l\e,v, Robert H«3l\1 Ktorrison 
 
 1*1 iU 
 
 CB 
 
 r> V 
 
Cfte Liftrarp 
 
 of tye 
 
 nitoersitp of JQortft Carolina 
 
 Collection ot jRortS Catoliniana 
 M882.rvi 
 
 This book must not 
 be taken from the 
 Library building. 
 
I 
 
 MEMORIAL SKETCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 Rev. Robert Hall Morrison, D. D. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. A. W. MIULvKR, D. D. 
 
 AND 
 
 GEN. O. H. HIIvIv. 
 
 CHARLOTTE, N. C. 
 
 Hirst Printing Company, 212 E. Trade Street 
 i88q 
 
IN MEMORIAM 
 
 The REV. ROBERT HALL MORRISON, D.D. 
 
 Born in Rocky River Congregation, Cabarrus County, North Caro- 
 lina. September 8, 1798. 
 
 Died in Lincoln County, North Carolina, May 13, 1889, in the 
 Ninety-First year of his age. 
 
 The Southern Church mingles its sympathtes with the Pres- 
 bytery of Mecklenburgh, in the death of its oldest Minister, this 
 venerated man of God. 
 
 Society suffers in the removal of one of its strongest sup- 
 ports and truest ornaments. The Church, bereft of one of its 
 brightest crowns, mourns over an aching void; a void that can 
 never be filled. An extraordinary character has vacated an extra- 
 ordinary sphere of usefulness and honor. A bright star whom 
 we have seen shining at Christ's right hand here below, is now 
 shining with surpassing splendor with Christ above. 
 
 Descended from a sterling Scotch- Irish Presbyterian ancestry, 
 he inherited those marked and noble qualities of mind and heart, 
 which, hallowed by grace, made him an honour to the age and a 
 blessing to the world. Early called by the Saviour, in the morn- 
 ing of life, he obeyed the voice of the gracious Shepherd, and 
 followed him faithfully to its close. Communion with God, med- 
 itation upon the glory of Christ, the study of the Scriptures, — 
 v^ which he read through four times each year, with commentaries, 
 <3 dwelling upon their preciousness and power — the perusal of 
 O 
 
devotional works, were his chief delight. Literary tastes were 
 sanctified, and mind and heart found their highest satisfaction 
 and enjoyment in the green pastures of Divine Truth and beside 
 the still waters of Divine consolation. 
 
 The grand doctrines of grace, embodied in the Calvinistick 
 system of faith, entered into and moulded his christian experi- 
 ence and made him humble and prayerful, cheerful and strong, 
 decided but liberal, active and zealous, steadfast, immovable, 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that his 
 labor was not in vain in the Lord. In his latter years all of his 
 income — alter providing for physical wants — was devoted to the 
 Gospel, not restricting himself to his own, but assisting all 
 denominations of Christians. He left a legacy to the American 
 Bible Society, having made all his children life-members, and 
 was himself a life-director. His works do follow him and will 
 continue to follow him forever ! Christians of every name were 
 received into his confidence and love, but none were left una- 
 ware that the venerable Patriarchal and Apostolick Presbyterian 
 Church, "the Mother of us all," was the home of his heart and 
 his chief joy. 
 
 Dr. Morrison was graduated at the University of North Caro- 
 lina, in 1818; dividing the honours of his class with President 
 Polk, also of Presbyterian lineage, and from that Presbyterian 
 section of the State which gave to the world the first Declaration 
 of American Independence, May 20, 1775. Dr. Morrison was 
 ordained by Concord Presbytery in 1820, his first charge being 
 Providence church in Mecklenburg county. He was soon called, 
 thence, to Fayetteyille. During his pastorate there, he was, on 
 the 27th of April, 1824, at Vesuvius Furnace, Lincoln county, 
 N. C, united in marriage with a lady of a renowned family, Miss 
 Mary Graham, sister of Gov. William A. Graham, and daughter 
 of Gen. Joseph Graham, of illustrious Revolutionary fame, — 
 a devout Christian, and for the last 10 or 12 years of his life, 
 Ruling Elder in Unity Church, Lincoln County. 
 
