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 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 ^^^^..^^^€^*^^i^-^^^^^^ 
 
 IL.
 
 BIOGUAPHICAL SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PIONEER PREACHERS 
 
 INDIANA. 
 
 MADISON EVANS, A.M. 
 
 I say the pulpit (in the sober use 
 
 Of its legitimate, peculiar pow'rs) 
 
 Must staml acknowledged, while the world shall stand, 
 
 The most important and effectual guard, 
 
 Support and ornament of Virtue's cause." 
 
 pi)ilabclpl)ia: 
 J. CHALLEN & SONS, 
 
 1308 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 1862.
 
 Eutered according to Act of Congrtss, in ihe year IStJ,, by 
 
 MADISON EVANS, 
 
 In. the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Uuited States, for the 
 Disfrici a', Indiana.
 
 r;(2,Pi 
 
 " TO THKM 
 
 THAT ARE SANCTIFIED 
 
 IN 
 
 CHRIST JESUS, 
 
 CALLED TO BE 
 
 SAINTS, 
 
 WITH ALL THAT IN EVERY PLACE CALL UPON THE 
 
 NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD, 
 
 BOTH THEIRS AND OURS," 
 
 THIS BOOK 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 ! 1 4062
 
 IL
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Aside from the ordinary motives that prompt men to write 
 books, the author has undertaken the present work as a sacred 
 duty, which some one owed to those venerable pioneers who, by 
 their labors, sacrifices, and sufferings, first promulgated in In- 
 diana, the great principles of the current Reformation. Refus- 
 ing to be called by any of the names assumed by the various 
 religious parties, they took upon themselves the name given to 
 the disciples "first in Antioch." Out of sheer devotion to the 
 truth they denied the faith of their fathers, in which they might 
 have enjoyed great popularity, and embraced a system "every- 
 where spoken against," as the advocates of which, they became- 
 in the eyes of many as "the filth of the world and the ofi'scour- 
 ing of all things." Yet loving the praise of God more than the 
 praise of men, and in nothing terrified by their adversaries, they 
 stood fast " in one spirit with one mind striving together for the 
 faith of the gospel." As they belted the trees of the forest, con- 
 verting the woodlands into fertile fields, so they deadened, at 
 least, deep-rooted errors, and deposited the good seed which has 
 already produced a glorious harvest. 
 
 It is not just that such men should be 
 
 " Thrust foully in the earth to be forgot," 
 
 nor is it meet that those upon whom their mantles have fallen — 
 or will soon fall — should be deprived of the bracing influence of 
 their example. It is, therefore, a duty to perpetuate their me- 
 mory by .setting their portraits in the record of their noble 
 deeds, "like apples of gold in a framework of silver." 
 
 (5)
 
 6 PREFACE. 
 
 The author's apolog-y for not leaving the performance of this 
 duty to some one of riper years, and more mature judgment, is 
 his fear that those better qualified would neglect in the future, 
 that which has already been neglected too long, and his convic- 
 tion that i^is better that sow*e things should be done im'perfectly 
 than that they should not he do7ie at all. 
 
 The materials for the work have been obtained, chiefly, from 
 the surviving pioneers — to whom the author acknowledges his 
 obligations — and the facts, incidents, and iu most instances the 
 dates may be confidently relied upon. That the facts have not 
 always been presented to the best advantage, and that there are 
 infelicitous expressions and imperfections of stj-le it is highly 
 probable, but it is hoped that such errors will be looked upon 
 iu the spirit of that charity which " thinketh no evil." 
 
 In the selection of those whose lives and services form the 
 subject of this volume, the author has endeavored to avoid 
 every appearance of partiality. In addition to a careful exer- 
 cise of his own judgment, he has sought and obtained the ad- 
 vice of older disciples who, in this State, have known the 
 Reformation from the beginning. If many good and useful 
 preachers have been passed by in silence, it is because they have 
 been candidly regarded as less prominent, and because there is 
 not room in one small volume for even a short history of every 
 good man. Others have been omitted, because it was impos- 
 sible to obtain a sufficiency of definite and reliable information 
 concerning them. In this class are Elders Thomas C. Johnson 
 and Joseph Fassett, whose names are "written in heaven." 
 They were men altogether lovely; and none are more worthy 
 of a place in this humble work, from which nothing but stern 
 necessity has excluded them. 
 
 The critical reader will not fail to discover much sameness 
 in many of the sketches, especially in those parts relative to the 
 conversion of the persons under the systems of religion then 
 prevailing, and the means by which they were finally brought 
 into the Reformation. It seemed impossible to avoid this with- 
 out concealing facts, or deviating from the truth ; for, in the 
 words of an acute writer, "about the same amount of groping 
 is necessary to make one's way out of an atmosphere clouded 
 with the smoke that ascends from Mystic Babylon."
 
 PREFACE. Y 
 
 In the midst of the great events that are transpiring around 
 ns, some may conclude that the incidents herein related are 
 trivial, that the stage of action is too narrow, and that the facts 
 are only 
 
 — " feats 
 Of heroes little known." 
 
 Such critics are respectfully reminded, that there is always 
 more " pomp and circumstance" in war than in religion. He 
 who chronicles the deeds of Napoleon, may interest his readers 
 with the bloody engagements of great armies, or with a shifting 
 of the campaign from the sands of Egypt to the snows of Rus- 
 sia ; but even the inspired historian, in his account of the imma- 
 culate Son of God, had to content himself with saying that he 
 "went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and 
 preaching the gospel of the kingdom." His presence at the 
 marriage in Cana; his entrance into the house of a publican; 
 his visits to the quiet home of Mary and Martha ; his conversa- 
 tion with the woman of Samaria at Jacob's well ; his entering 
 into a ship and teaching the multitude that stood on the shore ; 
 his journeyings to and fro along the shores of Gennesaret — 
 such are many of the facts out of which was composed the most 
 interesting and important of all histories. 
 
 It has generally been regarded as difficult to write the bio- 
 graphy of one who is living. Faults frankly stated are apt to 
 give offense, and praise justly bestowed is construed into flat- 
 tery. With a firm reliance upon the good sense of the surviving 
 pioneers, and at the risk of offending the critical eye, we have 
 taken the liberty to lorite of the living as though they ivere dead. 
 This course seemed the more reasonable in view of the fact that 
 one pioneer has passed away since the work was commenced, 
 and that, according to the course of nature, the others will soon 
 be beyond the reach of praise or blame. 
 
 The strictures on certain views and practices current in the 
 religious world may be deemed severe, and their author pre- 
 sumptuous. Yet they are believed to be true and just, and 
 they are therefore submitted, not vauntingly, but "with meek 
 ness and fear." The writer did not forget that some of his most 
 esteemed friends, as well as many other excellent persons, are 
 in the fellowship of those who hold and teach the errors against
 
 S PREFACE. 
 
 winch, only, the remarks in question are directed. Should they 
 render the evil apparent to " any dear friend," he will perhaps 
 renounce it with thankfulness ; if they do not, it is hoped that 
 he will pardon the weakness that vainly essayed to point out 
 that which was clearly seen. 
 
 The engraving, and the brief history of the N. "W. C. Uni- 
 versity, will not be considered inappropriate, as the Institution 
 is frequently referred to in the sketches, and as it is the ripe 
 fruit from the seed sown years ago by the venerable men whose 
 deeds and characters are the main subject of this volume. 
 
 If the book shall prolong for a single day the remembrance 
 of those holy men — if it shall inspire with fresh courage only 
 one soldier of the cross who is about to falter in the long line of 
 battle — or if it shall in any way contribute to the edification of 
 the saints, and the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, 
 the result will be altogether satisfactory to 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 v^l 
 
 'JOHN LONGLEY 11 
 
 JOHN WRIGHT 29 
 
 ABSALOM, AND JOHN T. LITTELL 42 
 
 JOSEPH HOSTETLER 57 
 
 JOHN B. NEW 75 
 
 BEVERLY YAWTER 101 
 
 JOHN P. THOMPSON 126 
 
 MICHAEL COMBS. 139 
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN 158 
 
 JOSEPH WILSON , 186 
 
 WILLIAM WILSON 247 
 
 LOYE H. JAMESON, 262 
 
 JAMES M. MATHES 277 
 
 R. T. BROWN 300 
 
 GEORGE CAMPBELL- 315 
 
 JOHN O'KANE 331 
 
 THOMAS LOCKHART 340 
 
 JACOB WRIGHT 349 
 
 B. K. SMITH 3G3 
 
 33ENJAMIN F. REEYB 374 
 
 JOSEPH W. WOLFE .' 386 
 
 THOMAS J. EDMONDSON 400 
 
 Sketch of Northwestern Christian University 414
 
 IL
 
 JOHN LONGLEY. 
 
 This most aged of Indiana's pioneer preachers is a 
 native of the Empire State, born in New York city, on 
 the 13th of June, 1'782. It will be remembered that this 
 was one year befoi'e the independence of the United States 
 was acknowledged by Great Britain, and seven y^ars be- 
 fore the first inauguration of Washington. He entered 
 upon life, therefore, in the midst of a political revolution ; 
 and he will fall as a soldier in an ecclesiastical reform 
 fraught with even greater blessings to mankind. 
 
