution were offered and adopted : "Whereas, We have heard with pleasure, the purpose of Bro. J. L. Stephens to endow the Baptist Female College at Columbia, now adopted as the state institution, with a fund of at least $20,000, as well as to otherw^ise liberally aid the school, therefore, "Resolved, That we recommend to the board of curators that as soon as said purposes shall be executed, they take the necessary steps to have the charter so amended that the school may hereafter be known as the STEPHENS FEMALE COLLEGE. Thus was established and named by act of the General Association, a college of the denomination of Baptists in Missouri, for the education of females. Subsequent to this action of the General Associa- tion, the constitution of that body was so amended as to give Stephens College organic connection with the General Association. And by yet more subsequent action the General Association has urged the full and ample endowment in pursuance of originally declared necessity and purpose. The college buildings and cam- pus equal, if not superior to any in the state, the endow- ment cottages which from rentals have already yielded to current expense account not less than $25,000, and as they are the permanent property of the institution, JAMES L. STEPHENS. Education. • 353 must, so long as kept in repair, continue to yield an an- nual revenue to current expense account, offer and se- cure a nucleus of endowment that puts the possibility of the loss of additional endowment beyond peradven- ture. The present president of the college, Sam Frank Taylor, D D., is under instructions from the board of curators to prosecute the work of enlarging the endow- ment. It is eminently proper in this connection to record a brief sketch of Hon. James L. Stephens, for whom the Baptist "Female College of the State" is named. This venerable and useful brother, now beyond four score years, is at this writing living at his antique and picturesque home in Columbia. His health has been remarkably preserved, and he manifests an unabated interest in the college and in his church, and is by no means indifferent to the improvements of the city and the advancement of the great State University, having its seat only a few blocks from the college bearing his name. He has served his day and generation to a good purpose. His active, enterprising, successful business career was a long and continuous contribution to the prosperity of his town and county. As farmer and merchant and investor he has pursued an intelligent line of economics and maintained a high character for business integrity and uprightness. As a citizen in public life he has been active and influential. As a member of the state senate he brought to the discharge of his duties as a statesman his long and varied experi- ence as a public spirited business man and a lively in- terest in all measures that looked to the development of the vast resources of the state, the lessening of the bur- dens of the tax-payer and the enlargement of educa- tional facilities by the state, ever guarding with a care- ful but impartial concern the State University. ^3 354 Education. As a christian and deacon of the church at Colum- bia, and for a time as president of the executive board of the General Association, he has been judiciously active and efficient in his work for the great Master whom he has served with as much disinterestedness as is common to mortal man. He delights in an old fashion experi- mental religion, and delights in a sermon that extols the Savior and magnifies the grace of God. The sums of money that he has given to church enterprises at home and abroad, to missions and to education, would now, with legitimately accumulated interest, amount to a sum much larger than the possessions of many who are reckoned rich. Nevertheless, he rejoices and thanks God that he has been permitted, by his own ex- ertions and management, to have it in his power to help man and honor God with his substance. He will leave earth for heaven with a clearer conscience and a better record than can the man of millions mercenarily made and miserly retained. He was born in Garrard county, Kentucky, No- vember 1 7, 1815. When but four years of age his father moved with his family to Boone county, Mis- souri. He has resided in that county practically all of his life. He is the father of E. W. Stephens, the pres- ent moderator of the Missouri Baptist General Associa- tion, and of Mrs. Anna Smith, wife of the accomplished lawyer and legal author, Sydney K. Smith, son of Hon.' D. Howard Smith, an eminent citizen of Kentucky. There are other Baptist colleges in the state to which the General Association gives its moral support, and which by a board of education it proposes to aid financially as far as possible. Rev. Dr. E. H. Sawyer is the corresponding secretary of this board, and as far as possible renders efficient aid to denominational education. Prominent among these other colleges are the fol- lowing : Education. 355 Lexington Baptist Female College is one of the oldest and most reputable institutions in tlie state. It has done a great work for the denomination and for general education; its alumnae are some of the most accomplished and influential women in the state, and in other states. The institution has had some of the emi- nent educators as presidents. James A. Beauchamp, son of the well known and highly esteemed S. A. Beau- champ, is now president. LaGrange College, at LaGrange, Missouri, with J. T. Aluir, LL. D., president, was made famous under the administration of Rev. J. F. Cook, LL. D., who de- voted thirty years of the prime of his life as president of that institution. From it have gone forth many of the leading men of this and other states in the ministry, in the learned secular professions, and to the bench and college presidencies. Dr. Cook has made through La- Grange College an historic impress. The school being coeducational, has contributed largely to the education of ]\Iissouri's daughters. Dr. Cook is now president of Webb City College, where he is likely to enlarge his usefulness and magnify his reputation. Hardin College at Mexico was founded by the late Governor Charles H. Hardin, and is a Baptist institu- tion so far as that the charter requires that a majority of the board of trustees shall be members in good stand- ing in Baptist churches, and that Baptists have always been at the head of the institution as educators. Gov. Hardin wisely provided for this institution an endow- ment which can never be less, but must continuously grow larger than the original fund. The college is now ably conducted by Jno. W. Million, M. A., president. The college at Farmington has never had the sym- pathy and support of the denomination to which its loca- tion and the demand for its work give it just and right- eous claim. To this institution the General Association, for the sake of the cause in the state should direct its 35^ Education. energies and extend a helping hand. The southeast section of the state is soon to have a commanding posi- tion in its relation to other parts, and its educational interests should be jealously looked after. The able educator and sterling citizen, Joseph Jennings, has sac- rificed much for this institution, and now the talented and learned young brother, John Turnbaugh, has been laid upon the altar — let him not be a burnt offering. The college at Bolivar, founded by the lamented J. R. Maupin, and over which Dr. W. H. Burnham suc- cessfully presided for several years,deserves for its mer- its and importance of location, and the valuable services of President Burks, more consideration than it receives at the hands of the denomination. Grand River College, at Gallatin, Missouri, has magnificent property and an advantageous location, but lacks the cordial support of the denomination. It is not improbable that an effort to materially foster a large number of institutions of learning by a denomination in a state, tends to make weaklings of th^m all. If this be so, perhaps it would be a good plan to mould them all into one great denominational uni- versity, and utilize the different local properties as seminaries of training for the central university. CHAPTER XX. woman's work. The Missouri Baptist Woman's Missionary Soci- ety, while not originally connected with the Missouri Baptist General Association, is historically and actively an important and efficient auxiliary. So prominent in good work has been this society that it is deemed wor- thy a separate chapter in this volume, and is therefore, for. this reason, omitted in the chapter on Auxiliary Relations. If Paul's claim that "the woman is the glory of the man" needed confirmation, the spirit, and the work and the achievements of the Missouri Baptist Woman's Mis- sionary Society is an emphatic confirmation. There have been, and perhaps there are yet, some men who are skeptical as to the scriptural propriety of separate woman's organizations for christian work. That this skepticism is a matter of conscience will not be questioned. But so wonderful is man's mental and moral constitution that there may be as much con- science in an educational bias or a prejudice, as there is in a well sustained logical deduction. That there are diflFerent interpretations of scriptures is one of the enigmas of christian history. That education, precon- ceptions, traditions and the prevalence of local public sentiment are influential in shaping such interpreta- tions can not be rationally questioned. There are many ardent Sectarists, who can give no other reason for their sectarian adhesion and zeal than that, so our fath- ers thought. There must be some significance in the fact that woman was last at the cross and the first at the tomb, and that the discovery of a vacant sepulcher, and the 35- 35^ Woman's Work. announcement of the resurrection was through woman's earnest and intelHgent interest in the person and work of the Redeemer. Why should the Holy Spirit direct the evangelists to make note of these inter- esting facts if they were without significance? Is any- thing given by inspiration of God that is not for man's instruction that he may be thoroughly furnished with every good work? Why was woman permitted to bathe the feet of the