 Dr. Morrison remained in Fayetteville from 1822 to 1827, 
 then accepted a call to the venerable Sugar Creek Church, three 
 miles from Charlotte; in which historick town, the birthplace 
 of American Independence, a Presbyterian church was organized 
 by him, their membership having been, previously, in the mother 
 church, Sugar Creek, To these churches he ministered most 
 acceptably. His scholarly attainments, his chaste and elegant 
 
diction, his dignified mien, his impressive delivery, his heart on 
 fire with the love of Christ and the love of souls, captivated his 
 hearers and made his ministry a ministry of power. His was no 
 non-committal, politick, trimming disposition, courting or valu- 
 ing popular favour, winking at, if not approving of fashionable 
 folly and iniquity. He fearlessly denounced worldly conformity 
 in the Church. Christ's name was o?i his forehead, seen and 
 read by all. He followed the Lamb whithersoever he went, bear- 
 ing his cross, following Him through evil as well as good report, 
 regardless of the buzz of dissent, or the clamor of opposition. 
 His was no half way offering of himself, but full and entire, upon 
 the altar of God, and with an ardor that never cooled, and a zeal 
 that never wavered, he continued a faithtul, uncompromising 
 witness to the truth, whether men would hear, or whether they 
 would forbear, even to the end. David's description of a citizen 
 of Zion was applicable to him: "In whose eyes a vile person is 
 contemned, but he honoureth them that fear the Lord." "Do 
 not I hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee? and am not I grieved 
 with those that rise up against Thee ? I hate them with perfect 
 hatred: I count them mine enemies." 
 
 Deeply impressed by the fact that very few candidates for the 
 Ministry came from the State University and other secular insti- 
 tutions, and realizing the necessity of a Presbyterian college 
 as a nursery for the Church and its Ministers, Dr. Morrison 
 brought before Concord presbytery, on the 12th of March, 1835, 
 at Prospect Church, Rowan County, a resolution for the estab- 
 lishment within its bounds, of a Presbyterian College, where Pres- 
 byterian doctrines should be faithfully taught and expounded. 
 The resolution was adopted and Drs. Morrison and Sparrow were 
 appointed Financial Agents. They succeeded in raising funds 
 sufficient to start the College on the first of March, 1837. The 
 three Presbyteries in charge of it, Concord, Morganton and 
 Bethel, elected Dr. Morrison the first President of Davidson Col- 
 lege. The $30,000 thus raised was supplemented in 1855 by a 
 princely donation from Mr. Maxwell Chambers, of Salisbury, N. 
 C. Dr. Morrison appeared before the Legislature, and, with 
 difficulty, procured a charter, with a limit of $200,000, which 
 was not the whole of Mr. Chambers's donation. 
 
 Davidson College, thus brought into being, has risen to emi- 
 nence among the institutions of America. Its high standard 
 commands the respect of the whole country, North and South. 
 
whilst the moral influences which surround and govern it, are 
 equalled by few, surpassed by none. A high-toned Faculty and 
 high-toned students are regarded with admiration throughout 
 the land. The Bible forms a part of the College curriculum; 
 and the God of the Bible has set His sacred Imprimatur upon 
 this consecrated Institution. The divine spirit, the Fountain of 
 Truth, energizes, with signal force "the lively oracles" here dis- 
 pensed. His vital breath renders fruitful and fragrant this cher- 
 ished Garden of the Lord. During the 52 years of its existence, 
 it has given to the Church 200 Ministers of the Gospel ! Who 
 is able to compute the sum total of blessing accruing to the 
 world from this one source alone ! Who is able to measure its 
 influence for good through all coming time ! And who is able 
 to estimate the indebtedness of Society, the State, and the 
 Church, to its noble Founder ! Davidson College is his monu- 
 ment! A monument more lasting, and grander far, than stone 
 or brass! A monument perennial, enduring through all ages, — 
 all ages of Time and the endless ages of Eternity! Generations 
 yet unborn will rise up and bless the honoured name of Dr. 
 Robert Hall Morrison ! 
 
 Failing health led Dr. Morrison to resign this most important 
 trust, the Presidency of the College, and he retired to his farm in 
 Lincoln county. His delightful home, the home of culture and 
 refinement, of joy and happiness, was proverbial for an overflow- 
 ing hospitality, which was dispensed from a full heart with a free 
 hand. 
 