 His grandfather, on his father's side, was a Welchman, 
 and his grandmother was a native of old England. His 
 mother's ancestors were Hollanders. Prior to his earliest 
 recollection his parents were devout Baptists. His 
 mother, especially, whose maiden name was Ann Floyd, 
 was one of " the holy women of the old time who trusted 
 in God." She assiduously strove to bring up her son 
 "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord;" and, 
 though the outlines of her dear face have well nigh faded 
 from his memory, her religious instructions are still 
 plainly written on his heart. When very young, he was 
 taught the Lord's prayer, and required to repeat it every 
 night ; and it is as true of this silver-haired father as it 
 was of the youthful Timothy, that "from a child he has 
 known the Holy Scriptures." He remembers a sample 
 of needlework wrought by his motliex', on which were the 
 following words : 
 
 "Ann Floyd is my name, 
 New York is my station ; 
 Heaven will be my dwelling-place, 
 For Christ is my salvation." 
 
 (H)
 
 12 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 This simple stanza lie treasures up in bis memory as 
 an humble little monument commemorative of her ingenu- 
 ity and faith in God. 
 
 His father, Thomas Longley, was a boot -and -shoe 
 dealer m the great metropolis. But, in the year 1790, a 
 Baptist preacher came to New York, and persuaded him 
 to sell out and emigrate to Kentucky, representing the 
 village of Washington, in Mason county, as a better loca- 
 tion for one in his business. Pei'haps the good but short- 
 sighted divine was prompted to give this advice by the 
 fact that, when he left his Western home, many of the 
 people of Mason county were bare-footed ; or he may 
 have believed that Washington was "predestinated" to 
 become a greater mart than New York. However this 
 may have been, Mr. Longley set out early in the season 
 Avith his family, consisting of his wife, four children, and 
 their grandmother, then seventy-five or eighty years of age. 
 
 In that day — 1790 — a journey from New York to the 
 West was something like a journey, now, over the plains 
 to the Golden State ; for in all the New World was to be 
 seen no track of the iron horse. But at last they reached 
 the head waters of the Ohio, and embarked, with their 
 earthly possessions, in rudely-constructed boats. Tlie 
 passage down the river was long and perilous. They 
 were once caught in a storm, in which they lost one of 
 their boats and its cargo ; and they were several times 
 fired upon by Indians from the inhospitable shore. Thus, 
 early in life, Elder Longley was " in perils of Avaters," 
 and "in perils of the wilderness." 
 
 About the middle of June, they disembarked at the 
 mouth of Limestone creek, where Maysville now stands. 
 This point was some four miles from Washington, to 
 which place they made their way, expecting to be re- 
 ceived and entertained for awhile by the preacher who 
 had induced them to exchange the blessings of civiliza-
 
 JOHNLONGLEY. 13 
 
 tion for the privations of frontier life. But, when they 
 appeared before the preacher's cabin, he informed them 
 that they could not be admitted — that they must pitch 
 their tents as others had done, and dwell therein until 
 they could erect a cabin for themselves. Finally, the 
 hospitalities of a Mr. Cox were extended to them, and 
 gladly accepted. He had a hewed-log house, with two 
 small rooms, and a good puncheon floor. In this the 
 two families lived, on terms of the closest intimacy, until 
 Mr. Longley could select a site, and erect thereon a dwell- 
 ing. Thus this pioneer family, like the Trojan hero, 
 " having been tossed about much, both on land and water, 
 suffered many things, until they could build" — not a 
 " city," but — a cabin. 
 
 The Indians, at that time, were very troublesome in 
 Kentucky; and, for a long while, property and life were 
 in perpetual danger. Father Longley is perhaps the only 
 man now living who saw the celebrated Major Simon 
 Kenton, when, Mazeppa-like, he took his famous ride on 
 an unbroken colt. The Indians had taken him prisoner, 
 and, in order to amuse the papooses, had bound him upon 
 the colt, to the tail of which they attached several cow- 
 bells. But, fortunately, the animal was one which they 
 had stolen from the whites ; and, when liberated, it fled 
 home, carrying the doomed prisoner back, very unexpect- 
 edly, into the midst of his friends. 
 
 In the community in which such scenes transpired. 
 Father Longley passed his boyhood. His educational 
 advantages were therefore very limited. He had been 
 sent to school a short time in New York, and he does not 
 remember when he was unable to read. But, after his 
 removal to the West, it was several years before an old 
 Irish schoolmaster made his appearance in the neighbor- 
 hood. In about five three-month terms of the common 
 subscription schools of the eighteenth century, he com-
 
 14 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 pleted his education ; having pretty well mastered a post- 
 diluvian arithmetic, which was the only text book in the 
 mathematical depai'tment ; and having passed several times 
 through the classical course, which comprised the old- 
 fashioned "Speller" and "Reader." 
 
 In his fourteenth year he lost his kind mother, whose 
 influence over him had ever been talismanic. In a short 
 time his father married again, and all went on smoothly 
 enough for awhile ; but, finally, the children of the first 
 mother were scattered abroad to give place to the fruits 
 of the second marriage. John went to learn the trade 
 of a tanner, being then in his eighteenth year. Unfortu- 
 nately this movement brought him under the seductive 
 influences of wicked associates. The man to whom he 
 was apprenticed was himself very passionate and profane. 
 The others about the establishment were of like character ; 
 so when he walked it was in " the counsel of the un- 
 godly," when he stood it was " in the way of sinners," 
 and when he sat it was "in the seat of the scornful." 
 Under such circumstances he soon became expert in the 
 practice of sin. 
 
 Thus things went on for a year and a half. At length 
 he was induced to reflect upon his condition, by hearing 
 the remarks of a young woman who was relating her 
 experience at a Baptist meeting. She quoted, with great 
 feeling, the first psalm, and said many things which 
 seemed to be strangely applicable to his case. By this 
 means he was led to recall the admonitions and last 
 request of his dying mother ; and to resolve that he 
 would endeavor to take the cup of salvation, and pay 
 his oft-repeated vows to the Most High. He sought 
 repentance with many tears and some doubts ; for, under 
 the unenlightened teaching of that day, he feared that 
 he had grieved the Holy Spirit, and that it had departed
 
 JOHN LONGLEY. 15 
 
 from him forever. He prayed and agonized with God for 
 many months, but could obtain no message of peace from 
 the skies ; neither could he find rest on earth because 
 of the taunts and jeers of his companions. 
 
 They concluded, one day, that John was good enough 
 to be baptized, and, with the proprietor at their head, 
 they undertook to immerse him in a filthy tan vat. He 
 resisted with all his might, but for awhile was like a 
 helpless babe in the hands of pedobaptists. Finally, 
 however, he fastened his hands in the hair of his " boss," 
 and, by vigorous pulling, made him glad to release him. 
 
 After this occurrence, he avoided their society as much 
 as possible. Having completed his day's work, he would 
 repair to the house of some of his Baptist friends, there 
 to find sympathizers, and to converse about the interests 
 of his soul. When he asked them for advice, or inquired 
 of them what he must do to be saved, they told him he 
 could do nothing but "pmy on, and wait the Lord's own 
 good time." How similar this direction to that given by 
 the apostles ! How admirably calculated to fill his heart 
 with love towards God, who, he was constrained to be- 
 lieve, was alone responsible for the delay of his pardon ! 
 
 While observing this commandment of men, he one 
 night had a fearful dream. He dreamed that his departed 
 mother came to him, carried him away through the air, 
 alighted with him upon a beautiful greensward in front 
 of a magnificent palace, took him by the hand, and led 
 him to the door, which was open. They entered ; and as 
 they passed along a large hall, he saw his Saviour, who, 
 his conductor told him, was writing for him a commission. 
 Finding themselves at the extremity of the hall, he looked 
 into illimitable space, but could see nothing. " Look a 
 little to the left," said his angelic guide. He obeyed ; 
 and lo ! he beheld the wicked in torment —
 
 16 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 "A dungeon horrible, on all sides round. 
 As one great furnace flamed : yet from those flames 
 No light, but rather darkness visible. 
 Served only to discover sights of woe." 
 
 Sixty years have passed since that night ; yet he affirms 
 that he still shudders at the recollection of that terrible 
 vision. When we remember that the religious teachings 
 of those times exposed the sinner to an awful perdition, 
 without disclosing any plain and sure way of salvation, 
 it is not surprising that " in thoughts from the visions of 
 the night, fear came upon him, and trembling, which made 
 all his bones to shake." 
 