man of sorrows with her tears, and dry them with the hairs of her head, if forever after- ward she was to hold her peace in matters pertaining to the kingdom of her loving Lord ? It is not recorded that "certain women," among them Mary, called Magdalene, Joana and Susanna, and "many others," were organized into a society with a president, secretary, treasurer and executive board, yet it is certain that they were a company of women in some way banded together to minister imto Jesus "of their substance." What matters the method of their ministerings? They were women only. Separate and apart from men they ministered unto Jesus. There can be no doubt that men did the same thing. But the special and specific mention of the women must be accepted as having special significance, else this special record would not have been made for the instruction of the ages., It would have been sufficient to have writ- ten : Jesus was administered unto by men and women "of their substance." The ol:»jection to woman's societies for minister- ing unto Jesus is akin to that relict of the mediaevalism that held to woman's inferiority to man; and the ob- jection to the presence of men at their separate meet- ings is a continuance of that barbaric sentiment that, until recently forbade men and women sitting in the same pew in the house of the Lord, and that walled men and women apart by high board partitions. But co- existent with, and contradictory of this sentiment was Woman's Work. 359 the custom of the same men and women dancing to- gether at social festivities. It is urged as an objection to Woman's Missionary Societies that Paul wrote: "Let your women keep si- lence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak ; but render obedience, as also saith the law ; and if they will learn anything, let them ask their hus- bands at home, for it is a shame (ugly, unbecoming) for a woman to speak in the church." This was most likely written for all churches, in all times and at all places. Let it be so; nevertheless, it is no argument against woman's societies for ministering to the cause of Christ. Nature as well as revelation teaches us that woman's lovableness is the purifying and conservating force in human society. That she has less mental ca- pability than man, no well informed man will contend. But while she is man's intellectual equal, her order of mental capability, suited to her superior place in the so- cial world, and her relations to social order and prog- ress demand that she should have the tenderest affec- tion and utmost confidence of the husband — and un- doubtedly Paul's words were spoken with special ref- erence to married women. There are likely to be dif- ferences of opinions among church members. Indeed the history of churches reduces such likelihood to facts — not always complimentary to professed possession of the spirit of the christ. No husband takes pleasure in his wife's antagonism of his views, especially in public. And woman, with all of her excellency is but human, and once committing herself in public to an opinion or policy, is likely not only to seek to maintain her ground, but if antagonized, she is quite as apt to be- come animated as is a man. Sharp controversies be- tween those who are closely allied are not promotive of habitual amiability. Conjugal amity with mutual sympathy is essential to the beauty and moral force of the home. Paul, though supposedly a bachelor, was 360 Woman's Work. set for the promotion of all that is good and lovely and of good report among men, and he knew that all de- pended upon the character of the homes. The Divine idea of woman's subjection to man is not humiliating to the woman, it is in philosophy and in fact the basis and the force of her exaltation. Her in- fluence is augmented just in proportion to her non-self- assertiveness, provided her other womanly qualities are in harmony with the laws designed to govern the re- lation of the sexes. Christ's subordination to the law of His relation to the moral government of the world and to the economy of redemption was the ground of His exaltation. Though Christ was a man, nothing so beautifully and so forcibly displays the femininity of the divine sentiment as the life and work and death of the Son of God. The world looks to woman for the high- est exhibitions of the Christ mind. That mind can not be exemplified without manifest submissiveness. There is more dignity and authority in recognition of the laws of relativity than there are in insubordinate self-asser- tion. The woman is the glory of the man because of the conservative force of amiable subordination to rightful authority. Mrs. W. F. Elliott, president of the Missouri Bap- tist Woman's Mission Society, very pertinently and forcibly argues : "But another objection (to woman's missionary societies) is based upon the plea that the Apostles taught the subjection of woman. The infer- ence seems to be that this teaching implies woman's incapability to properly conduct any religious work not luider the special supervision and direction of the brotherhood. But if the women are incapable of doing this work without their help, since we have seen that it is a benefit to engage it, and without it there would be a vast amount of unemployed talent in the churches, does this not furnish the very strongest appeal to the breth- ren to aid the work in every possible way?" WoDian's Work. 361 The argument of Mrs. Elliott is not only legiti- mate, but she might have carried it still further. If women are capable of doing a good work for Christ, and if they are to keep silence in the churches, is it not nec- essary that they have woman's organizations by means of which they may accomplish the greatest possible good ? Unless it can be shown that woman is to be no more than a silent hearer and not a doer of the word, the foregoing conclusions, it seems, must be accepted as legitimate and incontrovertable. That women are capable through organization of accomplishing a vast good in promoting the progress oi the Redeemer's Kingdom, the history of the Society now in question clearly demonstrates. In 1869, nearly thirty years ago, a society was or- ganized at Liberty, Missouri, as a local institution aux- iliary to the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern baptist Convention. Rev. R. S. Duncan, then the effi- cient district secretary for Missouri, of the Foreign Board of the Convention, was an active and influential adviser, and perhaps the author of the original sugges- tion for the organization of Woman's Foreign Mission Auxiliary- Societies, in Missouri. Of this original aux- iliary society, Mrs. O. P. Moss was the president. Through her intelligent effort and well directed zeal the Baptist women of the state soon became interested in this work. In 1 876, when the General Association was in ses- sion in Hannibal, a few Baptist women held a quiet and informal conference looking to a general organization and to more active and more systematic effort in the interests of foreign missions. This conference re- sulted in the formation of the Missouri Baptist Wo- man's Foreign Mission Society. Mrs. O. P. Moss was made president and treasurer of this society. Miss Maggie Emerson was chosen secretary ; Mrs. R. B. Semple, Mrs. R. S. Adkins, Mrs. Flora Thompson and 3^2 Woman's Work. Miss Sallie Stone were made directors. Eighteen vice- presidents, selected from different parts of the state were chosen. The first annual meeting of the state organization was held at Lexington in October, i877. At that time as many as thirty local and auxiliary societies had been formed. The committee of the General Association on for- eign missions, in its report to the Association, made en- couraging mention of the Woman's Society, in these words, to wit : "With profound thankfulness do we record a general increase of interest in a large number | of churches in the state, as shown by contributions in ' the past year, aggregating twice as much as in any year since i87o. There has also been a grand rally of the sisterhood to this work. The Missouri Baptist Woman's Foreign Mission Society was inaugurated during the last session of this body at Hannibal. In this, the first year of its existence, 36 societies have been organized in various churches ; 20 life member- ships have been secured and over $500 collected, with several societies to hear from." In the first annual report of the Society to the Gen- eral Association, the objects of the Society are set forth in a lucid statement : "The object of this Society is to enlist the active sympathy and cooperation of the en- tire sisterhood of the state in the work of foreign mis- sions. To accomplish this we have adopted a system of life membership, and local or auxiliary Woman's Missionary Societies in the churches. Twenty dollars contributed at one time or in annual installments of five dollars each, constitutes the contributor a life member. The leading feature in the local societies is the collection of an average of one cent a week from the entire mem- bership of the churches." From the date of this first annual meeting, down to the meeting for 1893, free use is here made of an his- Woniaii's Work. 363 torical sketch of the Society from the pen of Mrs. G. \V. Hyde, an earnest christian worker, the accom- plished wife of Rev. Dr. G. W. Hyde: "In 1881 ahout sixty Societies had been formed and the annual contribution to Foreign ]\Iissions was $1,125. I" the autumn of 1883 Miss Emma Young of our state was appointed missionary to China, and her efficiency in that field greatly encouraged the friends of Foreign Missions. During the session of the Society held at Trenton, Miss Young was adopted by the Baptist women of Mis- souri as their missionary, and. during her residence in China, made yearly reports to the body. A school building was, by the approval of the Foreign Mission Board, soon built in Canton, with the funds raised by Missouri women. During the period from 1 876- 1886, Mrs. Moss occupied the position of president, giving continuous attention to the cause she loved. Noble workers aided her in the general conduct of the work; among them our loved ]\Irs. Hardin, Mrs. Baird and others ; but the burden rested chiefly upon Mrs. Moss. Her health be- came