 His labours in the Gospel-Ministry knew no intermission, but 
 were continued at Unity, Castanea, and Machpelah churches. 
 During the long Ministerial term of 65 years, it mattered not 
 what the weather was, he was never known to fail to meet an 
 appointment. In recounting his mer % ies, he stated the remark- 
 able fact, that, though not strong, physically, he was never con- 
 fined to bed three consecutive days in his long life, until about 
 ten days before the end came. He was constantly expressing his 
 gratude for his eyesight being spared, enabling him to read con- 
 tinually, until two weeks before his death. When debarred this 
 privillege by much suffering, he declined being read to, saying: 
 "Fortunately my mind is stored with very precious promises, 
 and I find many of the hymns very sweet pravers." 
 
 When the war broke out, Dr. Morrison, though, on prin- 
 ciple a strong Union man, cast in his lot with his people, and 
 
espoused the cause of the Confederacy with all his heart and 
 soul. Three gallant sons, old enough for the service, and five 
 sons-in-law, were officers in the Confederate army. Notably 
 among the latter, was the p ;erless Gen. (Stonewall) Jackson, the 
 splendour of whose military renown was even surpassed by the 
 lustre of his piety, and the crowning character in the constel- 
 lation of excellencies that illumined his name and invested it 
 with a halo of glory, was that of the fearless, devoted Man of 
 God. His piety was the basis of his greatness, the true secret of 
 his military success. He was the Joshua of modern history. An 
 assemblage of similar qualities rendered both illustrious and 
 immortal. Both were raised up by Providence to illustrate the 
 elevating power of religion. In both, the sentiment of duty 
 was paramount to every other. Both were characterized by 
 supreme devotion to God. And both, God "set on high," 
 because they "knew," and honored "His Name": "On high," 
 on a conspicuous eminence before men, the objects of a world's 
 veneration and love; and, now, again, "On high," among Prin- 
 cipalities and Powers, the noblest Chieftains in the Kingdom of 
 Glory ! 
 
 The youngest son of Dr. Morrison. Alfred, the Benjamin of 
 the family, a gifted youth, on whom the mantle of his honoured 
 Father seemed likely to fall, and rest, being called of God into 
 the Ministry of Jesus Christ, proclaimed the glorious Gospel 
 with a lervour, and a power, and a success, that seemed but an 
 earnest of still greater blessings to the Church from a long life of 
 devotion to his holy calling. Alas, the vanity of human hopes 
 and expectations! The youthful soldier was soon, how soon! 
 remanded from the field of battle, and called to wear his crown! 
 And he who pens this tribute, in sadness and sorrow performed 
 the funeral rites and committed his body to the tomb. 
 
 We, with our contracted vision, are unable to comprehend, 
 and greatly wonder at, the mysterious Providence that cut short 
 a career so full of promise, and are greatly saddened by it. But 
 let us remember, that that career is not ended. It was not the 
 meteor's flash, illuminating for a moment its pathway in the 
 heavens, and then expiring in darkness, leaving not a trace of its 
 former light and splendour. No! he set, "as sets the Morning 
 Star, which goes not down beneath the darkened West, nor 
 hides obscured behind the tempests of the sky, but melts away 
 into the light of heaven! " And now he knows, and will forever 
 
know, even as he is known. No dim or hazy atmosphere 
 obscures the firmament of Glory. He admires and adores the 
 deep, deep Providence which stumbles us. Like the pillar of 
 cloud and fire, though it be dark on our side, yet on his side it is 
 full of light. There is no night there. He has entered that 
 Temple which the Glory of God doth lighten, and the Lamb is 
 the light thereof ! He has joined the company before the Throne. 
 And the blest occupation of Earth is still the blest occupation of 
 Heaven, — preaching the glorious Gospel of the Son of God! 
 Father and Son, now forever associated, together making known 
 ''the unsearchable riches of Christ'' to the grandest assembly of 
 the Universe, to Angels and Archangels, to Cherubim and Sera- 
 phim, who learn ^from the Church the manifold wisdom of 
 God," — proclaiming to the admiring, adoring Principalities of 
 Heaven, the fathomless wonders of Redeeming Love, the unut- 
 terably glorious triumphs of Amazing Grace! 
 