 Receiving no encouragement from religious teachers, 
 being " plagued all the day long" by his shopmates, and 
 having tried so often to lay hold on the hope set before 
 him, which hope always eluded his gra.-p, he was almost 
 persuaded to abandon forever the path of the just. He 
 now looks back to that critical period with the feeling of 
 the Psalmist, when he said, "As for me my feet were 
 almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped." To all 
 this disquietude, to all these shafts of ridicule, to this im- 
 minent danger of giving up all aims at a holy and useful 
 life, he was exposed simply because orthodoxy had sealed 
 the lips of Peter that he might not instruct him — simply 
 because a human creed had closed the door against Ana- 
 nias, that he might not tell him that which was appointed 
 for him to do. Under the gospel of Jesus Christ three 
 thousand Jews sought and found pardon in a single day ; 
 under that gospel the persecuting Saul, whose hands were 
 red with the blood of the innocent, obtained mercy within 
 the space of three days ; and had the same gospel, in its 
 original purity and simplicity, been preached to this com- 
 paratively innocent youth, he would have arisen without 
 delay, been baptized, washed away his sins, and gone on 
 his way rejoicing.
 
 JOHN LONGLE Y. IT 
 
 But under the " other gospel" which was preached to 
 him, and which is still advocated among men, he could 
 only resolve, after a hard conflict in his mind, to persevere 
 in penitence, in tears, and in prayer. In this extremity, 
 he shut himself up in his room on Sundays, and spent the 
 hours in reading the Bible and supplicating its Author. 
 Being ignorant of the arrangement of the Scriptures and 
 the design of each part, he sought the way of life as often 
 in Leviticus as in the Acts of the Apostles. Like most 
 persons of his and our day, he delighted most in the 
 Psalms, and there he looked oftenest for the commands of 
 the Lord! One Sunday, he happened upon the twenty- 
 seventh Psalm, which greatly cheered his heart. Part of it 
 supplied him with courage to withstand the gibes of his co- 
 laborers, and part encouraged him to " wait on the Lord." 
 This scripture also met his eye, and touched his heart : 
 " Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute 
 you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my 
 sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your 
 reward in heaven." This beatitude seemed to have been 
 spoken expressly for his sake. Therefore he did rejoice 
 as he contemplated the heavenly reward, and, the wish 
 being father to the thought, he concluded that his sins 
 had at last been blotted out. 
 
 He then determined to offer himself to the Baptist 
 Church at Washington. His "experience" being satis- 
 factory, as all experiences are, he was received ; and in 
 March, 1801, was immersed in the Ohio river by William 
 Payne. 
 
 Such was his entrance into the kingdom of God. If 
 any one thinks the account of it is long and tedious, how 
 does he suppose their patience must be taxed who are 
 compelled to pass over such a circuitous route to the king- 
 dom ? If any reader of this volume be disposed to com- 
 plain of long accounts of conversion, let him thenceforth
 
 18 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 discountenance all systems of religion that subject men 
 to the necessity of having such facts connected with theii' 
 history. In the same space might have been recorded a 
 dozen such conversions as that of the " eunuch," which 
 fills only half a page of a common pocket Bible. But 
 many are not taught to be converted in that short and 
 simple way, lest -both teacher and taught should be called 
 " Campbellites." This fear is one chief obstacle in the 
 way of the gospel of the Son of God. 
 
 In May, 1804, Father Longley was married to Miss 
 Francina Hendricksou, of Fleming county, Kentucky. 
 She had been brought up a Presbyterian " after the strait- 
 est sect." She was a woman of sterling piety ; and, soon 
 after their removal to their own house, she one evening 
 placed the Bible and hymn-book upon the stand, and re- 
 quested her husband to read and pray. He complied, 
 with some trepidation, and from that day to this — over 
 fifty-seven years — he has attended to family worship, save 
 when circumstances have rendered it impracticable. The 
 fact is recorded that her example may "teach the young 
 women." 
 
 At the time of his marriage he was foreman in a tan- 
 nery at Mt. Sterling. His employer proved to be dis- 
 honest, and withheld the most of his year's salary. On 
 account of this misfortune, he returned to his father-in- 
 law's in Fleming county. There he cast in his lot with 
 the Emancipation Baptists, whose distinguishing feature, 
 the name seems to indicate, was their hostility to slavery. 
 
 About this time he began to feel that it was his duty to 
 preach, but he waited a long while for a divine call. 
 Upon this point he had a long struggle, the particulars 
 of which need not be related ; suffice it to say, that in 
 1805 he was licensed, by the Baptist Association, to 
 preach the gospel wherever God might open the way. 
 
 In the meantime a new church was organized in the
 
 JOHN LONGLEY. 19 
 
 neighborhood, the members of which desired him to be 
 regularly ordained, and to become their pastor. He hesi- 
 tated to be ordained in that connection, because he had 
 begun to call in question the doctrine of close commu- 
 nion. But upon this question the brethren agreed to 
 allow him some latitude ; and, with this understanding, 
 he was formally set apart, and duly installed as preacher 
 in charge. 
 
 It was not long, however, until his mind became un- 
 settled upon some other matters. Especially did he dis- 
 tnist the doctrine of eternal and unconditional election. 
 While this subject was under consideration, he had another 
 vision, which claims to be inserted, by virtue of its nov- 
 elty. He dreamed that he was preaching the gospel of 
 John Calvin. His words were visible, and, like so many 
 birds, went flying out-at the doors and windows, without 
 producing any effect on his hearers. He sat down per- 
 plexed, and left the audience in a state of suspense for 
 several minutes ; when he again arose, and began to 
 preach FauVs gospel — that Jesus " tasted death for every 
 man." His words then seemed sharp-pointed arrows, 
 which flew straight to the mark, and pierced the hearts of 
 those who heard him. Though it was but a vision, it 
 left an impression on his mind that was not favorable to 
 the Calvinistic theory. It helped him to realize the im- 
 portance of the subject, and warned him to " take heed 
 to his doctrine." 
 
 Not long after this he had an interview with Barton 
 W. Stone, who had come into that neighborhood to hold 
 a protracted meeting. The prejudices of Father Longley 
 were strong, but he concluded to go and hear Ekler Stone, 
 expecting, no doubt, to find him a /mr<rZ man. But, con- 
 trary to his expectations, that holy man of God stirred 
 up no strife, but drew all hearts after him by the irresisti- 
 ble power of the meek, gentle, and loving spirit that
 
 20 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 dwelt within him. " He took me out," says Father Long- 
 ley, " to hold a private conversation, and talked like a 
 father to me, advising me not to give up preaching." 
 After this interview he looked upon the Bible as he had 
 never done before ; indeed, he seemed to realize for the 
 first time that it is the Bible, the only, the all-suificient 
 chart which God has given to guide his dear children 
 from earth to heaven. 
 
 Unsettled in mind, he went to see his father, an un- 
 shaken Calvinistic Baptist, who, in their long interview, 
 labored hard to prevent him from giving up the precious 
 doctrine of predestination. Together they made a trip 
 to Ohio, during which trip he preached the truth as far as 
 he had learned it ; and it is remarkable that, as soon as 
 he began to approximate to the old gospel, he began to 
 meet with success. On this tour he baptized four per- 
 sons, who were the first fruits of his ministry. -*' ' ' 
 
 When they were about to separate, his father said to 
 him, " John, I believe it is your duty to preach ; and as 
 long as you preach Christ as you learn from the Bible, 
 you cannot be far wrong. If they will not suff'er you to 
 preach what you really learn from that blessed book, you 
 have a perfect right to go where you can enjoy this 
 privilege." 
 
 His next preaching tour was to Georgetown, Ky. 
 When about to leave home, a justice of the peace, by due 
 legal process, seized upon his horse, in order to satisfy 
 the claims of an impatient creditor. Bat a friend became 
 his surety for the return of the animal within ten days, 
 and he went on his way. At the meeting a collection 
 was raised to enable him to pay the debt. This was the 
 first money he ever received for preaching. 
 
 A short time after this, B. W. Stone and others held a 
 protracted meeting at Cabin Creek, in Lewis county. 
 This meeting Elder Longley and his father-in-law at-
 
 JOHN LONGLEY. 21 
 
 tended. On Sunday morning, Elder Stone informed him 
 that he (Longley) was to preach that forenoon. No ex- 
 cuse would suffice ; so at the appointed hour he preached 
 to a large assembly, upon the words, " Behold what man- 
 ner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we 
 should be called the^ons of God." Comprehending not 
 the Lord's plan of salvation, most of the preachers of that 
 day discoursed chiefly upon the love of God, the wrath to 
 come, the untold horrors of hell, and the ineffable joys of 
 heaven. His theme, on this occasion, was the love of 
 God, with which he proceeded, on the wings of imagina- 
 tion, until he came to the crucifixion. When he had 
 finished the picture, he cried out with a loud, yet pathetic 
 voice, " Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the 
 sin of the world;" whereupon they all set up such a 
 shout that he could proceed no furthei*. This incident 
 simply illustrates the style of preaching in the olden time, 
 and goes to show that the speaker on that occasion was a 
 stirring j^reacher, possessing superior descriptive powers. 
 He could arouse the people to action, but, as yet, he 
 could not tell them what to do to be saved. 
 
 From this time he continued to preach a good deal 
 among the Christians, (called Newlights,) but he still re- 
 tained his membership among the Baptists. In the year 
 1810, he removed from Fleming to Lewis county, taking 
 with him a letter from the Baptist Church at Blue Bank 
 Run. Upon this recommendation he united with the 
 Church of Christ at Cabin Creek. This movement 
 brought him to the Bible alone, and the name Christian. 
 