greatly impaired, but "she faltered not." To her efforts, more than to any other one person's, was due the existence of the Missouri Baptist Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. The general interest in missions w-as extending as never before and, in addition to the calls from for- eign lands, there came cries for the tidings of Salvation from the waste places of our own dear land. The sym- pathy and interest of many of our w'omen were enlisted in Home Missions as in no other department of chris- tian work. To know how best to meet this demand — how the greatest possible help might be given to this important work, was the imperative question. The lines which marked the boundaries of mis- sion work seemed dim. Interest in Foreign Missions 3^4 Woman's Work. was not less; on the contrary, extended information and consequent zeal had come by reflex influence, like the light from an illuminated surface, and the sisters felt the Divine Hand pointing to our enlarged field of usefulness. An important transition seemed upon the Society and the command, 'Follow on !' seemed very plain. At the meeting of the General Association at Car- thage, October, 1885, the adopted report of the com- mittee on 'Domestic Missions' contained these words : We recommend that our churches give our 'Do- mestic Missions' claim a place in their stated collec- tions, and we suggest to our Woman's Societies the propriety of adding to their present liberal contribu- tions a reasonable sum for this neglected object. To carry out the spirit of this suggestion the fol- lowing resolution was adopted: That a committee consisting of Mrs. W. F. Elli- ott, Mrs. S. H. Ford, Mrs. John Farrington, Mrs. G. W. Hyde and Mrs. C. H. Hardin be hereby appointed to correspond with .the Baptist sisters of the state, urging the organization of Woman's Societies where none ex- ist, and, without disturbing the Societies already organ- ized, urging them to consider favorably the enlargement of the field of their benevolence. The following spring this committee met at Mex- ico, and organized by electing Mrs. Elliott chairman. The committee was greatly encouraged and aided by Rev. R. S. Duncan, agent for Foreign Missions. As the result of this conference, a circular letter and leaflets were sent out, setting forth the work to be done and what, in the judgment of the committee, seemed the best method of accomplishing it. A great many of these were distributed in various parts of the state, accompanied by a personal appeal for active co- operation. In the next October, report of this work Woman's Work. 365 was made to the General Association in session at Moberly. This effort was followed by increased interest in missions, and the sisters seemed 'fully prepared to es- pouse any good plan for the enlargement and unifica- tion of our missionary work.' At the annual meeting of the Society, held at Moberly, October, 1886, the treasurer reported $2,- 287.99 during the year, an excess of any previous year in the history of the Society. At this meeting the talks of Miss Miller, lately returned missionary from India, were of great in- terest to all. The efficient treasurer, Mrs. Chas. H. Hardin, asked to be released from the duties of her of- fice, as her impaired health would not longer admit of her attention to the work. The board of directors rec- ommended that the location of the board be moved from Mexico to a place more convenient for a majority of its members. The annual election of officers resulted in the election of Mrs. W. F. Elliott, president; Mrs. J. L. Burnham, corresponding secretary; Mrs. J. B. Wor- nall, treasurer, and fifteen ladies residing in different parts of the state as vice-presidents. Fitting words were spoken in appreciation of the valuable services rendered by the retiring officers, and a vote of thanks for their unselfish constancy in dis- charging their onerous duties. After much delay and a prayerful consideration, Mrs.Elliott consented to ac- cept the responsible position solely because she thought the Lord's leading must be in it all. At a subsequent called meeting, it was decided to locate the board at Kansas City, and Mrs. J. C. James was requested to act as recording secretary. At the first succeeding Quarterly Meeting, Mrs. James asked to be excused from this office, and the very efficient recording secretary, Airs. V. D. Philips, was 366 JVoinan's Work. appointed to the place in a manner most plainly indi- cating the will of God. It will thus 1)e seen that the lines of work had reached out into broader fields; but God had always been a 'very present help.' Opportunities and privi- leges, cares and blessings have been the heritage and the fruitage. To adapt the plans of operations to the wider conception of responsibility was the work now before the board of managers. The adoption of the claims of Home Missions, State and District Missions, and Ministerial Education, added to Foreign Missions, demanded an increase of qualified organizers. Also it was urged, that the cor- responding secretary go into the field to help to nurture this great work. All of this increased activity called for careful adjustment that the work be properly de- veloped. A constitution was prepared in harmony with the advanced work and distributed to local Societies ; also other helps by which greater system could be secured. From this time, the broadened scope of plans could better be indicated by dropping the word 'Foreign;' hence the present name. In localities where it might be thought impossi- ble to sustain Societies it was urged that committees of sisters be appointed by the churches to collect funds and make regular quarterly reports to their churches and to the state treasurer. It should be noticed that article 5 of the Constitu- tion for local Societies provides that the Societies shall always report their collections to their respective churches, thereby remembering their close relation. It was contemplated that this should, in no case, be neg- lected. The broadening of the line of operations furnishes abundant facilities for all departments of work. By the present arrangement, any mission society or individ- JVoinan's IVork. 367 ual may send contributions to any object fostered by the general organization : — to Foreign or Home field : — North or South, East or West. Hence, there is no need for any other channel for our funds than is pro- vided by our Missouri Baptist Woman's Missionary Society. The Constitution is broad enough for anv case. Attention is called to the fact that, at the end of the first year after the extension of lines of work the re- port of the treasurer, at Maryville, October, i887, showed a contribution to Foreign Missions alone of $3'Oi5-55. and the whole amount was $4,579.53. The year before, the treasurer's report showed (the whole amount being for Foreign Missions) $2,287.99. At the meeting of the board of managers, held in Maryville, October, i887, the treasurer, Mrs. J. B. VVornall, offered her resignation — stating that other duties made it impossible to keep the position longer. With much regret the resignation was accepted. After some delay the present very efficient treasurer, Mrs. G. B. Wheeler, was unanimously elected, and the wisdom of the election has been proven during all the interven- ing years. October, 1888. the annual meeting was held at Clinton. Hindrances arising from the holding of meet- ings at the same time and place of the General Associa- tion, gave occasion for seriously considering the advis- ability of holding them at a time and place apart from that of the General Association. A change of time and place was voted at this meeting. A cordial invitation from the Fayette church was accepted and the thirtieth annual meeting was held April 18-19, 1889, at that place. The Si^intuality of this meeting,from first to last, will ever be a green spot in the memory of all who were present. 36S Woman's Work. The annual gathering- at Lexington, in April, 1890, is fresh in the minds of many. The address of the president, Mrs.ElHott, was the special feature of this meeting. That paper is a clear defense of 'woman's place' in missions, — an earnest approval of the organ- izations and not an apology for their existence. Treasurer reported a grand total for the year of $6,915.44. The second visit of Annie Luther Bagby to her native land included the time of this meeting. Her sweet talk about the work and the reunion of friends she had known in school days at the Baptist Female Col- lege, were very precious to all. The letter from Miss McMinn, who was also a former pupil in Baptist Fe- male College, was heard with great pleasure. It was read by the corresponding secretary. The annual meeting held at Mexico, April 22-24, 1 89 1, was well attended, and reports showed an advance all along the line, except that of the treasurer ; $4 - 332.28 being less than the amount reported the previ- ous year. This was explained by the fact that state agents had failed to report to Mrs. Wheeler much of the money which the Societies had through want of in- formation about our methods sent direct to them. In this connection mention is gladly made of the intelligent and helpful interest shown by the students at Hardin College. This is a matter of high compli- ment to that noble institution. Their contributions to the different objects of the Society during the past few years have amounted to a large sum. The year ending April, 1892, was reported by the corresponding secretary to have been one of 'good, solid work.' Surely this faithful, tireless one had ac- complished much of this work ! This report was adopted with thanks and a standing vote. The sisters and citizens of Gallatin vied with each other in their hospitalities for the 'strangers within their gates.' Woman's Work. 369 In 1S92 the treasurer's report showed $5,401.95 raised during the year. The pastor, Rev. M. P. Hunt, was untiring in his efforts to make the meetings a real pleasure. In every possible way he added to its success, and, when the parting hand was given, the pastor's blessing lingered as a kindly souvenir of a precious meeting — the annual session of 1892. The treasurer's report ought to call forth a song of praise ! That the books show collections to have