 " 'Worthy the Lamb that died,' they cry. 
 'To be exalted thus' ! 
 'Worthy the Lamb,' our lips reply, 
 'For he was slain for us ! " 
 
 The burden of this, and other afflictions, — having been, pre- 
 viously, bereft of a beloved wife and devoted children, — pressed 
 heavily upon Dr. Morrison. It pleased his Heavenly Father to 
 perfect him, even as Christ, the Captain of our salvation, was 
 made perfect, through much suffering. But throughout the 
 long-protracted discipline of trial, he murnured not, but meekly 
 drank the cup that was given him to drink , in the spirit of Him 
 who said: "Thy will, not mine, be done." And under the cul- 
 ture of sanctified affliction, his Christian character visibly mel- 
 lowed and ripened fully into fitness for Heaven. Though con- 
 fined to his home by the infirmities of age, he was always work- 
 ing for the Master, in distributing Bibles, good books and papers, 
 and writing to many on the importance of preparation for 
 Heaven. His conversation was more of heaven than earth He 
 wrote to each of his absent children almost weekly, and the close 
 of every letter was almost a sermon. His last letter to a beloved 
 daughter ends thus: "I have been deeply impressed by the 
 number of sudden deaths we have had. God seems to remind 
 us often of the frail tenure by which we hold to the things of 
 time and the privileges of the Gospel. In such an hour as we 
 think not the messenger comes! The main thing is to have our 
 
lamps burning, prepared for the coming- of the Bridegroom. 
 The more we lay up treasures on high, the less, I presume, we 
 will fear the loss of things below. Among the most solemn 
 impressions, is the fact, that all privileges enjoyed here, will soon 
 be forever gone, and we have no power to recall them! Let us 
 strive for that Kingdom which knows no sorrow, no changes, no 
 death." He delighted in the society of Ministers, and loved to 
 encourage his young brethren to persevere in their glorious 
 work for the Master. To a young Minister he said, recently, 
 with great animation: "O, my dear young brother, if I had ten 
 thousand lives to live, I would give them all to the Gospel!" 
 The graces of the Holy Spirit so abounded in his life as to ren- 
 der his old age very peaceful and beautiful, through much bodily 
 suffering. The habit of secret prayer became so unceasing, his 
 family often feared to enter his room, he was so constantly on his 
 knees. He would admonish all not to faint in prayer, and with 
 great humility would ask all to pray for him. When alone he 
 prayed much aloud, and the burden of his prayer was, that all 
 his descendants might be saved, children and grandchildren and 
 great grandchildren gathered all, an unbroken family, into the 
 Heavenly Kingdom. 
 
 In broken, utterances under great bodily suffering, he gave 
 his 
 
 DYING TESTIMONY: 
 
 ''While I can I wish to bear my dying testimony to the power 
 and the blessedness of the Gospel, and to the preciousness of 
 the dear Saviour. In our hours of ease, precious; in hours of 
 trial and distress, a thousand times more precious. I cannot 
 express in words freely, what I mean. O the sweet wonders of 
 the Cross ! ' ' Marked tokens of the Divine favour were accorded 
 to the dying saint, as cordials to sustain his fainting spirit. And 
 amid the gentle ministries of filial love, and the kind offices of 
 filial devotion, untiring, unfaltering, that ceased not, day nor 
 night, — " ministering angels," — relieving the tedium of the sick 
 chamber, soothing the couch of suffering, and mitigating, as far 
 as possible, the pains of dissolution, he sweetly fell asleep. 
 
 He has left to his descendants the rich legacy of an honoured 
 name, a holy life, an elevated christian character, and many fer- 
 vent prayers which have been, and are yet to be, answered in 
 blessings on their heads, — a legacy infinitely more precious than 
 
8 
 
 all the diadems and treasures of earth. May they all, to the 
 latest generation, secure, by faith, the priceless inheritance ! 
 
 He has gone to see the KING in all His beauty, to gaze 
 upon that Sacred Brow that for us was crowned with thorns, and 
 to lean his head with adoring confidence and unutterable joy 
 upon his Saviour's loving bosom. 
 
 " Soldier of Christ 1 well done ! 
 Praise be thy blest employ, 
 And while eternal ages run, 
 Rest in thy Saviour's joy ! '' 
 
 " Who, who would live alway, away from his God, 
 Away from yon Heaven, that blissful abode, 
 Where the rivers of pleasure flow o'er the bright plains, 
 And the noontide of Glory eternally reigns ! 
 
 Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet, 
 Their Saviour and brethren transported to greet ; 
 While the Anthems of Rapture unceasingly roll. 
 And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul ! " 
 
 A. W. Miller. 
 
 
Obituary of a Venerable and Most Useful Minister 
 
 of the Gospel. 
 
 [From the St. Louis Presbyterian.] 
 
 Rev. R. H. Morrison, D D., was born in Rocky River Con- 
 gregation, Cabarrus County, N. C, on the 8th of September, 
 1798, and died in Lincoln County, N. C , on the 13th of May, 
 1889. 
 
 He belonged to that long line of godly Presbyterians of the 
 same name, who have given to the Church so many ministers of 
 the gospel, elders, deacons, elect ladies, and mothers in Israel. 
 The centre of the clan (if it may be so called) was and is in 
 Rocky River Congregation. In whatever part of the United 
 States you may meet a Rocky River Morrison, you will almost 
 certainly find a devout and an intelligent Presbyterian. They 
 are all distinguished for plain, practical sense. 
 
 Dr. Morrison had a peculiar affection for one of his kinsmen, 
 and the two kept up a constant correspondence for over forty 
 years. This kinsman was Rev. James Morrison, who married 
 and settled near Brovvnsburg, Rockbridge county, Virginia. 
 Rev. R. L. Dabney, D.D., of the University of Texas, and Rev. 
 B. M. Smith, D.D., of Union Seminary, Virginia, married 
 daughters of Mr. James Morrison. Few mentin this or in any 
 other age have been so blessed in work for the Master as was 
 Mr. James Morrison. He had charge of the large congregation 
 of New Providence Church in Rockbridge county and of a fine 
 Academy for girls at his own house, and in both church and 
 Academy he won many over to the service of the Redeemer 
 Besides, he had the rearing of his brothers-in-law, the young 
 Browns — all of whom became noble and exemplary men, and 
 five of them honored and useful pastors of strong congregations. 
 
 The subject of our sketch, Dr. Morrison, was graduated at 
 the University of North Carolina in 1818. There he was a class- 
 mate of, and divided the honors with, James K. Polk, afterwards 
 
IO 
 
 nth President of the United States. Both Polk and Morrison 
 were of Presbyterian lineage and from that Presbyterian section 
 of the State which proclaimed itself independent of Great Britain 
 on the 20th of May, 1775, and which the British designated as 
 the "Hornets' Nest of the Rebellion." 
 
 Dr. Morrison was ordained by Concord Presbytery in 1820, and 
 his first charge was Providence Church in Mecklenburg county, 
 N. C. He did not long remain in that congregation, but was 
 called to Fayetteville, N. C. While pastor of the Presbyterian 
 church in that place, he was married on the 27th of April, 1824, 
 at Vesuvius Furnance, Lincoln county, N. C, to Miss Mary 
 Graham, daughter of Gen. Joseph Graham, and sister of Gov- 
 ernor Wm. A. Graham, Secretary of the Navy under Mr. Fill- 
 more and candidate for the Vice-Presidency on the same ticket 
 with Gen. Scott ior President. 
 
 Gen. Graham was a Major of Cavalry during the war of the 
 Revolution and noted as a daring and enterprising Cavalry leader. 
 In an engagement near Charlotte, N. C , he was left for dead 
 on the field with six sabre and three bullet wounds in his body. 
 
 In 1814 the Major of the Revolution was made a Major 
 General, and sent with his division to co-operate with Gen. 
 Jackson in the Creek war. 
 
 Descended from pious ancestry, Gen. Graham was a devout 
 Christian from early youth till his. death in his 77th year. For 
 the last ten or twelve years of his life he was an elder in Unity 
 Church in Lincoln County. 
 