 Upon this platform, and under this name, he continued 
 to preach with tolerable success, until the great union 
 effected by B. W. Stone and Alexander Campbell. Into 
 this union he entered heart and soul, and has ever since 
 been an untiring advocate of the claims of the current 
 Reformation.
 
 22 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 In the year 1813 — some twenty years prior to the 
 union above mentioned — he moved over into Adams 
 county, Ohio, and settled in a community of Shaking 
 Qualcers. He immediately began to proclaim the gospel 
 among them, and such was his success that, within a 
 single year, the Disciples bought out their " dancing- 
 house," as Elder Longley called it, and converted it into 
 a house of worship. In this house he organized a small 
 church, which increased so rapidly that in a short time it 
 numbered over one hundred and fifty members. They 
 then built an excellent stone meeting house, which still 
 stands a monument of the zeal of those early times. In 
 the providence of God, Father Longley had the pleasure, 
 not long since, of preaching in the old stone house, nearly 
 half a century after its erection. Like the earthly house 
 of his own tabernacle, it exhibited unmistakable signs of 
 decay. 
 
 After laboring a few years in Adams county, he re- 
 turned to Kentucky, advocating chiefly the claims of the 
 Bible, to the exclusion of all human creeds. 
 
 About the year 1826 he removed to Cincinnati, which 
 then contained a population of only about eight thousand. 
 "When he first saw the town, some years before, its more 
 appropriate name would have been Zoar — " a little one" 
 — and from that small beginning he has seen it expand 
 into its present magnificent proportions. To him belongs 
 the honor of having planted the first church of Christ in 
 Cincinnati ; and he has had the pleasure of witnessing a 
 growth of truth almost commensurate with that of the 
 city. He remained in that place some two or three 
 years, during which time the Bible cause prospered in his 
 hands, and his little flock increased to about sixty. In 
 the meantime he was bereft of his first companion, who 
 died at Cheviot, in the suburbs of the city, in the year 
 1826. The following is an extract from her obituary
 
 JOHN LONGLEY. 23 
 
 notice published in the October number of the Christian 
 Messenger. 
 
 "Died, August 17th, the wife of Elder John Longley, 
 Hamilton County, Ohio, after an illness of about three 
 weeks. From the very day on which she was taken sick, 
 she viewed death as certain and near, and without fear 
 talked with perfect composure about it. * * * Just be- 
 fore she breathed her last, she said, 'All is peace — the 
 victory is gained — he is a God of all grace,' and yielded 
 up her spirit to him who gave it, without a struggle." 
 Thus with prosperity in heavenly things came adversity 
 in earthly things, turning his joy into heaviness. 
 
 The next Spring after this sad event he once more re- 
 turned with his children to Kentucky. Not long after- 
 ward he was married to Agnes Hendrickson. 
 
 In the Spring of 1830 he removed to Rush county, 
 Indiana. Thirty-two years ago, therefore, he began to 
 plead in Indiana, for the principles which he had already 
 advocated for twenty-one years in Ohio and Kentucky. 
 
 In Rush county he toiled, arduously and under many dis- 
 advantages for several years. There being but few, if any, 
 churches in which he could preach, he frequently taught 
 the people from house to house ; there being no railroads 
 he travelled on horseback or on foot ; and his preaching 
 being considered heretical, he was looked upon by many 
 as "the filth of the world and the offscouring of all things." 
 As the ancient seventy, being persecuted in one city, fled 
 unto another, so he removed from place to place, not trans- 
 -gressing the bounds of his Judea, the county. 
 
 Receiving but little or nothing for his preaching, be 
 established a small dry-goods store, hoping by that means 
 to make a support for his family without giving up en- 
 tirely the work of the Lord. In this enterprise he was 
 unfortunate and well nigh became a broken merchant. 
 
 While misfortune thus overtook him in business, death
 
 24 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 entered into his dwelling and robbed him of his second 
 wife, who died in March, 1834. "Within the same year 
 he was again married, to his present wife, whose name 
 was Emily Huntington. 
 
 After his ill fortune in Rush county, he removed his 
 family and the remnant of his merchandise to Yorktown, 
 Delaware county, where he was entirely broken up in a 
 second effort to maintain his family by selling goods. His 
 heart and thoughts were engaged in the work of the min- 
 istry, and for this reason he was unsuccessful in his at- 
 tempts to "buy and sell and get gain." His failure was 
 but a verification of the Saviour's dictum, "Ye cannot serve 
 God and Mammon." The great book of remembrance 
 will doubtless reveal the fact that it has been verified many 
 thousand times by failures in the business of serving God. 
 Father Longley is one of the few comparatively who have 
 chosen to fail in things temporal rather than in things 
 eternal. 
 
 Though unsuccessful in his own affairs, the work of the 
 Lord prospered in his hands. He built up, in Delaware 
 county, a large and influential church, which still shines 
 as a light in the world, holding forth the word of life. 
 Among his co-laborers at that place, were Benjamin and 
 Daniel Franklin, who were just then entering the field in 
 which he had been reaping for thirty years. 
 
 In 1840 he removed to Noblesville, Hamilton county. 
 At that point he preached, with good results, for about 
 four years, receiving for his labor what was barely suffi- 
 cient for the support of his family. 
 
 In 1844 he went to La Fayette, where he has resided 
 ever since. For several years after his removal to that 
 city, the church there was under his pastoral care ; but for 
 the last few years he has been too infirm to perform the 
 duties of the pastoral office. Though he has almost com- 
 pleted his four scoi'e years, yet, at times, he enjoys tolera-
 
 JOHNLONGLEY. 25 
 
 ble health. At such intervals he still labors in word and 
 doctrine, resolved to spend his remaining strength in the 
 service of Him whom he has so long, so faithfully, and so 
 usefully followed. 
 
 In the course of his long and eventful career he has 
 immersed over three thousand persons, most of whom will 
 stand " about the throne" with the " ten thousand times 
 ten thousand and thousands of thousands," who, arrayed in 
 white robes and with palms in their hands, shall proclaim 
 with a loud voice, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain 
 to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
 and honor, and glory, and blessing." 
 
 Since his memorable vision of the winged words, he has 
 preached a/ree gospel, almost gratuitously. At no time, 
 perhaps, has his large family been amply provided for by 
 the churches, and now, in his feeble old age, he is very poor 
 and mainly, if not entirely, dependent upon the charities, 
 or rather the dues of the Brotherhood. It will be a burn- 
 ing shame if that Brotherhood do not prove to him a "good 
 Samaritan." 
 
 But, although he has received but little "of corruptible 
 things, as silver and gold," he has been partly rewarded 
 in beholding the glorious progress of the cause in which 
 he has suffered and toiled. Looking back as he does even 
 beyond the beginning, his view of the Reformation is like 
 Ezekiel's vision of the Holy Waters. — (Ez. xlvii. 3-5.) 
 The truth which had been hid for ages, at last burst forth, 
 like a fountain, among the hills of Western Virginia. He 
 looked upon the stream when the waters were but "to 
 the ancles;" when they were "to the knees," he saw 
 them ; when they ascended to the loins he rejoiced ; and 
 now his dim eyes behold them swollen into a mighty 
 river. Having swept away all barriers hitherto, the or- 
 thodox no longer attempt to impede its resistless flow. 
 Like the ancient rustic, they patiently wait for it to pass 
 3
 
 26 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 by; but "it flows and will continue to flow, rolling on 
 forever. "* 
 
 Having witnessed the triumphant progress of truth thus 
 far, he is content to have passed the time of his sojourning 
 in battling for principles which he is confident will ulti- 
 mately prevail. Though he has suffered much, sacrificed 
 much, labored much, and received but little, in this life, he 
 has laid up for himself, in heaven, an eternal weight of 
 glory. There he has deposited his treasure ; there are his 
 friends and kinsmen, and there will he soon be also. He 
 now tarries among us as one of a former generation, only 
 waiting, like Job, until his "change come." May the 
 God of all grace loose the " silver cord" with a tender 
 hand, and grant him an abundant entrance into "the ever- 
 lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
 
 Elder Longley was, in his palmy days, a good-looking, 
 sinewy man, of medium height and slender form. He pos- 
 sessed remarkable strength and activity, and his great age 
 attests the excellence of the physical constitution that has 
 sustained him under so many burdens. He is among the 
 best of the many noble specimens of manhood, produced 
 in the age that is past. 
 
 His intellectual powers are above mediocrity, and proper 
 cultivation would have rendered them decidedly superior. 
 Though deprived of the advantages of education, yet he 
 has been able to distinguish, for the most part, between 
 good and evil in matters pertaining to doctrine, and to 
 present with tolerable clearness the great facts of the 
 gospel. In the sharp conflicts that attended the introduc- 
 tion of primitive Christianity in Indiana, he shrank from 
 no engagement ; and as the militia officer often eclipses 
 the thorough-bred soldier, so he was more successful in. 
 
 * Labitur et labetur in omiie volubilis sevum.
 