been more than $6,800, or, $2,000 more than the last year — even in the midst of financial anxiety. This in- creased amount is due to extra effort during this cen- tennial year. This year was one of varied light and shade — successes and anxieties in the work. The regular board meetings have been a means of holding the conditions well before the membership. Eleven new societies reported in the first quarter. Mis- sion Rooms sending out much literature, but little money coming in. The Interchange not paying ex- penses, and treasurer's books showing short receipts. But the second and third quarters show all these inter- ests in a more hopeful state. During the last quarter, the president reported that the work has 'assumed greater permanency than ever before;' the treasury in an encouraging condition and The Interchange with a balance in bank. Faithful and patient efforts are thus rewarded and the reinforcement of new workers brings fresh zeal. Interesting sketches of Mrs. Downing have been read by Miss Ella Coleman, and of Mrs. Sears, by Mrs. Shaeffer. The presence of Miss Ida Hayes, who has lately been appointed teacher and missionary in Madero In- stitute Saliillo, Mexico, gives additional interest and re- 24 37° Woman's Work. ality to the objects of our organization. Miss Hayes was cordially greeted as she was introduced and spoke of her convictions and desires in regard to mission work, and the parting hand was given as a pledge of affection and support. The Woman's Society has established a monthly journal called The Interchange, published at Moberly, Missouri, by the board of the Society. This is an eight page paper, modestly conducted with decided ability and a careful study of adaptation to the work of the Society. The enterprise and unpretentious zeal of the Woman's Mission Society can not fail to com- mend the work and the workers to the approval of christian people. For the session of the Society for 1898, the diligent and efficient corresponding secretary, Mrs. John L. Burnham, of Kansas City, in her annual report, says : "As we look back over past years, to the beginning of our work, it is indeed as a 'handful of corn upon the top of a mountain, and the point thereof shall shake like Lebanon.' "As little streams trickling from the hill-side flow on their way, gathering force and strength, at last reach the great ocean and are carried away touching the shores of all nations. * * * "This same little stream, so small in its beginning, has widened and flowed on until the nations have been touched and hundreds have gone home to 'sing the song of Moses and the Lamb,' and to-day hundreds still live to tell the story of redeeming love to their friends and kindred about them. Would my sisters like to know something of the amount of money which has been given, as we have gathered it up year after year, a little here, and sometimes a handful there, as Ruth gleaned the fields of Boaz? God is not slack concerning His Woman's Work. 371 promises. As we have wrought in His name he has abundantly given the increase. We have given : For District Missions $ i,768 57 For State Missions 3,730 02 For Home Missions - 1^,342 i7 For Foreign Missions 34.082 65 For Ministerial Education • • • • 5,052 40 For Other Objects 12,664 35 Total $74,640 16 A remarkable and highly commendable feature of the Woman's Mission Society is its inexpensiveness. To this added the patient fidelity of the management, and the results that have attended the work make the organization not only unique but beautiful. Rev. Dr. B. G. Tutt, in writing of the Society, says: "I have on various occasions declared publicly that, in my judgment, nothing since the days of Carey and Judson has given such impetus to mission work as the organization of the Women's societies in our churches. I do most certainly advise an increased and more gen- eral interest in missions among our women (and men too). "The thing that impresses me most about the woman's work in Missouri is its inexpensiveness. I know of no organization that conducts its business with such economy and self-denial." And, again. Brother W. L. Boyer says: "It seems to me, God's seal of approbation has been indelibly stamped upon the efforts of the Baptist women of Mis- souri and His blessings have crowned their efforts." * * * "I would, if possible, have a Woman's Missionary Society in every church and persuade as many as pos- sible to become efficient members of same." In addition to the presidencies of Mrs. Moss and Mrs. Elliott, Mrs. J. C. Maple has served as acting president, presiding with grace and dignity at the meet- 372 Woman's Work. ing in St. Louis in 1881. Her address in response to the address of welcome by Mrs. W. B. Harris, of the Third Baptist church, was a model of elegance of dic- tion and grace of delivery, clothing the principle, the spirit and methods of missionary work in attractive and impressive drapery that gave force to the grandeur of the gospel enterprise. Mrs. Moss, with restless energy and unabating en- thusiasm, won for herself a name not only with her sis- ters, but with all the active workers in the General As- sociation. Mrs. Elliott was designed by nature's appoint- ments for a leader and a presiding officer. Her gentle and unassuming bearing, her comprehensive intelli- gence, her judiciously discriminating mind and quick perception of the bearing of all incidental procedures upon main questions, with disinterested devotion to the work of the Society, have endeared her to the hearts of all the workers. It is due, in concluding this chapter, to record the names of the first list of vice-presidents : Miss Ella D. Pitts, Mrs. E. G. Garnett, Mrs. John Doniphan, Mrs. John T, Williams, Mrs. Lizzie Smith, Mrs. Fannie Arnold, Mrs. C. H. Hardin, Mrs. Henry Talbird, Mrs. Mary Wetzell, Mrs. J. D. Biggs, Mrs. J. B. Wornall, Mrs. M. E. Goldsberry, Mrs. T. J. Musgrove, Mrs. J. Farmer, Mrs. W. F. Elliott, Mrs. S. M. Taylor, Miss Bettie Settle, Mrs. John Cantwell, Mrs. E. D. Isbell. The present (1898) officers of the Missouri Bap- tist Woman's Missionary Society are : Mrs. W. F. El- liott, president; Mrs. J. L. Burnham, corresponding secretary; Mrs. V. D. Phillips, recording secretary; Mrs. G. B. Wheeler, treasurer. Miss Flora Bell, daughter of Rev. W. M. Bell, of Miama, is earnestly and intelligently interested in the proper training of r^ n^m' '■.^' 'w ^v . ^^T'Tw -'"■' »» - ■ ^ ^ V^^^v^^^H I r. i ^■■Ek * ^^H ^■f ^^H ^^4 /j*!^ 1 1 ^^^■i '-^ijii^^^^^^^^^^^ I ™^?«^B 1 K^r ■ ■ ^1 i. , f-.'-.'rsiVaSia£^a^MM 1 EDWIN W. STEPHENS, Present Moderator since October, 1S97. Woman's Work, 373 boys and girls. In her last annual report she says : "The child's need is the supreme need." * * * "Give these boys and girls a chance and see if the number of paupers will not be greatly reduced." A careful and unprejudiced following of the his- tory of this Society can not fail to suitably impress the mind with the varied usefulness of the Woman's Mis- sionary Society. No good work in anywise related to evangelical enterprise fails of the sympathy and co- operation of that organization. CHAPTER XXI. A CONVENIENT SUMMARY. This chapter is compiled and inserted, hoping that it may serve as a convenient reference digest for such persons as may wish to promptly inform themselves touching any item of detail in the work, or concerning the persons prominently connected in the past with the General Association of Missouri Baptists. Perhaps, in the remote future the chapter may be of more inter- est and value than at the present, yet of probable inter- est to many from the present time on : Section I. MODER.\TORS, TIME OF SERVICE, AND BIRTH AND DEATH DATES. Rev. Jeremiah Vardeman: Years of service, 1834-1835. Whole time two years. Born in Wythe county, Virginia, July 8, i775; died in Ralls county, Missouri, May 28, 1842. Rev. J. B. Longan: Years of service, 1836- 1839. Whole time of service four years. Born in Henrico county, Virginia, i775. Date of death unknown. Rev. James Suggett: Year of service, 1840. Whole term one year. Born in Orange county, Virginia, May, 1775; died in Callaway couAy, Missouri, 1851. Hon. Urial Sebree: Years of service, 1841-1843; 1846-1848. Whole terms of service six years. Born in Orange county, Virginia, July 15, i774; died in How- ard county, Missouri, May 18, 1853. Roland Hughes: Years of service, 1844-1845; 1850-1854. Whole time of service seven years. Born in Kentucky, 1790; died in Howard county, Missouri, 1855. A Convenient Summary. 375 Hon.Wm. Carson: Years of service 1849 ^"<^ 1855. Whole time two years. Born near Winchester ,Virginia, May 14, 1798; died at Pahnyra, Missouri, November Z, i'873. Hon. David H. Hickman: Years of service, 1856 and 1868. Whole time two years. Born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, November 21, 1821 ; died June 25, 1869. Judge R. E. McDaniel: Years of service, 1857 and 1 859- 1 862. Whole time of service five years. Rev. Wm. Crozvell, D. D.: Year of service 1859. Time of service one year. No information at hand of the date of his birth or death. The author thinks he was born in New York State. Dr. J. C. Maple, in semi- centennial memorial, says of Dr. Crowell : "Missouri never had living in her borders a man of more thorough culture and of wider scholarship. That he was withal a man of piety as well as firmness, there can be no doubt." Rev. A. P. Williams, D. D.: Years of service 1863 and 1865-1867. Whole number of years of service four. There was no meeting of the General Associa- tion in 1864. Dr. Williams was born in St. Louis county, Missouri, March 13, 1813; died at Glasgow, Howard county, Missouri, November 9, 1868. Rev. Noah Flood: Years of service, 1869-1870 Whole time two years Born in Shelby county, Ken- tucky, June 14, 1809; di^*^ ^t Columbia, Missouri, August II, 1873. Rev. X. X. Bnckner: Year of service, i87i. Whole time one year. Born in Spencer county, Kentucky, February 20, 1828; died at Kansas City, Missouri, January 19, i872. Hon. John B. Wornall: Years of service, i872- 1873. Whole time two years. Born in Clarke county, Kentucky, October 12, 1822; died at his home in Jack- son county, Missouri, March 24, 1892. 