 Dr. Morrison remained in Fayetteville from 1822 to 1827. 
 Then he received and accepted a joint call from the Church at 
 Charlotte and the Church at Sugar Creek, three miles from 
 Charlotte. His mind had been exercised for some time upon 
 the fact that the State University and other secular institutions 
 were doing but little towards furnishing candidates for the min- 
 istry. He believed that this work had to be done by denomina- 
 tional colleges. Accordingly, on the 12th of March, 1835, at 
 Prospect Church in Rowan county, where Concord Presbytery 
 was then sitting, he brought forward a resolution for the estab- 
 lishment, within its bounds, of a Presbyterian College in which 
 the distinctive doctrines of our Church should be taught and 
 explained. Strong, pure Presbyterianism was to take the place 
 of the diluted Christianity which usually prevails in public insti- 
 tutions, and for the simple reason that public teachers are afraid 
 
II 
 
 to impart any distinctive doctrine, lest it give offence to some of 
 the pupils. I was once shown, by Dr. Morrison, the resolution 
 which he introduced into the Concord Presbytery. It was in his 
 own handwriting and was indorsed in the same hand. At the 
 same time he gave me the reasons which led to his offering the 
 resolution, and which he presented to the Presbytery.* 
 
 The vote on the adoption of the resolution was, I think, 
 unanimous. Dr. Morrison and Rev. P. J. Sparrow were 
 appointed Financial Agents of the College and succeeded in rais- 
 ing funds sufficient to start the College on the ist of March, 
 1837 The three Presbyteries then in charge of Davidson, 
 Concord, Morganton and Bethel, elected Dr. Morrison the first 
 President. 
 
 It was then the day of comparatively small things. The 
 $30,00 raised by Drs. Morrison and Sparrow, was suplemented 
 in 1855 by a donation from Mr. Maxwell Chambers, of Salisbury, 
 from which the College received $200,000 — not all that he gave 
 — a part being lost to the College through the limit to its char- 
 ter. This charter was procured by Dr. Morrison in 1838, when 
 he appeared before the Legislature and with difficulty procured 
 it with a limit of $200,000. There was then a strong prejudice 
 against denominational institutions. 
 
 Had Dr. Morrison accomplished nothing else in life than 
 found Davidson College, he wouM have left behind him an 
 enduring monument and w r ould have been justly considered a 
 benefactor of mankind. He was not disappointed in the num- 
 ber of preachers turned out by Davidson College. In the first 
 fifty years of its existence, it sent forth 193 ministers of the 
 Gospel — a greater number than the University of North Carolina 
 in an hundred years. The University of Georgia in eighty years, 
 has given but 137 ot its 2,003 graduates to the Church. Out of 
 659 graduates from the University of Alabama, only thirtv have 
 become clergymen. All College statistics prove that the Church 
 of Christ must look to its denominatioal Colleges, for its pulpit 
 supply. 
 
 *Davidson College has now one of the largest and most expensive buildings at the 
 South. It has a fair philosophical and chemical appar tus, and quite a number of 
 v iluable books belonging to the College and Societies. There are seven Professors 
 and one Tutor in the College Faculty. The tone is h gh among Faculty and students. 
 The Bible is a part of the College curriculum. There is no hybrid, spavined Christi- 
 anity t.iught there. Surely the dream of the first President has been glorionsly 
 fulfilled. In the first fifty years of its existence, Davidson sent out 193 preachers. 
 In the last two vears it has sent out seven more : 200 in all. 
 
12 
 
 When Dr. Morrison was at Davidson College, a great and 
 ever-widening field of usefulness seemed to be opening up before 
 him. He was only about forty years old. His Alma Mater had 
 conferred upon him the degree of D. D.. an honor then seldom 
 given. His talents and eloquenee had made him widely known 
 in the South. His commanding person, his easy flow of pure 
 and elegant English, his earnest and impassioned delivery, his 
 logical gifts and attainments, his heart all aglow with love for 
 the Savior and the world the Savior came to redeem — these 
 thrilled his congregations everywhere and made him the popular 
 preacher of the State. But all this was changed, as it were in a 
 moment. The loss of two lovely little daughters at the College 
 with only a few days' interval between their deaths, and a severe 
 attack of bronchitis crushed his energies and for a time filled 
 him with melancholy. With the consent of the Trustees, he 
 abandoned his post of duty for a time and went on to Philadel- 
 phia and put himself for treatment under the care of Dr. 
 McClellan (father of the famous Union General.) Finding that 
 his health had not improved, he resigned in 1840 and settled on 
 his farm in Lincoln county, and seldom left it, even for a few 
 days for nearly a half century. He preached then regularly for 
 more than thirty years, sometimes at Unity, sometimes at Cas- 
 tanea and sometimes at Machpelah (the burying ground of the 
 Grahams and Brevards). These churches were on the circum- 
 ference of a circle of whicii his house was the centre. 
 