 JOHNLONOLEY. 27 
 
 the field than many who had emerged from theological 
 seminaries. 
 
 Though never eloquent, he has been, on all occasions, a 
 ready and impressive speaker ; and now that he is so 
 venerable — so near the confines of the invisible world — 
 his tremulous voice affects his hearers almost like the voice 
 of one "sent unto them from the dead." True, it does not 
 so affect all, for many who assemble in the house of God 
 only "to hear some new thing," have long since become 
 impatient of his ministrations. He has never belonged 
 to that class of speakers who 
 
 " Fill the allotted scene, 
 With lifeless drawls, insipid and serene ;" 
 
 and he is quite as far removed from that other class — so 
 numerous in the former days — who 
 
 " Thunder every couplet o'er 
 And almost crack your ears with rant and roar." 
 
 He moves about but little in the pulpit ; his gestures are 
 few and graceful ; his delivery, calm, dignified, earnest, 
 and, at proper periods, pathetic. 
 
 In the society of his friends he is companionable, though 
 slightly inclined to sedateness. In the family circle he 
 has been indulgent to a fault. It can hardly be said that 
 he is remarkable for his administrative ability. 
 
 His sincerity in the sacred cause has never been ren- 
 dered doubtful by any aberrations from the path of the 
 just ; but, during the whole of his long pilgrimage, his 
 conduct has been, "as becometh the gospel of Christ." 
 
 Fearlessly may he look the people of his generation in 
 the face, and say, with upright Samuel, " / am old and 
 gray-headed ; and, behold, my sons are with you: and 1 
 have walked before you from my childhood unto this day:
 
 28 PIONEER PREACHERS, 
 
 WITNESS AGAINST ME BEFORE THE LORD AND BEFORE HIS 
 
 ANOINTED." 
 
 Having thus loved righteousness and hated iniquity, 
 none can doubt that, when the saints shall ascend the 
 throne, God, even his God, will anoint him with the oil 
 of gladness.
 
 vi^\^ 
 
 
 \a^ 
 
 \\40\S
 
 ..:^. 
 
 '^^ 
 
 , c>^^-*2n-
 
 JOHN WRIGHT. 
 
 i Elder John Wright was born in Rowan county, 
 'North Carolina, December 12th, 1785. His mother was 
 of German descent. His ancestors on his father's side 
 came from England in very early times, and settled on 
 the eastern shore of Maryland. From that place they 
 were scattered abroad, some making their way to the 
 Carolinas. His father was brought up among the Quakers 
 or Friends ; and, singularly enough, he turned away from 
 that fraternity, who baptized yione, to the Tunkers, who 
 practiced trine imviersion. He afterwards cast in his lot 
 with the Dependent Baptists, among whom he became a 
 preacher. 
 
 Elder Wright remained in North Carolina until he was 
 about twelve years of age. His father then removed with 
 him to Powel's Yalley, Virginia, where he grew up to 
 manhood. 
 
 The most of his education he received from an old 
 English gentleman by the name of Hodge, under whose 
 tuition he acquired a good knowledge of reading, writing, 
 and arithmetic. He received from the schools no further 
 preparation for either the business of the world or the 
 work of the ministry ; but, having obtained the key to all 
 knowledge — namely, reading — he constantly increased his 
 stock of ideas by his own unassisted efforts. He was 
 tolertibly well informed upon general subjects, and could 
 write a very respectable article, as may be seen by refer- 
 ence to the Christian Record, to which he was an occa- 
 sional contributor. 
 
 29
 
 30 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 From Yirginia the whole family emigrated to the West 
 and settled in Wayne county, Kentucky, where, on the 
 5th of January, 1803, Elder Wright was married to Miss 
 Peggy Wolfescale. She accompanied him but a short 
 distance on the journey of life, dying on the 12th of De- 
 cember, 1805, and leaving him with an infant daughter, 
 which he entrusted to the parents of its departed mother. 
 
 After this bereavement, he engaged for two years in 
 teaching school. At the expiration of this time he was 
 again joined in marriage to Miss Nancy Peleer, who, for 
 many 3^ears, proved a most excellent helpmate, ever ready, 
 with him, to make any sacrifice for the cause of Chris- 
 tianity. She also died, on the 29th of August, 1844; and 
 the following extract is from her obituary notice, written 
 by T. C. Johnson, and published in the Christian Becoi'd 
 for November of that year : 
 
 " She diligently followed every good' work. The ser- 
 vants of God were often refreshed at her house by her 
 hospitality. Saints always found her house their home ; 
 and sinners were so kindly treated by her as to endear 
 her to them all. In short, she was an aifectionate wife, a 
 tender-hearted mother, an obliging and kind neighbor, 
 and a mother in Israel, whose death is felt, not only by 
 her afflicted relatives, but also by the Church and the 
 community in which she lived." 
 
 Late in the year 1807 — which was very soon after his 
 second marriage — he removed from Kentucky to Clark's 
 grant, Indiana Territory. 
 
 In August, 1808, he and his wife were immersed in the 
 Ohio river, by William Summers, of Kentucky. He im- 
 mediately united with the Baptist Church, and in the 
 latter part of the same year he began to preach. Be it 
 observed that this was fifty-four years ago — eight years 
 previous to the admission of the Territory as a State, and 
 long before the current Reformation was heard of by the
 
 JOHN WRIGHT. 31 
 
 inhabitants of the "West. He must, therefore, have been 
 among the very first to break the stilhiess of Indiana's 
 forests with the glad tidings of salvation. 
 
 In January, 1810, he removed to Blue River, four miles 
 south of Salem, in what was then Harrison, but now 
 Washington county. There he entered a beautiful tract 
 of land; and, by much hard labor, opened an excellent 
 farm. In a short time his father moved into the same 
 neighborhood ; where, in 1810, they organized a congre- 
 gation of Dependent or Free Will Baptists. 
 
 About this time they experienced serious trouble with 
 the Indians ; and, while the energies of the nation were 
 directed against Great Britain, in the war of 1812, they 
 were compelled to protect themselves by forts from the 
 tomahawk and scalping-knife. 
 
 When peace and safety were restored, he entered again 
 with increased zeal into the work of the ministry. He 
 was assisted by his father, and a younger brother, Peter, 
 who was beginning to preach with considerable success. 
 The three Wrights exerted quite an influence in favor of 
 Christianity, and it was not long until they had organized 
 ten Baptist churches, which they formed into what was 
 called the Blue River Association. 
 
 From th^very first, John Wright was of the opinion 
 that all human creeds are heretical and schismatical. He 
 was perhaps the first man in Indiana that took his po- 
 sition on the Bible alone; and there has not come after 
 him a more persistent contender for the word of God as 
 the only sufficient guide in religious matters. He labored 
 to destroy divisions, and promote union among all the 
 children of God ; and in this difficult yet most important 
 service he made his indelible mark. Though at first he 
 tolerated the term " Baptist" — it being natural to condemn 
 ourselves last — yet he afterwards waged a war of exter- 
 mination against all party names. This war was de-
 
 32 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 clared in the year 1819, when he offered, in the church at 
 Blue River, a resolution in favor of discarding their party 
 name, and calling themselves by some name authorized 
 in the Scriptures. As individuals, he was willing that 
 they should be called " Friends," " Disciples," or " Chris- 
 tians;" and, as a body, "the Church of Christ," or "the 
 Church of God." He opposed the term "Christian," as 
 applied to the Church, because it is not so applied in the 
 writings of the apostles. 
 
 The resolution was adopted with more unanimity than 
 was expected ; and the Baptist church has since been 
 known as the Church of Christ at Blue River. Having 
 agreed, also, to lay aside, as far as possible, their specu- 
 lative opinions and contradictory theories, they presumed 
 that they wei-e prepared to plead consistently for Chris- 
 tian union, and to invite others to stand with them upon 
 the one broad and sure foundation. They then began in 
 earnest the work of reformation, and with such success that 
 by the year 1821 there was scarcely a Baptist church in 
 all that region. They all took upon them " that worthy 
 name," and converted their Association into an Annual 
 Meeting. 
 
 About this time a spirited controversy on the subject 
 of Trine Immersion, was going on among the Tunkers, 
 of whom there were some fifteen congregations in that 
 section of the country. The leading spirits in opposition 
 to that doctrine were Abram Kern of Indiana, and Peter 
 Hon of Kentucky. At first they contended against great 
 odds, but so many of their opponents came over to their 
 side that they finally gained a decisive victory in favor of 
 one immersion. 
 
 At the close of the contest, while both parties were ex- 
 hausted by the war, Elder Wright recommended to the 
 Annual Meeting that they should send a letter to the 
 Annual Conference of the Tunkers, proposing a union of
 
 JOHN WRIGHT. 33 
 
 the two bodies on the Bible alone. The letter was written, 
 and John Wright, his brother Peter, and several others, 
 were appointed as messengers to convey it to the Con- 
 ference and there advocate the measures it proposed. So 
 successful was the expedition that at the first meeting the 
 union was permanently formed, the Tunkers being per- 
 suaded to call themselves Christians. 
 