37^ A Convenient Summary. Deacon Leivis B. Ely: Years of service, i874-i876. Whole service three years. Born at Frankfort, Ken- tucky, May i8, 1825; died at St. Joseph, June 18, 189?. W. Pope Yeaman, S. T. D.: Years of service, i877- 1896. Whole time of service twenty years. Born in Hardin county, Kentucky. Deacon E. W. Stephens: Years of service, 1897- 1898. Present moderator. Born at Columbia. These sixteen men, all of whom are dead except the two last named, have been honored by their brethren with the presiding chair at the annual meetings of the General Association. Section II. ASSISTANT MODERATORS. In the year i876 — of American independence, the one hundredth year, the constitution of the General Association was so amended as to create the office of assistant moderator. The design of this office was that, one might be ready in case of emergency, to fill the chair of a moderator. The first election under the amended constitution, of assistant moderator was in i877, and Deacon L. B. Ely was the choice; he was re-elected at each success- ive session to and including 1880. Rev. J. C. Maple, D. D., was elected assistant mod- erator in 1 88 1. Rev. J. D. Murphy was elected in 1882. Ex-Gov. C. H. Hardin was elected in 1883 and re- elected each succeeding year until and including 1886. Gov. Hardin was born in Kentucky in 1820, and died at Mexico, July 29, 1892. Rev. John P. Greene, D. D., was elected in i887. Rochester Ford, Esq., was elected in 1888. Hon. John B. Wornall was elected in 1889 (see Section I, Moderators) and was re-elected in 1890. A Convenient Summary. 377 Deacon E. W. Stephens was elected in 1891. R. C. Clark, Esq., was elected in 1892. Deacon T. M. lames was elected in 1893 and re- elected in 1894 and in 1896. Rev. S. Y. Pitts was elected in 1895. Hon. Noah M. Givan was elected in 1897. Rev. J. F. Kemper was elected in 1898. All of the before named assistant moderators ex- cept two last named, served as assistants to the writer of this book, and it gives him an unqualified pleasure to testify to their courtesy and efficiency in rendering as- sistance when required. Only three of the assistant moderators have been gathered to their Fathers: The Hons. J. B. Wornall, Chas. H. Hardin and L. B. Ely. The others remain, up to this Avriting, December, 1898, active and influential members of the General Association. Section III. RECORDING SECRETARIES. The recording secretaries of the General Associa- tion have been : Rev. R. S. Thomas, D. D., frequently mentioned in preceding chapters. William Wright, a brother of Leland Wright, a historic pillar in the General Association, and fre- quently mentioned in former pages of this book. Wil- liam Wright was born in Madison county, Virginia, in 1797. He was reared as a merchant. He came to Howard county, Missouri, in 1825. He was highly esteemed as an honorable gentleman and loved as an earnest and consistent christian. He died in Yazoo City, Mississippi, in 1853. G. M. Bower, M. D., was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, December 12, 1790. He was an able and devout man. He was eminent in the medical profes- 37^ A Convenient Summary. sion, zealous and useful as a christian, and served his country ably in the national congress. He died at Paris, in Monroe county, Missouri, November i7, 1864. Hon. Wm. Carson. — See Section I, Moderators. W. M. Quince. This brother was recording secre- tary in 1836. It is greatly regretted that there is no available information concerning him. Jordan Ohrian was born in Chatham county. North Carolina, September i7, 1794. He died in Cooper county, March 14, 1858. He was respected for his christian virtues and social worth. He was an active promoter of the mission cause in the days of divisions, factions and contentions. Wade M. Jackson was one of the leaders in the General Association. A sketch of his life is given in a former chapter. Hon. Wm. M. McPherson, a lawyer and business man of St. Louis, has been frequently mentioned in preceding chapters. He was born in Boone county, Kentucky, February 13, 1813. He was for years an influential member of Second Baptist church, St. Louis, and took an active interest in the affairs of the denom- ination in the state. He died in i872. M. F. Price was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, March 6, 1806. This was indeed a man of God. In Missouri he was eminently useful in christian effort. He died in Lafayette county, Missouri, March 27, i877. In his life he, though not a preacher, was mainly instru- mental in constituting the church in Lexington, Mis- souri, which was accomplished in the latter part of the year 1839. Re7>. S. B. Johnson. But little is known of this brother other than the information furnished Dr. G. W. Hyde for the semicentennial volume, by Dr. John T. Williams.. He died in St. Louis about the year 1881. It is the impression of this brother that Bro. Johnson was for several years before his death engaged on the A Convenient Summary. 379 staff of the Missouri Republic, mainly in charge of the religious news department. Rev. Dan'l Read, LL. D. This eminent scholar, educator and preacher was born in Orangeville, New York, April 11, 1825. He was for several years pas- tor of Second Baptist church, St. Louis. He accepted the presidency of Shurtleff College at Alton, Illinois, and for this institution did a work that put it upon a firmer foundation than it had ever had. From Shurt- leff he went, in 1873, to the pastorate of First Baptist church, Williamsburg, New York. Rev. W. M. Bell. It would be difficult to tell the Baptists of Missouri anything they do not know of this eminent citizen and beloved man of God. He was born in Richmond, Virginia, July 23, 1823. He came to Missouri when but a youth, having been left in or- phanage when but a lad. He was converted under the ministry of the renowned A. P. Williams. The Bethel church, in Saline county, Missouri, into the fellowship of which he was baptized, licensed him in 1848 to preach the gospel. In 1850, the same church called for his or- dination. As a pastor, promoter of missions, of educa- tion and religious publications ; as an active member of the General Association, as long time moderator of the State Alinister's Meeting, and for a great many years moderator of Saline Association, he has, under God, made himself one of Missouri's most useful min- isters. According to his own testimony of his personal experience, he is a monument of God's amazing grace. He married a daughter of Judge R. E. McDaniel. She made him a wife good, noble and helpful. Devot- ing herself to the duties of christian wifehood and motherhood. Edzi'iii IV. Stephens, now the moderator of the General Association, served several terms as recording 3S0 A Convenient Summary. secretary. His subsequent nomination testifies to the esteem in which his brethren hold his official efficiency and personal qualities. He is the proprietor of the most extensive and elaborate book and publishing house in Missouri, and proprietor of the Columbia Herald, a widely celebrated weekly journal founded by him in the days of his youth. Rev. Manly J. Breaker, D. D., served as recording secretary in 1873, while he was yet a youthful preacher. He has attained eminence as a thinker, preacher and writer, and is at present (1898) the corresponding sec- retary of the General Home and Foreign Mission Board of the Missouri General Association. John T. Williams served in all eighteen years as recording secretary. He was the incumbent of that of- fice at the time of his death, which occurred in the sum- mer of 1 89 1. The memorial services held by the Gen- eral Association in October, 1891, during which a com- mittee was appointed to provide a monument to the de- parted secretary, was a most tenderly pathetic service. Dr. Williams was a faithful officer and companionable gentleman, and his death was a realized loss. While Dr. Williams was an earnest and polished preacher, it was as an educator that he gained his eminence and es- tablished his usefulness. Rev. Sam Frank Taylor, D. D., was Dr. Williams' successor. He held the office of secretary from 1891 to 1896, at which time he declined to be nominated as his own successor. Dr. Taylor is now, and has been for several years, the very acceptable and successful president of Stephens College, at Columbia. Dr. Taylor was succeeded by A. W. Payne, Esq., of the Central Baptist, and has held the office since Oc- tober, 1896. His efficiency and genial manners make him a popular officer. A Convenient Summary. 3S1 SectiOxX IV. AUDITORS. Prior to i876 the accounts of the treasurer were examined and reported upon to the General Associa- tion by a committee on finance. This method was in some respects unsatisfactory, and that year the consti- tution was amended by creating the office of auditor, whose duty it is to examine the accounts of the treas- urer as to receipts, disbursements and vouchers. The first election for auditor took place in i877, and A. C. Avery, of Clinton, was chosen to the position. He held the office until and including the session of 1886. At the session of i887 Deacon James L. Applegate was elected to the office of auditor, and has discharged the duties with great care fidelity and accuracy to the pres- ent time (1898). Up to i877 it was the habit of the finance commit- tee to announce that they could be found in a certain corner of the house in which the Association was in ses- sion, and that all persons who had brought up offer- ings to state missions would please come to the commit- tee and pay to them the sums of money sent up. This practice invariably disturbed the business of the Asso- ciation for hours after the announcement, and at .irreg- ular times during the sessions. The committee could not get the name of the church, or association, or indi- vidual sending up the offering without considerable talking, and often part of the money was in specie, and the ringing clink of the change as it was counted on a table, could be heard all over the house, mingled with the voices of depositors and committee — some of whom, of course were solicitous that everybody know they were engaged in a great business — so that the mingled sound of money and voices rendered other business out of the question for the time being. The moderator for 382 A Convenient Summary. i877, that being the first year of his occupancy