 Dr. Morrison was an old-time Whig, and an ardent Union 
 man. Nevertheless, he cast in his lot with his people with all his 
 heart and soul. His three sons old enough to be in the war, 
 acquitted themselves most nobly. Major Win. Morrison was 
 one of the most efficient staff officers in the service. Capt J. G. 
 Morrison was Aid to Gen Stonewall Jac son, was with him 
 when he was wounded, and at great risk succeeded in removing 
 him to a place of safety. Capt. Joe was wounded three or four 
 times and lost a foot in the service. Capt. Robert Morrison 
 was aid to Gen. D H. Hill, and was as efficient as it was possi- 
 ble for mortal man to be. Tnree of Dr. Morrison's sons-in-law 
 became General officers in the Confederate service. T. J. 
 (Stonewall) Jackson, D. H. Hill and Rufus Barringer ; a fourth, 
 Colonel (now Supreme Court Judge) A. C. Avery, was Inspector 
 General of Hardee's old corps ; a fifth, Colonel John E. Brown, 
 was Colonel of the Forty-second N. C. Regiment. All these 
 
13 
 
 were officers in the Presbyterian Church. Dr. M. had impressed 
 Presbyterianism very strongly on his family. It is a curious fact 
 that three out of the five Trustees of the General Assembly are 
 his sons-in-law. 
 
 CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 Dr Morrison was a man of rare dignity of manner. His 
 presence and his look were always sufficient to rebuke unseemly 
 levity and undue familiarity. The order in his congregation was 
 always perfect, more grave and decorous even than is usual in 
 Presbyterian churches, always noted for their propriety. He 
 seemed born to command, and would have made a great mili- 
 tary leader. And yet of all men this writer ever knew, he had 
 the most of that "flowing courtesy," which Clarendon said so 
 pre-eminently distinguished John Hampden Before the war 
 had desolated our y, his elegant home was the seat of a 
 
 refined and genial ality. His was never so happy as when 
 
 entertaining his clen il brethren. His manner towards them 
 was not merely kind, it was affectionate, because he loved the 
 embassadors of his Master. To well-accredited strangers, his 
 welcome was so cordial and winning that they soon felt them- 
 selves at home. But U> tuose whose private life was known to be 
 unseemly, his demeanor was cold and forbidding, however high 
 might be their social standing or official position. Dr. Morrison 
 had in an eminent degree one of David's characteristics of a good 
 man: "In whose eyes a \ile person is contemned." With the 
 Doctor was apparently e\ er present the question which Jehu, the 
 Prophet, asked King Jehosaphat : "Shouldst thou help the 
 ungodly and love them that hate the Lord ?" The se who knew 
 Dr. M. well, can testify to his scorn and contempt for the scoffer 
 and blasphemer. Like the Psalmist, he could say: "Do I 
 not hate them that hate Thee ? and am not I grieved with tho e 
 that rise up against Thee ? I hate them with perfect hatred. I 
 count them mine enemies." An attack upon the God he revered 
 and the Savior he loved, was an attack upon him and was 
 resented as such. The mildest and gentlest men can feel 
 strongly and express themselves strongly in such circumstances. 
 We speak of the meek and lowly Jesus, and we do well so to 
 speak, but the wees and denunciations uttered by Him as 
 recorded in Mat. xxiii: show how burning his anger could be 
 when aroused. 
 
14 
 
 In promiscuous assemblages Dr. NWk* was retice.it and was 
 considered stern, but in the inner circle of his friends, he was all 
 geniality and was loved by them as tenderly as he loved them. 
 I have never known a father who was so honored, revered and 
 loved by his children. 
 
 DYING EXPERIENCE. 
 
 Dr. Morrison was greatly afflicted for the last six months of 
 his life. His suffering was otten acute and continuous, but no 
 one ever heard a word of complaint from him, a murmur of dis- 
 content or an expression of impatience. On the contrary, his 
 heart seemed to be overflowing with gratitude to God for his 
 goodness to him. He would often say: "Surely, goodness and 
 mercy have followed me all the days of my life" — this, notwith- 
 standing the fact that he had had many sore trials and bereave- 
 ments, and a great deal of bad health. With reference to his 
 bodily pain he would frequently say: ''Not my will, but thine be 
 done." A common expression with him was: " It is all right, 
 I am in good hands." 
 