 At the same annual meeting Elder Wright proposed a 
 correspondence with the Newlights, for the purpose of 
 forming with them a more perfect union. He was ap- 
 pointed to conduct the correspondence on the part of his 
 brethren, which he did with so much ability and discretion, 
 that a joint convention was assembled near Edinburg, 
 where the union was readily formed. Only one church in 
 all the vicinity refused to enter into the coalition, and it 
 soon died of chronic sectarianism. 
 
 A few years subsequent to this, the work of Reformation 
 began to progress rapidly among the Regular Baptists of 
 the Silver Creek Association. This was, remotely, through 
 the influence of Alexander Campbell, but directly through 
 that of Absalom and J. T. Littell, and Mordecai Cole, the 
 leading spirits in that locality. Through their teaching 
 hundreds of individuals and sometimes whole churches 
 were renouncing all human creeds and coming out on the 
 Bible alone ; yet a shyness existed between them and those 
 who had previously done the same thing under the labors 
 of John Wright. The former, having held Calvinistic 
 opinions, stood aloof through fear of being called Arians; 
 while the latter feared to make any advances lest they 
 should be stigmatized as Campbellites. Thus the two par- 
 ties stood, when Elder AVright, braving the danger of 
 being denounced as a Campbellite, established a connection 
 between them by which the sentiments of each were com- 
 municated to the other. By this means it was soon 
 ascertained that they were all endeavoring to preach and
 
 34 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 practice the same tilings. The only important difference 
 between them was in regard to the design of Baptism, and 
 on this point Elder Wright yielded as soon as he was con- 
 vinced of his error. Through the influence of himself, his 
 brother Peter, Abram Kern, and others, on the part of 
 what was called the Annual Meeting of the Southern 
 District, which was composed of those who had been Bap- 
 tists, Tunkers and Newlights ; and through the efforts of 
 Mordecai Cole and the Littells, on the part of the Silver 
 Creek Association, a permanent union was formed be- 
 tween those two large and influential bodies of believers. 
 In consequence of this glorious movement, more than 
 three thousand struck hands in one day — not in person, but 
 through their legal representatives, all agreeing to stand 
 together on the one foundation and to forget all minor 
 differences in their devotion to the great interests of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom. This was, perhaps, the greatest 
 achievement of Elder Wright's long and eventful life ; and 
 he deserves to be held in everlasting remembrance for his 
 love of truth rather than of party, for his moral courage 
 in carrying out his convictions of right, and for the meek 
 and affectionate spirit which gave him such power in 
 uniting opposing sects and cementing them in love. 
 
 To the happy effects of this obliteration of party lines 
 he testified a few years afterward. In a communication 
 to the October number of the Christian Record for 1845, 
 he wrote as follows : 
 
 " Beloved brethren in the Lord : — Through the permis- 
 sion of our kind heavenly Father I have travelled through 
 many of the churches in the south part of the State, and 
 have been abundantly comforted in the society of our good 
 brethren in Christ. For many years we have seen many 
 who, like the Jews and Samaritans, had no religious deal- 
 ings : but when the gospel was preached by Peter to the 
 Jews according to his broad commission, about three
 
 JOHN WRIGHT. 35 
 
 thousand joyfully received and obeyed the truth. And 
 when Philip, the efangelist, preached to the Samaritans, 
 they 'believed and were baptized both men and women.' 
 And when the same gospel was preached to the Gentiles 
 by Peter, they also believed and obeyed from the heart 
 the same divine form of doctrine. Thus we see believer.s 
 from all the sectarian parties of that age united in one 
 body in Christ : having laid aside their former prejudices 
 and hatred, together they put on Christ according to the 
 constitution of his kingdom ; there was no longer Jew, 
 Gentile, or Samaritan as formerly, but they were now all 
 partakers of the divine nature, were all made to drink into 
 one spirit, in short they all became children of God — 
 Christians. 
 
 " So it was in Southern Indiana : formerly we had Regu- 
 lar Baptists, separate baptists, German or Dunkard Bap- 
 tists, free will Baptists, christian connexion, or Newlights. 
 These societies in some respects were like the Jews and 
 Samaritans of old ; but the old gospel was preached among 
 these warring sects with great power and success. Much 
 of the partyism that existed was removed, and most of their 
 party names were done away. * * * Formerly we all had 
 in our respective churches much that was purely human; 
 but now, in the church of God, we have no need of the 
 'mourning bench,' 'the anxious seat,' or any other in- 
 stitution of roan's device ; but in the church is the place 
 where the solemn feast of the Lord's body is celebrated, 
 and sincere worship is offered to the Father in spirit and 
 in truth." 
 
 It was not with the pen but wuth the tongue that his 
 influence was chiefly exerted. The preceding extract is, 
 perhaps, a fair specimen of his composition. The style, 
 the capitals, and the punctuation, indicate that it is a 
 genuine production of the unlettered pioneer. 
 
 At first it was prophesied that such a union could not
 
 36 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 continue. This prediction grew out of the fact that the 
 materials had been collected from many different denomi- 
 nations : — Baptists, Newlights, Tunkers, Methodists and 
 Presbyterians. But a quarter of a century has passed 
 away, and the prophecy is not yet fulfilled. On the con- 
 trary, those who were young when the union was formed, 
 have, in their old age, almost forgotten that they ever 
 were -divided. 
 
 Alas for the interests of Christ's kingdom, that race of 
 prophets is not yet extinct ! There are still those who 
 tell us that "men cannot all think alike, or belong to one 
 Church;" and who give thanks to God that there is a 
 variety of Churches, so thai all may be accommodated. 
 If, in the consequent confusion, thousands of our fellows 
 should stumble over us into skepticism, and finally into 
 destruction and perdition, it is no matter, if only we can 
 all be " accommodated !" If Christ died for all, as the 
 apostle affirms, then all can belong to one Church ; other- 
 wise he would have built two or more. The Lord, by 
 the pen of his apostle, commands " all that in every place 
 call upon the name of Jesus Christ," to " all speak the 
 same thing, and to have no divisions among them." By 
 this and every other positive commandment stands the 
 Eeforraation, firm as the lone Elijah by the worship of 
 the living God. As it fearlessly advances, sectarianism 
 .confronts it, saying, in the language of the wicked Ahab, 
 "Art thou he that trouhleth Israel?" It answers, in the 
 bold words of Elijah, " I have not troubled Israel, but 
 thou and thy father's house, in that ye have departed from 
 the commandments of the Lord.'''' All the day long, as 
 did those of old, these latter-day prophets have called 
 upon God to convert the world in tlieir way, but he has 
 been deaf to all their cries. Now, therefore, in the even- 
 ing, the advocates of reform desire to call upon him ac-
 
 JOHN WRIGHT. 37 
 
 cording to his will, confident, as was Elijah, that he will 
 hear their cry and accept their sacrifice. 
 
 Besides his eflforts to effect a union of all God's people, 
 Elder Wright did much, in his lifetime, for the cause of 
 the Redeemer. By means of his farm in Washington 
 county he was able, without much labor, to make a com- 
 fortable living; and, as he sought to lay up no treasure 
 on earth, he devoted the greater part of his time to the 
 work of the ministry. Through lack of records it is im- 
 possible to follow him from year to year, giving a detailed 
 account of his labors and successes in the gospel. Suf- 
 fice it to say, that for more than forty years he preached 
 much, and with good results, in Washington and several 
 other counties of southeastern Indiana. The people had 
 unbounded confidence in his piety and judgment, and 
 wherever he went they were to a great extent under his 
 influence. 
 
 On the death of his second wife, in 1844, he sold his 
 farm to his son Ransom, reserving one room of the house 
 for his occasional use during the remnant of his days. 
 Afterwards he spent nearly all his time among the breth- 
 ren, comforting, establishing, strengthening them. 
 
 In addition to his labors, he also sacrificed much for 
 the support of the gospel. In the good providence of 
 God, his father, step-mother, all of his brothers, sisters, 
 and children were zealous members of the Church of 
 Christ. His father and his four brothers — Peter, Levi, 
 Joshua, and Amos — were all preachers of the " repent- 
 ance and remission of sins" that began at Jerusalem. His 
 youngest son died on the 19th of November, 1843; and 
 Christianity had made bright his pathway to the tomb. 
 He therefore felt that he could never give too much in 
 support of that gospel which had given so much peace, 
 and joy, and hope to his family. Often did he borrow 
 money to defray his expenses to his appointments ; and 
 4
 
 •38 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 sometimes, through the illiberality of the brethren, he was 
 compelled to resort to the same expedient in order to get 
 home. He used to purchase wine at high rates, and 
 carry it forty or lifty miles in his saddle-bags, in order that 
 he might show forth the Lord's death with his brethren. 
 
 During the first years of his ministry, he never so much 
 as expected any remuneration for his services ; for it was 
 a prominent article in the unwritten Baptist creed that 
 the preacher should do nothing for filthy lucre. By this 
 doctrine the generosity of the brethren was so stifled that 
 it has not yet recovered the healthy action it possessed in 
 apostolic times. Money was never the object for which 
 he toiled ; but he thankfully received, with an enlightened 
 conscience, whatever was offered, believing that, as he 
 loved to contribute, every other brother, who had the 
 cause near his heart, should enjoy the same privilege. As 
 heart and flesh failed him, the liberality of the churches 
 increased ; and, after his family had all begun life for 
 themselves, or passed away to the spirit land, he received 
 for his preaching what was amply sufficient to supply all 
 his earthly wants. 
 