of the chair, made an innovation of this long estabhshed cus- tom by announcing that the treasurer could be seen at a certain place — a side room in the building if any — and that all offerings would be paid to him. This de- parture brought order and quiet out of annoying and time wasting confusion. The custom now has become so well settled under the deliberate and composed man- ner of treasurer Guthrie, that announcements are no longer necessar3\ The treasurer gets all the money sent up to the Association, and it is so silently and sys- tematically done that the great body of messengers know nothing of it. This innovation, as small as it may seem, has been a chief contribution to the order and dignified manner that has for so many years character- ized the deliberations of the General Association. Section V. CORRESPONDING SECRETARIES. Nearly all of the men who have served as corre- sponding secretary have had mention, in connection with their work, in preceding pages. But for conven- ience of reference they are here mentioned in chrono- logical order: Rev. R. S. Thomas, so far as can be ascertained, was the first corresponding secretary of the executive board. He was chosen to the office at least as early as 1839. He is frequently mentioned in preceding chap- ters. Deacon Leland Wright, often named in this vol- ume, was corresponding secretary in the years i844-'45- '47-'49'-53-'65 and '66. Wade M. Jackson was corresponding secretary in i850-'52 inclusive. So prominent was this man in the early history of the General Association that his name is a part of that history. A Convenient Summary. 3S3 Samuel C. Major is necessarily a conspicuous name in this history. He was corresponding secretary and president of the executive board alternately for many years before the office of corresponding secretary be- came an established order in the organic law of the con- stitution. Rev. Nathan Ayers held the office for one year, 1859- '60. An account of his work is given in the chap- ter (Agencies and Agents). He was the first corre- sponding secretary who received a salary. Rev. Wily J. Patrick. This eminent minister of the gospel was Bro. Ayers' successor, and discharged the duties of corresponding secretary, without charge, for one year. He is heretofore mentioned in this book. Rev. Jesse A. Harris was corresponding secretary in i867. This kind hearted and noble man, honored of all men who knew him, has place in our history here- tofore recorded. Rev. John M. Robinson. This eminent servant of the General Association, written of in the chapter on "Agencies and Agents," was corresponding secretary from 1868 to i87o inclusive. Rev. IV. R. Rothzvell, a factor in the history of the General Association, was corresponding secretary from January, i87i, to January, i872. Rev. B. T. Taylor filled the office from February to October, 1873. He is an intellectual giant of ardent temperament, impulse, disposition and erratic manners, As a thinker he has few equals. Rev. Joshua Hickman was the incumbent in i872, and then in i877 and i878. See chapter "Agencies and Agents," Rev. S. W. Marston became corresponding secre- tary in 1873, and continued until i876. See "Agencies and Agents." Rev. J. D. Murphy was in the office of correspond- ing secretary for a part of the year i876. Dr, Murphy 3S4 A Convenient Swnmary. is a native Missourian, a nephew of the "Andrew Ful- ler of America" — Dr. A. P.Williams, and as a Bible stu- dent and expounder he is not unlike his lamented kins- man. He now resides at Sedalia, Missouri, a strong preacher, clear writer and useful man. W. Pope Yeaman was corresponding secretary from November, i878, till October, 1886. Ex-Gov. C. H. Hardin was corresponding sec- retary for the month of November, 1886. He was succeeded in the office by Rev. J. C. Armstrong, who continued in office until December, i887, and was succeeded by the election of Rez'. S. M. Brown, who served until 1892. Dr. Armstrong never consented to hold the office longer than a suitable successor could be secured. His administration of the office was skillful and successful. Bro. Brown's able work is discussed in chapter on ''Agencies and Agents." Rev. Win. T. Campbell was an efficient and popu- lar corresponding secretary from October, 1892, to Oc- tober, 1897. See "Agencies and Agents." Rev. T. L. West succeeded Bro. Campbell in Oc- tober, 1897, and is now (1898) the vigorous and highly acceptable incumbent. He retired from the pastorate at Carrollton, Missouri, much to the regret of the church and congregation, to respond to the urgent call of the State Mission Board to this important office. A careful and unbiased study of the duties and work of the corresponding secretaries of the General Association of Missouri Baptists reveals the interesting and suggestive fact that the office is a leading factor in the forces of our denominational progress in the state. Section VI. TREASURERS. The treasurers of the executive boards of the Gen- eral Association have been: S. C. Major, Roland A Convenient Sumiiiory. 3S5 Hughes, Wade M. Jackson, James Harris, L. B. Ely, Robt. T. Prewitt, Geo. W. Trimble, Marshall Brother- ton, Wm. M. Senter, John A. Guthrie. See "Agencies and Agents." Note : — For presidents of the executive board, see chapter "Agencies and Agents." Section VH. missionaries. In preceding chapters missionaries have often been named in connection with their work. It is impracti- cable to give the name of each individual missionary that has labored in the sixty- four years since the organ- ization of the Association. Since 1834 there have been commissioned by the General Association 536 different men as general mis- sionaries for the state, local missionaries and mission- ary pastors. In this count there is no duplication of persons. If all the men who have labored more than one year were counted as a missionary for each year of service, which would be legitimate, the number above given would be not much short of 1,000. One thous- and men within sixty-four years, in a single state, in addition to stated pastors, makes quite a host at work for the Kingdom of God and his christ. There is not, perhaps, a single living contributor to the support of this army, who regrets what he or she has done to sus- tain the great cause. And the contributors who have gone to their final reward, are, doubtless, rejoicing that they were permitted to help. The missionaries themselves, many of whom have laid down the cross for the crown, knew not while toil- ing in humble devotion, the service they were render- ing to an enterprise that brightens the earth and makes gladness in heaven. ^5 386 A Convenient Summary. Section VIII. THE MONEY EXPENDED IN THIS WORK. The total sum expended in state missions in Mis- souri since the organization of the General Associa- tion in 1834, is $315,961.39. This makes an average of $4,935.11% per year for the whole period. The smallest amount ever expended in one year was prob- ably $69, and the largest was $15,799.25. The sum total for the whole period may not, at superficial view appear large, and the average per annum may seem small, but the consideration of a few facts may remove these appearances : First. At the time of the organiza- tion of the Association, the entire population of the state did not exceed 250,000 — not half as many as are now in the city of St. Louis ; and not more than 60,000, in excess of the present population of Kansas City, which has come in existence since the General Associa- tion was organized. Now there are 3,000,000 people in the state. A growth of two and three quarter mil- lions in sixty-four years, which is an increase of nearly 43,000 a year. Second. At the time of the organization of the General Association, there were but about 5,350 Bap- tists in the state; now there are about 138,000. Then there were only about 75 Baptist preachers, and only 150 churches. Now there are more than 1,000 preach- ers and more than 1,500 churches. Third. The General Association at the outset en- countered a violent and malignant opposition from Bap- tists, Baptist churches and associations. It is no sur- prise that the first ten years yielded only a few hundred dollars for state missions. Fourth. In the years 1862, '63 and '64, nothing was done for state missions. The cruel hand of war stayed the progress of evangelizing enterprises in Mis- souri. And in i877-'78 and '79 there was a great fall- A Convenient Summary. 3S7 ing off in state mission contributions from the revival of the work that began in 1865 and continued to 1873. In the year closing October, 1872, the sum of $9,560.25 — mainly raised by Dr. Rothwell — was collected and ex- pended directly for state missions; while in i878 the collections had fallen off to $1,125.35. The Associa- tion was bankrupt and the work was involved in "chaos" and much opposition to the Association had grown up. Fifth. The above total of $3i5'96i-39 does not in- clude the money raised by district associations and ex- pended on their own fields, where the General Associa- tion did not supplement the local appropriations by co- operative arrangements. In all cases, in making the above estimate, the sums raised and expended by non- cooperating associations, when reported, have been stricken out, so as to reduce the sum total to the amount raised and expended in the name of and by the General Association. It is well for persons not informed as to Bap- tist methods, to know that by the term "State Missions" is meant the work done by the General Association, and does not include expenditures, nor work, nor re- sults of work by district associations, churches or in- dependent evangelists. It has happened that the press of other denominations and the secular press have given the financial statistics and the number of baptisms re- ported by the General Association, as the totals of the annual operations of the Baptist denomination in the state. This blunder proceeds from a misapprehension of Baptist polity. The General Association reports nothing but its own work, says nothing of the work of the churches of the district associations, except an occa- sional statistical table printed in the minutes for in- formation, but never as its own work. If the expendi- tures bv district associations