 His son, Capt. Jos. Morrison, was living with his father, and 
 he and his family were there at all times to soothe and care tor 
 the sufferer. His daughter, Mrs. Jackson, was with him con- 
 tinuously for the last three months of his life, and his son, Dr. 
 Robt. Morrison, was with him a great deal. Some weeks before 
 his death, he called these two sons (the survivors of four), his 
 daughter, Mrs. Jackson, and his daughter-in-law, Mrs, Jos. 
 Morrison, and said to them: " Dr. John H. Rice on his death- 
 bed left his testimony as to his unalterable conviction of the love 
 of God and the truth of the Christian religion. I have always 
 desired to do the same thing. It is one thing, my children, to 
 feel the love of Christ in our hours of ease. But it is inexpressibly 
 dearer to feel it at such a time as this." Here his strength failed 
 him and he could say no more. But he had giv en the testimony 
 vihich he had wished for so many years that he might have the 
 privilege of giving on his death-bed and he was the happier for it. 
 
 A grateful disposition was an important element in Dr. 
 Morrison's character. He had in an eminent degree the "cheer- 
 ful heart" of which Addison speal s, t'^at "tastes the gifts of God 
 with joy." Those gifts were felt by both poet and preacher to 
 be unmerited mercies calling- for lo^ e and gratitude to the 
 "author of every good and perfect gift." So true is it that "the 
 
15 
 
 meek shall inherit the earth." He is doubly blessed in every- 
 thing; first, in the gift ot God; second, in the cheerful heart that 
 gratefully recognizes God's loving kindness in its bestowal. Dr. 
 M. did not regard the attentions and courtesies even of his own 
 children as rights that be might justly claim, but rather as favors 
 to be thankfully acknowlepged. Some of his family were prov- 
 identially hindered from being with him in his last illness. To 
 each of these he sent word that it was not her duty to try to 
 come to him But the tender ministrations of his daughter and 
 daughter-in-law (alluded to above) aroused in him the liveliest 
 emotions of gratitude. He spoke of them as his "ministering 
 angels," and often said: "God bless you," He talked often and 
 lovingly of the affection and kindness always shown him by his 
 children. No earthly theme had such a charm for him as this. 
 To his son Robert, upon whom he leaned as a physician as well 
 as a son, he was peculiarly tender, and almost his last conscious 
 words were: "Kiss me, Robert." 
 
 Gratitude constitutes no small ingredient of happiness. The 
 least self-asserting are the happiest. The wise man never said a 
 wiser thing than "with the lowly is wisdom." 
 
 Every one must have noticed in the lives of eminent saints, 
 how as they approached life's end, they clung more closely to 
 the cross of Christ, how they more and more felt the need of 
 Christ's righteousness, and how they were more disposed to 
 pour contempt upon their own good deeds. So it was literally 
 with Dr. Morrison. He had less and less confidence in the 
 flesh, and as heart and flesh failed him, he made God the 
 strength of his heart and his portion forever, and with the simple, 
 trusting faith of a child, he put himself in the hands of the 
 Divine Savior. He frequently repeated verses from the well- 
 known hymn: 
 
 "Just as I am, without one plea 
 
 But that Thy blood was shed for me." 
 
 Moses was the meekest of men, because he alone, of all man- 
 kind had seen God in his awful holiness. Job lost all his self- 
 righteousness, "abhorred himself and repented in dust and 
 ashes," when his eyes had seen the King in His glory. 
 
 In these days of fanaticism, cant and conceit, it will be well 
 to remember the dying testimony of the venerable saint, a sketch 
 of whom I have been trying to give. He had served God hon- 
 estly and earnestly for more than three-fourths of a century. 
 
i6 
 
 but he counted that service and all his "righteousness as filthy 
 rags," and placed all his hopes of pardon, peace and eternal life 
 in the blood of the Reedemer shed for him. This text was very 
 precious to him: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the 
 works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, e\en we have 
 believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of 
 Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the 
 law shall no flesh be justified." Gal. xi: 16. 
 
 
. t