 He enjoyed excellent health until very near the close 
 of his pilgrimage ; and it was a saying with him that he 
 "never had a pain as long as his little finger." But, 
 though he lived many years, and rejoiced in them all, the 
 days of darkness were in reservation for liim. In the 
 spring of 1850 he was seized with acute inflammation of 
 the stomach. The disease readily yielded to medical 
 treatment, and in a short time he resumed the Master's 
 work. In the fall of the same year it returned upon him 
 in a more violent and obstinate form, and he expressed 
 the conviction that his race was almost run. 
 
 He passed the winter with his son Jacob, at Salem, 
 and by the coming of spring he had so far recovered as 
 to be able to return home to his son Ramson's. Imme-
 
 JOHN WRIGHT. 39 
 
 diately afterwards lie grew worse, and began to sink 
 rapidly. His brother in the gospel, Dr. H. T. N. Bene- 
 dict, was called in ; but he could do no more than to com- 
 ort him in his afflictions by pointing him to his eternal 
 weight of glory. 
 
 His living children were all near him except his son 
 Jacob, who was preaching at New Albany. He was 
 summoned; and when he came his father said, "My son, 
 I am just waiting for my discharge." He seemed more 
 like one preparing to start on a long journey than one 
 about to experience the agony of death. He first spoke 
 to his family relative to some pecuniary matters. These 
 being disposed of to his satisfaction, he requested Dr. 
 Benedict to write his obituary notice, and also expressed 
 bis desire that J. M. Mathes should preach his " Chris- 
 tian farewell," from Rev. xiv. 13. He observed that he 
 had lived in Washington county over forty years ; that 
 if he had in it an enemy he did not know it ; and that he 
 thought he could make one more successful appeal to the 
 citizens, through " little Jimmy," as he called Elder 
 Mathes. In a few moments he said to J. L. Martin, 
 "Brother Lem, you will see to making my little house" 
 — meaning his coffin. He then remarked that he believed 
 he was ready to go — that he did not think of any thing 
 else. Presently he said to his son Jacob : " There is one 
 thing I had forgotten. Abram Kern and I were appointed 
 as messengers to write and convey a letter to the Annual 
 Meeting of Silver Creek District. I want you to write 
 the letter, and go with Brother Kern to introduce him, 
 for he will be a stranger there." 
 
 As he approached his dissolution, he conversed more 
 and more, exhorted those present to be faithful, and re- 
 peated several passages of Scripture — among them the 
 fifth of Corinthians, commencing, " For we know that if 
 our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we
 
 40 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 have a building of God, a house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens." After taking his final leave of 
 his family and friends, he placed his hands across his 
 breast, closed his own eyes, and breathed softly and still 
 more softly until he fell into his last long sleep, without 
 the movement of a muscle, his lips remaining compressed, 
 his eyes closed, and his Jiands just as he had placed them. 
 Thus passed away from earth Elder John Wright, at eight 
 o'clock in the evening of May 2d, 1851 — aged 67 years, 
 6 months, and 26 days. 
 
 " Had the skeptic," says an eye-witness, "been privi- 
 leged to behold the triumphant exit of this man of God, 
 his skepticism would have been blown away by the dying 
 breath of this aged, this devoted servant of our Divine 
 Redeemer." 
 
 Elder Wright was a tall, square-built man, of excellent 
 constitution and great physical power. Many were the 
 giant oaks that he felled to earth by the sturdy strokes 
 of his axe. 
 
 His mental powers were as good by nature as his phy- 
 sical : the disparity in their development was a necessity 
 of the times in which he lived. He possessed an iron 
 will, tempered even to flexibility by the spirit that was in 
 Christ. 
 
 His character was a most happy combination of "what- 
 soever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, 
 whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, 
 whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of 
 good report." He was an uncompromising advocate, a 
 bold and fearless defender of the truth ; yet he usually 
 employed the "soft answer" that turns away wrath, rather 
 than the " grievous words" which stir up strife. 
 
 As a speaker he was unpolished, not logical, but very 
 sympathetic. His own heart being full of love and fealty
 
 JOHN WRIGHT. 41 
 
 to God, he induced the same feeling in the hearts of those 
 who heard him ; for, " as in water face answereth to face, 
 so the heart of man to man." 
 
 Uneducated and untaught in the art of speaking, his 
 useful career is a demonstration of the power of a holy 
 life. May his brilliant success in the. gospel stimulate 
 all evangelists, of this more enlightened age, to combine 
 with their intellectual acumen the godliness of this de- 
 parted pioneer.
 
 ABSALOM, AND JOHN T. LITTELL. 
 
 The subjects of this sketch were botli bora in Fayette 
 county, Pennsylvania — Absalom in the year It 88, and 
 John T. in 1190. Their parents were poor, and both 
 members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 In 1799 their father, Absalom Littell, who was a soldier 
 in the Revolution, emigrated to what was then the far 
 West, and settled on the west side of Silver creek, in 
 Clark's grant, Northwestern Territory ; or, in what is 
 now Clark county, Indiana. 
 
 At that date there were but few " pale faces" in the 
 Territory, and no settlements between them and the 
 Rocky mountains, except a few French stations, or forts, 
 containing a small number of Americans. The great 
 West, that is now shaking the earth with its giant tread, 
 was then in its infancy, eager for new ideas, and more 
 susceptible than now of religious impressions. The influ- 
 ence of the Christian preacher in that day was, therefore, 
 like that of the parent over the child. 
 
 Before the advent of the school-teacher to that part of 
 the world, both Absalom and John T. had almost attained 
 to their majority ; hence they received but little instruc- 
 tion save that which was imparted in the domestic circle. 
 Yet, by their own exertions, they became tolerably well 
 informed ; and of the Holy Scriptures especially they 
 acquired a thorough and ready knowledge. Absalom, 
 being more fond of literary and scientific pursuits, became 
 the better scholar. He was well versed in parliamentary 
 rules, and none was more frequently called to preside 
 42
 
 V\BR^^^ 
 
 ^^^>jtRS\TV 
 
 'Sv^Sf \amo\s
 
 ABSALOM AND JOHN T. LITTELL. 43 
 
 over religious meetings. Though his own life was regu- 
 lated by the " perfect law of liberty," yet he had a respect- 
 able knowledge of the civil law ; and his judgment in 
 legal matters was as decisive as it was gratuitous. He 
 peaceably settled many controversies between his neigh- 
 bors, adjusting their differences with far more candor and 
 fairness than a fee-hunting attorney would have done. 
 
 As there were no schools, so there were no churches. 
 North of the Ohio river, and west of the Miami, not a 
 single Protestant spire was to be seen. AVith a few ex- 
 ceptions there were no songs save the savage chant that 
 led on the war-dance ; no prayers, save those offered to 
 the Great Spirit under the shadows of the tall oaks. 
 
 " Then was the time 
 For those whom wisdom and whom nature charm, 
 To soar above this little scene of things ; 
 To tread low-thoughted vice beneath their feet ; 
 To soothe the throbbing passions into peace ; 
 And woo lone quiet in her silent walks." 
 
 It was not until the year IVOS — a twelvemonth pre- 
 vious to the immigration of the Littells — that the first 
 Protestant congregation was organized in Indiana Terri- 
 tory. This was a Regular Baptist church composed of 
 four viembers, and established on the Philadelphia Con- 
 fession of Faith. 
 
 The organization was effected a few miles northeast 
 of the Littell settlement, but the first house of worship 
 was subsequently erected on the east bank of Silver creek, 
 near Mr. Littell's farm, where it became widely known as 
 the Regular Baptist church at Silver creek. There it 
 still stands, the oldest Protestant, and, perhaps, the first 
 Reformed, church in the State. 
 
 Immigrants arriving constantly, brought with them their 
 respective religious views, and it was not long until the
 
 44 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 people were favored with preaching by the representatives 
 of the several leading sects. 
 
 Absalom Littell, sen., being an elder in the Presbyterian 
 church, usually went with his family to that place of wor- 
 ship. Yet he was comparatively liberal in his views, and, 
 in the absence of the Presbyterian minister, he attended, 
 without partiality, the meetings of the various orders by 
 which he was surrounded. By this means his sons ac- 
 quired some knowledge of all the doctrines taught there- 
 about. Absalom was disposed to walk, if at all, in the 
 steps of his father's faith, while John T. soon became much 
 inclined toward the Baptists. 
 
 During the Indian troubles of 1811 and '12, Absalom 
 and his eldest brother, Amos, served in the army of General 
 Harrison ; while John T. and others rendered no less im- 
 portant service as home-guards. Block-houses were built, 
 sentinels posted, and every precaution taken to protect 
 the women and children in the absence of their husbands 
 and fathers. Amos was in the memorable battle of Tip- 
 pecanoe, and Absalom was among the forces that marched 
 to the relief of Fort Harrison, then in command of Lieuten- 
 ant — afterwards President — Taylor. 
 