for mission work in their own bounds were annually added to the annual expend- 3SS A Convenient Siuninary. itnres of the General Association, the amount would be more than double. When these facts are all considered it is believed that the financial showing of the General Association, while not what it might have been, and ought to have been, is decidedly encouraging, and by no means a re- buke to Missouri Baptists. While they have been giv- ing this money to state missions, they have given their many thousands to district missions, general home and foreign missions, christian education, ministerial edu- cation, Sunday School mission work, publication socie- ties, orphans' homes and sanitariums, and innumerable incidental objects that appeal to christian beneficence. It is true that there are thousands of Baptists in the state who decline to have any part or lot in these great works, yet "the remnant according to election," who do come to the help of the Lord against the Mighty, are not, all things considered, behind their brethren in other parts of the country. Section IX. THE FRUITS OF STATE MISSION WORK. The records of the General Association show that in fifty-four years of the sixty-four years since the meeting at Providence in 1834, the missionaries of the General Association have reported 120,331 sermons preached by them. It is impossible to estimate the good accomplished by the preaching of the truth as it is in Christ. You can not estimate it by the number of individual professions of faith in Christ nor by the number of baptisms administered upon profession of that faith. The upbuilding of the church of Christ in christian intelligence, the promotion of spiritual mind- edness, the development of the spirit of christian en- terprise and beneficence; and to these must be added the good influence on general social conditions, all of which is above computation by figures. A Convenient Sunnnary. 3S9 The number of persons baptized by the missiona- ries of the General Association, since the Association began sending forth missionaries into the state, is 26,- 582. Nor does this number include all that the mis- sionaries of the General Association have baptized, for in the earlier days of the work the missionaries were 'either careless about their reports, or did not under- stand the importance of clearness and fullness of re- port. The original executive board frequently made complaint of this fault of the missionaries, and several times adopted stringent rules to overcome the fault. Neither have the missionaries reported the baptisms of all the converts under their ministry, as the pastors of the feeble churches aided by the missionaries would administer the ordinance to the converts. But a comparison of the results of missionary la- bor with pastoral labor illustrates the value of the work. The results above stated show one baptism for every four and a half sermons, or in other words, two bap- tisms for every nine sermons. A few simple calcula- tions will show that pastoral labor does not reach this result, taking all the churches into the account. The pastor who serves a church full time, does not preach less than 104 sermons a year, as a rule he preaches a greater number. Yet there are but few pastorates that will average for a series of years, say five years, twen- ty-three baptisms a year. A pastor who serves a church one-fourth time, as is the case with many of our country churches, preaches not less than 24 pastoral sermons in the year. If he holds a protracted meeting each year, he or some one for him will preach twice a day, for, say two weeks, this will add 28 sermons to the twenty-four, making fifty-two sermons. Our pro- tracted meetings will not, taking the country over, av- erage two baptisms for every nine sermons. Our pro- tracted meetings of two weeks' duration will not aver- age 1 1 baptisms to the meeting. 39° ' A Convenient Summary. These estimates are not intended to depreciate pastoral labor; for without pastors, churches would cease to be, and without the churches of Christ the world would be wrapt in midnight moral darkness in less than a third of a century. The true fruition of state missions can not be real- ized without taking into account the vast work done in caring for the religious condition of centers of popula- tion. It is not necessary to name in detail every vil- lage, town and city church in Missouri where Baptist interests have been promoted by the General Associa- tion. The chapter in this volume on "Centers of Popu- ation" is specific enough to indicate the vastness of that work. Section X. PREACHERS INTRODUCTORY SERMONS. A. P. Williams :June 2, 1837. Text Romans 10. A. P. Williams: May 31, 1839. Text Matt. 9:28, 29. A. P. Williams: June 26, 1863. A. P. Williams: August 19, 1865. Text Phil. 7:i2. Anderson Woods: June i, 1838. Text James i :27. James Suggett: Aug. 28, 1840. Text Luke 24:46, 4?. Thos. p. Green: Aug. 27, 1841. Text Matt. 20:14. Isaac T. Hinton : Aug. 25, 1842. Text Dan. 12 :i4. Isaac T. Hinton : Aug. 24, 1843. Text i Cor. 9:7. Andrew Broadus: Aug. 23, 1844. Text 2 Cor. 9:8. R. N. Herndon : Aug. 28, 1845. Text i Thes. i :2, 3. S. W. Lynd: Aug. 27, 1846. Text Gal. 6, 13. T. C. Harris: Aug. 26, 1847. Text i Cor. i :2. T. C. Harris: Aug. 26, 1852. Text Isa. 53-10. W. C. Ligon: Aug. 24, 1848. Text Eph. 2:18. Noah Flood: Aug. 23, 1849. Text i Pet. 3:11. J. E. Welch: Aug. 22, 1850. Prov. 22:6. J. E. Welch : May 26, 1855. Text 2 Sam. 22 :24. J. B. Jeter: Aug. 28, 1851. Text Luke 8:1, 3. A Convenient Snuunary. 391 R. F. Ellis: May 25, 1853. Text Rom. 10:14. Geo. a. Lofton : Oct. 24, i877. Text Mark 16 :2o. W. W. Boyd: Oct. 23, i878. Text Rom. i -.14. Wm. Harris : Oct. 20, 1880. Text i Thes. i :7, 8. J. V. Schofield: Oct. 18, 1881. Text Mark 16:15. J. D. Murphy: Oct. 18, 1882. Text Matt. 21 :3. J. T. Williams: Oct. 24, 1883. Text John 6:63. G. W. Hatcher: Oct. 21, 1884. Text Matt, i :23. E. D. Isbell: Oct. 23, 1885. Text i Cor. i : 21. J. P. Greene: Oct. 19, 1886. i Pet. 1:25. B. G. Tutt: Oct. 18, i887. Text John 6:30. A. C. Rafferty: Oct. i7, 1888. Text Eph. 4:28. J. O. B. Lowry: Oct. 15, 1889. Text John i7:i. J. W. Ford: Oct. 12, 1890. Text Rom. i :2o. T. E. Vassar: Oct. 21, 1891. Text Heb. 2:8, 9. J. S. Kirtley: Oct. 18, 1892. Text 2 Cor. 5 :i9. J. C. Armstrong: Oct. 24, 1893. Text Rom. 8:1. J. B. Fuller: Oct 22, 1894. Text Matt. 28:19, 20. S. M. Brown: Oct. 20, 1896. Text Acts i :8. W. R. L. Smith : Oct 18, 1897. Text John 3 :i2. R. P. Johnston: Oct. i7, 1898. Text Matt. 28:19, 20. R. H. Harris : May 20, 1854. Text John 9 :4. Daniel Reed: May 23, 1856. Text John 16:8, 11. A. Poindexter: May 27, 1857. Text 2 Cor. 5:14, 15. Wm. Price: May 21, 1858. Text i Cor. i :48. E. S. Dulin: July 26, 1859. Text Matt. 10:9, 10. E. S. Dulin: Aug. 10, 1866. Text Judges 8:4. Galusha Anderson: July 21, i860. Text John 12:24. John Francis: July 27, 1861. Text Isa. 53:2. Jos. W. Warder: July 26, 1862. Text i Tim. 4:6, 8. Chas. Whiting: Aug. 10, i867. Text Luke 9:60. W. H. Thomas : Aug. 6, 1868. Text Num. 13 :30. James Dixon : Aug. 4, 1869. Text Dan. 2:31, 35. Thos. Rumbaut: Oct. i, i87o. Text Mark 10:15. J, H. Luther: Oct. 12, i87i. Text John 21 :i6. J. C. Maple: Oct. 10, i872. Text Matt. 28:21. D. G. Morrill: Oct. 8, 1873. Text Ps. 126:5, 6. 392 A Convenient Summary. A. Machette: Oct. 6, 1874. Text Matt. 16:18. S. H. Ford: Oct. 8, 1875. Text Josh. 3:12. S. H. Ford: Oct. 22, 1879. Text Matt. 3:1. W. Pope Yeaman: Oct. 18, i876. Text i John 4:7, 12. W. Pope Yeaman: Oct. 22, 1895. Text Eph. 5:16. The foregoing- summary concludes this volume, written with the one desire to interest and inform Bap- tists concerning the struggles and successes of the Gen- eral Association in faithful efforts to advance the cause of Christ in a great and prosperous state. The author has been actuated by but a single mo- tive — the perpetuation of the names and works of per- sons engaged in the great work of glorifying the risen Redeemer by the spread of His truth and the expansion of His Kingdom. He has been more concerned for truth and the logic of facts, than for rhetorical excel- lence or literary reputation. INDEX. This index is incomplete on account of the protracted illness of the author. Page. Adams, John 20 A Decade of Progress ^6 Advance Movement 80 Alden, Noah 20 Anderson, G 175 Admission of Missouri as a State 28 Agents a Necessity 241-242 Agencies and Agents 222 American Sunday School Union 257 Apostolic Example in Mission Work 274 Armstrong, J. C, Corresponding Secretary 216 Armstrong, J. C 311 Armstrong, Dr., Jubilee Address 203 Ayers, Nathan, First Paid Secretary 240 Auxiliaries and Unification 314 Auditors 381-382 American Baptist Home Mission Society 314 Applegate, J. L 342 Assistant Moderators 376-377 Backus, Rev. Isaac. . . 20 Bagby, Mrs. Anna Luther 368 Baker, A. F 217 Baptist Flag's Antagonism 178-179 Baptist Flag. Refusal to Endorse 179 Baptists and Religious Liberty 18-22 Baptist Home Mission Society 78 Baptist State Convention 133-136 Basis of Original Organization 44 Baskett, J.S 83 Barrett, T. W 141 Basis of Representation g^ 393 394 Index. Beginning of General Association 28 Bell, Miss Flora. . 372 Bell, W. M 88-379 Beauchamp, S. A. ... 2S9 Bell's Resolution on Agencies 23S Berrj, Dr. L. M 203-205 Bethel Church, Saline Association 88, 122 Black Snake Hills 71 Board, State Mission Reports 1877-8 163-164 Board, General Home and Foreign Missions 326-329 Board, Removal to St. Louis 153 Board, Report 1878 164-168 Bonne Femme Church 51 Boone, Daniel 13 Bower, G. M 58 Boulware, Theoderick 41 Bojd, W. W., Disclaimer 178 Bowman, T. A 220 Bojer, W. L 328 Bibb, M. L 269 Biggs, J. D 183 Big Lick Church 81 Breaker, M. J 328 Brotherton, Marshall 80 Brown, John 113 Brown Jno. R . . 287 Brick Providence Church . . 33-34 Brown, S. M., Corresponding Secretary 214 Brown, S. M., Second Term, Corresponding Secretary... 217 Busby, W. C 282 Butler, Mrs. Emeline 250 Buckner, X. X 148 Buckner, Mrs . 149 Buckner, J, S 266 Burnham, Dr. W. H 38 Burnham, Dr. W. H., Jubilee Address . 197 Burlingham Dr. A. H 140 Butler, Gift . . 249 Black, G. L 349 Burnham, Mrs. J. L 365 Index. 395 Campbell, W. T., Corresponding Secretary . 218 Campbell, F. Y 290 Carson, Hon. Wm 62 Campbell, VV. T 2S6 "Central Society" 51 Centers of Population 270 Charitan Church, Meeting at 68 Chaotic State of Missions 177 Civil Government 126 Civil War 11 1 Circular on the Civil War. 120 City Influence on the Country 273 Cole, Hon. Nathan 145-231 Collection, 1847 Si Collins, M. B 144 Columbus, Christopher i Collection, First 60 Cook, J. E 285 Cook, J. F 355 Columbia, Meeting at 1 53 Columbia, Meeting at, i86g 145 Constitution, First ' 44 Constitution of Missouri, 1S65 124 Conclusion 392 Convention, (Name) 53 Convention, Dissolution of 138-139 Compromise Plan I73 Compromise Plan, Committee on 171 Crisis, A 100 D District Association. ... 27 Disturbance at Rehoboth 119 Delmar Avenue Church 284 Dixon, Archibald ill Douglas, S. A 112 Dodge, Mrs. S. E., Poem 204 Duval 67 Duncan, R. S viii-xvi-364 396 Index. B Early Life in Missouri 22-23 Early Associational Customs 7^ Early Reports of General Association 332-334 Early Action on Paid Agents 236-238 Education Centennial Movement 342-348 Education 330-332 Education, Commission 342 Education, Female 349 Elliott, Stephen 59 Elliott, W.F 59.232 Elliott, Mrs. W, F 360 Ely, L. B 155,341-342 Emerging from Darkness 133 Endowment, General Association. 243 Executive Board, First 226 Executive Board at Columbia 229 Executive Board at St. Louis 229 Executive Board, Removed to Mexico . 230 Eminent Exemplars 235 Exhibit, Financial ( 1876) 161 Executive Committee, First 63-69 Endowment Funds, Summary of 253 F Farrington, Mrs. John 82, 364 Fayette, Home of First Board 226 Farmington College 355 Farmer, Jeremiah 238 P'armer, Sarah L., Fund 253 Female College, State 147 Feeble Churches, First Committee On ... 276 Fleet, A. F 87 Flood, Rev. Noah 153 Ford, S. H 13,43,302 Ford, Dr. S. H., Jubilee Address 203 Fox, Norman 307 First Moderator 50 First Missionaries 57 First Secretary 50 Financial Exhibit 1876 161 Fristoe, Thomas 31-57 Index. 397 Ferguson, Wm 3"9 Further Committees -277 Ford, Mrs. S. II 3^4 Fruits of State Mission Work 38S-3S9 G Gavel, Historic 13, 43 Gavel, Presentation by Dr. Maple 13 Gavel, Presentation by Dr. W. H. Williams 194 Givan, N. M 233 Gill, Everett 282 Guthrie, John A 233-235 Glover, W. B 252 Glasgow, Meeting at 151 German Mission Society 90 Grand River College 356 H Hall, Wornall 152 Ham, Rev. A 57 Hannibal 282 Hardin College 2S9, 355 Hardin, Hon. C. H ...54-55,214 Hardin, Mrs. C. H 54-55j 3^4 Hardin, Gov., Acting Corresponding Secretary 214 Hardin, C. H., Fund 253 Harris, T. C 93 Harris, Mrs. W. B 372 Hatcher, G. W., Introductory Sermon 189 Hatcher, Harvey 1 50 Hatcher's Resolution 150 Hays, Miss Ida 369 Haycraft, P. N 68 Haycraft, P. N., Early Mission Work 201 Herndon, J. C . 68 Hickman, D. H 55, 143 Hickman, Isabel, Fund ... 253 Hickman, Joshua 152, 163, 231, 2S5 Hughes, Roland 95 Hughes, T. E 95 Hughes, W.J 68 Hunt, Rev. M. P 369 Hyde, Dr. G. W 58, 203 Hyde, Mrs. G. W 363 398 Index. Jackson, John 32 Jackson, Wade M . . 228 James, Robert, Mission Work in '48 . 201 James, T. M 2S1-287 Jefferson City, Meeting at (1843) 69 Jefferson City Mission .• . . . . . 279 Jefferson, Thomas . . . i Jeter, Dr 283 Jewell, Wm. , M. D 332, 340 Johnston, J. T. M., Sr 280 Johnston, Dr. J. T. M. 280 Johnston, Dr. R. P 284 Jubilee, A 182 Jubilee, Address of Welcome 189 Jubilee, Address Accepting Gavel 195 Jubilee, Address of Dr. Burnham ..... .... 197 Jubilee, Address of Dr. Patrick 197 Jubilee, Address of Dr. J. T. Williams 203 Jubilee, Address of Dr, Armstrong 203 Jubilee, Address of Dr. Rothwell 203 Jubilee, Address of Dr. Ford 203 Jubilee, Cane Presentation to Dr. Maple 196 Jubilee, Cane Presentation to Moderator 191 Jubilee, Exhibit of Work and Finances 196 Jubilee, Golden Programme 197 Jubilee, Moderator's Response to Cane Presentation 193 Jubilee, Presentation of Gavel 194 Jubilee, Introductory Sermon by G. W. Hatcher 189 Jubilee, Meeting at Marshall 1S8 Jubilee, Sermon by W. Pope Yeaman 203 Jubilee, Resolutions to Celebrate 184 Jubilee, Recommendations of State Board 185 Jubilee, Report of Committee on Plan 186 Jubilee, Response to Address of Welcome 190 Jubilee, Heavenly Galaxy 207 Jubilee, Poem, Mrs. S. E. Dodge 204 Kansas, War 111-113 Keep, W. W 81 Kansas City Missions 286 Keltner, J. W 220 Index. 399 Kemper, J. F 233 Kendrick, A. A 306-307 Kline, L. E., Golden Programme I97 Kenney, T. M. S 3^8 Laws, M. L., S. S. Missionary Secretary 264 Lawless, J. L 2S5 La Grange College 355 Lexington 78» 80, 102 Lexington College 355 Liberty Church, Meeting at 88 Ligon,' W. C, Early Mission Work 201 Ligon, W. C 84 Little Bonne Femme Association 53 Livingston, Robert . . 4 Lockett, Thos. F Qi Longan, Rev. J. B 57 Louisiana, Purchase of 35 Luther, Dr. Jno. Hill 304-305 Lynd, S. W 81 M Maple, J. C n, 173 Maple, J. C, Speech on Religious Publication 180 Maple, J. C, Address of Welcome 189 Maple, J. C 232 Maple, J. C, Cane Presentation to 196 Maple, Mrs. J. C 37i Maiden, R. K 3^3 Manning, Dr 21 Mansfield, W. H 31 Martin, L. E 220 Martin, A. F 67 Martin, A. F., Mission Work in 1844 201 Marston, S. W. i53 Massachusetts Baptists 20 Mexico, Meeting at (1S7S) 163-164 Mayfield, Dr. W. H 284 Macon, Meeting at 152 Majors, Samuel C 70, 123, 227 McDaniel, R. E 1-2 400 Index. McPherson, Wm. M . 94 McQuie, Wm 155 McKillop, Mary P., Fund 253 Million, J. W ZS^ Mexico Mission. 28S Moss, Mrs. O. P 361 Moderators 374-376 Missouri, Admitted to Union 28 Missouri, Misunderstood 30 Missouri Baptist 296 Missouri and Illinois Baptist . . . . 296 Missouri Baptist Publication Society 302 Missouri Baptist 302 Missouri Baptist Journal 304 Missions, Division on loi, 107 Missions, Fielding Wilhite, 1844 199 Missionary Galaxy 202 Missionary Secretary, M. L. Laws 264 Missionaries 385 Monroe, James 4 Money Expended - 386-388 Morrill, D. T 153 Murphy, D. R 160-162 Murphy, J. D 160-162,376-383 Mt. Nebo Church, 1849 S4 Mt. Pleasant Association, Disaffection 169 N Napoleon 3 Natural Law in Spiritual Life 273 New Madrid Settlement 10 New Era, A 304 New State Convention 124 New State Convention, Committee on ... 65, 126 Neal, Judge, Gift 245 New Hope Church Fund 253 Oath of Loyalty 125 Opposition to Organization 48-49 J ndcx. Painter, W. R 305 Palmvra, Meeting at (1S61;) 124 Pajne, A. W 311 Parent Society- (?) 73 Patrick, W.J 279, 241 Patrick, W. J., Jubilee Address 197 Patrick, \V. J 309 Personnel of Original Meeting . 46 Peyton. Anna B., Fund 252 Pattee I'ark Church 285 Peck, J. M 27 Pitts, Y. R 150 Pittman. N. R 285,289 Plan of Original Constitution . .44-45 Periodicals, Committees on 297-299 Population of Missouri in 1834 28-29 Post Jubilee Period . 210 Press, The 292-295 Preachers and Politics ... 21 1-213 Presbyterians and Religious Liberty 21 R Rafferty, A. C 217 Rambaut, Dr. Thomas 150 Ratification of First Amendment of U. S. Constitution. .19-20 Reid, James 13, 220 Redding, Felix 104 Rehoboth, Disturbance at 119 Report of Board, 1879 . I73-I75 Report of Finances, 1879 . 175 Report of Committee on Work of Board, 1879 . . 176 Report of Board, 1877 163 Report of Board, 1S78 163-164 Report of Committee on War Circular 120 Report of Committee on Constitution of 1865 124 Removal of Board to St. Louis . . 153 Resolutions on New Constitution 174 Resolutions Approving \'indication . 181 Rhoades, R. M 304 Roanoke, Meeting at . .... 1 23 Robinson, [no. M 198. 178, 241 2b ' 402 I?2dex. Rogers, Rev. Ebenezer 31 Rogers, A. E 289 Rothwell, Dr. W. R 149 Ridgelj, Rev. P. R 68 Richland Church, Meeting at 69 Riggs, Milford ' 290 s Sawyer, E. H 172 Sanitarium, Baptist 284 Scott, Rev. Kemp 64 Second Decade of Progress 76 Second Meeting 44 Sebree, Urial 82 Secretaries, Recording 377-380 Secretaries, Corresponding 382-384 Sebree, John 82 Sedalia, Meeting at 155 Senter, Wm. M 109 Sample, Mrs. R. B. 361 Semicentennial 185 Sermon, Introductory 39^-392 Skillman, Dr 288 Simmons, W. A 290 Sherwood, Dr. Adiel 146, 2oq Sherwood, Hon. Thos 205 Smith, N. J., S. S. Secretary 265 Southwest Baptist College. 356 Southern Baptist Convention 79, 317-320 Springfield 288 Squatter's Sovereignty 112 Stephens, T. P 47, 104 Stephens, Jas. L . . . 353 Stephens, E. W 150 Stephens College 352 Sunday School Work 255, 261 Sunday School, Committee on, 1859 261 Sunday School, Committee on, 1865 261 Sunday School, G. W. Hyde's Report, 1866 261 Sunday School, G. W. Rogers' Report, 1867 262 Sunday School Convention Organized, 1868 262 Sunday School Auxiliary Convention 263 Sunday School Board of General Association 264 I mi ex. fo;^ Sundav School Missionary Secretary 264 Sunday School Missionary -64 St. Charles, Settlement of 10 St. Joseph 285 St. Genevieve 10 St. Louis, Third Church 284 St. Louis, Meeting 1870 ' I47 St. Louis Missions 283 Suggett, Rev. James 65 Summary of First Decade 75 Suniniar\-, .\ Convenient 374 Tables of Finance (1875) 156-157 raylor, S. F 328,353 Taylor, B. T 153 Taylor, W. C. ... • 282 Teasdale, John 283 Thomas, R. S 35-37 Thomas, Dr. W. H 141 The Record 306 The Central Baptist 307 Trimble, G. W 152 Trials and Triumphs 97 Truex, CM 290 Truex, H. E 290 Treasurer's Report, 1878 163-164 Tutt, B. G., Response to Address of Welcome 190 Tutt, B. G .183 Treasurers 384-385 Turner, R. F 285 lutt, B. G.. 328 u Union Hill, Meeting at 94 Unitication ,314, 321, 327 V N'indication, A iSi Vardeman, J. B 38, 195 N'^ardeman, Rev. Jeremiah 3'l-36 Virginia Baptists, and First .\mendment to United States Constitution 18-20 404 Index. W Wallace, H. C 191 Walnut Grove Church, Boone 80 Washington, President and Baptists 18-20 War Circular 120 War, Civil iii War, Kansas 111-113 Watchman Fund. 85 Welch, J. E 27 West, T. L,, Corresponding Secretary 219 Whiting, Chas 141 Wilhite, Rev. Fielding 31, 67 Wilhite, Stephen 59 Wilhite, R. S 59 Wilhite, Hon. W. R 59»i7o Williite, J. Sampson.. 59 Western Recorder 296 Western Watchman 300-302 Word and Way. 313 Wheeler, Mrs. G. B 367 Will Will Will Will Will Will Will Will iam Jewell College 81, 89, 335 iam Jewell College Charter 336-^338 iams, Mrs. Mildred 3^-41-43 iams. Prof. W. H 42 iams. Dr. W. Harrison 43, 194, 309 iams, Dr. A. P 70, 143 iams' Resolution on Corresponding Secretary 239 iams, Mrs. Dr. W. H 310 Woods, Rev. Anderson -Si, 57, 60, 237 Woods, Adam C 252 Woods, Adam C, Fund 251 Wornall, Hon. J. B 151 Wornall, Mrs. J. B 365 Wornall Hall 152 Woman's Work . . . 357 Wright, Leland 73, 227 Wright, Wm 50 Yancy, A. K 268 Young, Miss Emma 363 1 1012 00035 506" \ \\ !^