 The return of peace found them all alive ; and, the wea- 
 pons of war being cast aside, they turned their thoughts 
 gratefully toward Him who had safely led them through 
 so many dangers. 
 
 On the 21th of November, 1813, Amos united with the 
 Baptist church and was immersed in Silver creek. On 
 the 23d of July 1814, his example was followed by John 
 T. Absalom, being at that time more disposed to see the 
 world than to enter into the kingdom, travelled pretty 
 extensively in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and 
 Yirginia. He was present, however, at the baptism of 
 John T. ; but being greatly prejudiced against immersion, 
 he stood afar off.
 
 ABSALOM AND JOHN T. LITTELL. 45 
 
 In the summer of 1816, Jolm T. began to preach; and 
 such was his natural alMlity that he very soon became a 
 popular and most effective speaker. 
 
 Soon after his engaging in the work of the ministry, he 
 removed to the muddy fork of Silver creek where he, with 
 a few others from the old congi'egation, organized what is 
 still known as the Muddy Fork church. 
 
 In April, 1815, Absalom, having become tired of ram- 
 bling aljout, married, and settled down upon a small farm 
 which he had acquired means to purchase. 
 
 Though he had been a young man of unexceptionable 
 morals; and although he had been a member of the church 
 from his earliest infancy; yet, strange to say, he had 
 never made a profession of religion ! It was this very 
 question of Infant Church-Membership, that caused him 
 to linger so long without the door of the kingdom. In 
 vain he read the Bible to find a firm support for the doc- 
 trine on which alone was suspended his hope of a glorious 
 immortality. In vain he searched through subtle disqui- 
 sitions on theology, in hope of finding a demonstration 
 of the validity of Infant Baptism. No writer, either sa- 
 cred or profane, satisfied him of the truth of that which he 
 desired most of all to believe, namely, that baptism came 
 in the room of circumcision. Loth as he was to abandon 
 this popular tradition, he was compelled to do so after a 
 careful re-examination of all the premises. 
 
 This stumbling-block l)eing removed, he innnediately 
 went forward in the plain path of obedience, and, on the 
 2'7th of October, 1816, united with the Old Silver Creek 
 Church, being immersed at the same spot at which, a few 
 months before, he had witnessed, with so great mortifica- 
 tion, the baptism of his younger brother. 
 
 At the first approach of the ensuing winter, the icy 
 hand of death was laid upon his first-born. This sad dis- 
 pensation, as it may have been designed, drove him nearer
 
 46 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 the cross. Observing that every thing beautiful goes 
 down to the grave — that all things seen are temporal — he 
 began to direct his mind to those things which are eternal. 
 Anxious to devote his energies to the accomplishment of 
 permanent results, he thought seriously of preaching ; but, 
 for a while, he was discouraged by the feeble efforts of 
 illiterate preachers whose only excuse for their ignorance 
 was the pretension that they were "called and sent." 
 
 On the 21st of the following April his wife also departed 
 this life, leaving to his care a helpless babe. 
 
 This second affliction disarranged all his earthly plans. 
 In a short time he removed from his farm to New Albany, 
 where he engaged in mercantile business which proved to 
 be very profitable. He also began to preach in the city 
 and vicinity ; and his first efforts were more acceptable 
 than he had hoped. 
 
 In September, 1818, while passing through Washington 
 county, he called by a house at the road-side to make some 
 inquiries as to his route. A young lady, whom he had 
 never seen before, having intelligently answered all his 
 questions, he took his leave. On the 18th of the next 
 November that same young lady, the daughter of John 
 Martin, sen., was Mrs. Littell. He was not a man who 
 halted long between two opinions respecting any matter. 
 
 Returning to New Albany, he continued to devote a 
 portion of his time to the work of the ministry ; and, in 
 January, 1820, he assisted in the organization of the first 
 Baptist (now Christian) church in that city. It seems 
 that on this occasion he departed from some of the land- 
 marks, regarded as sacred by his Baptist brethren. Foi', 
 being appointed to write and convey a letter to the Blue 
 River Association, asking for fellowship with the same, 
 and appearing before that body, as directed, he was 
 sharply questioned by those official guardians of the 
 interests of Zion. After a solemn conference, the assem-
 
 ABSALOM, AND JOHN T. LITTELL. 47 
 
 bly asked bim if he would, in the name of the church he 
 represented, renounce its faith, as embodied in the letter 
 which he had brought, and accept that of the Association 
 as set forth in its Articles of Faith ? This he refused to 
 do, and the infant church at New Albany was, therefore, 
 left to take care of itself. Such was the happy result 
 produced by supjreme devotion to creeds. 
 
 However, the little flock in New Albany steadily grew 
 in number and in grace, visited as it was by several of the 
 more liberal Baptist preachers ; but most of all by John 
 T. Littell, whose efforts on its behalf were unremitting. 
 
 On the 13th of June, 1820, a severe thunder-storm 
 passed over the city. The house of Elder A. Littell was 
 struck by lightning, by which his wife was felled to the 
 floor, and his only surviving child, the last of his first 
 family, was instantly killed. 
 
 This stroke of Divine Providence quite overcame him. 
 The face of the Lord seemed to be against him. Perhaps — 
 he thought — it was because be was not more completely 
 devoted to his service. Therefore he closed out his stock 
 in trade, and returned to his farm in Clark county ; and 
 from that time his labors were far more abundant, in the 
 Lord. 
 
 The little congregation in New Albau}" was cordially 
 received into the Silver Creek Association (formed in 
 1812) on the fourth Saturday of August, 1S21. Then for 
 a little season they all dwelled together in unity, and 
 their Christian fellowship was " like the precious ointment 
 upon the bead." 
 
 From that date, Absalom and John T. Littell were the 
 leading spirits in that portion of Indiana. Like Saul, the 
 son of Kish, "from their shoulde7's and iipicard they 
 ivere higher than any of the peojile.'^ 
 
 For many years they annually, and by turns, wrote the 
 "circular letter;" preached the "introductory sermon;"
 
 48 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 presided over the Association ; and served tliat body in 
 the capacity of scribe. 
 
 In the year 1826, the Baptists having been greatly 
 multiplied, Elder A. Littell proposed the formation of a 
 new Association. As chairman of a committee he re- 
 ported a line of division ; which was agreed to ; and the 
 new Association was accordingly formed. 
 
 A little subsequent to this, southeastern Indiana was 
 liberally supplied with some pamphlets written by the 
 Eev. Daniel Parker of Illinois, in support of what was 
 called the " two-seed doctrine." For a while these docu- 
 ments created great excitement and drew away many 
 disciples after them. Absalom Littell sought several 
 opportunities of hearing Mr. Parker, who also travelled 
 preaching — and having made himself well acquainted with 
 the gentleman's position, and having examined well the 
 different texts by which it was fortified, he determined to 
 bring on an engagement, and if possible, drive the enemy 
 from his intrenchments. 
 
 The parties soon met at Corydon, Indiana, at which 
 place the Blue River Association had convened. It 
 pleased the Assembly to select A. Littell, Daniel Parker, 
 and a minister from Kentucky to fill the pulpit on Lord's- 
 day. The Kcntuckian having spoken first, Elder Littell 
 followed, basing his remarks upon Peter's declaration 
 that " in every nation he that feareth him and worketh 
 righteousness is accepted of him." With this and many 
 other texts on his side, he felt that he went forth, like 
 David, "in the name of the Lord of hosts;" and feeling 
 thus, he dealt a heavy blow upon the two-seed Goliath. 
 
 The meeting was held in a grove ; and just as he had 
 concluded his sermon a shower of rain dispersed the niul- 
 titude, and he was thus delivered from the shafts of his 
 adversary. By this attack, however, he lost favor with
 
 ABSALOM, AND JOHN T. LITTELL. 19 
 
 manj of his brethren, who had imbibed the two-seed 
 doctrine. 
 
 About this time the light of the Reformation began tf 
 dawn upon that portion of the State. The terms " Camp 
 bellism" and " Campbellite" began to be heard frequentl}' 
 from the sacred desk, as well as in the family circle ; and 
 it was evident that a revolution in religious matters wac 
 near at hand. It was soon apparent, also, that hostilitiep 
 were to commence in the old Silver Creek church — that 
 there the first stone was to be cast at the old systems that 
 were doomed to destruction. 
 
 Many of the brethren, as the eyes of their understand 
 ing were opened, manifested less and less respect for the 
 Articles of Faith, until the creed party, unable longer tf 
 brook such contempt of the authority to which they bowed 
 their willing necks, ventured to ask, in the public assem 
 bly, "What was the faith of this church when it teas firs 
 organized^ By reference to the church record it was 
 ascertained that it (the church) was established upon the 
 Philadelphia Confession of Faith. Having given this 
 plain hint as to the object to which all owed allegiance, 
 the orthodox party permitted a brief season of rest. But 
 seeing the joints of the old system opening wider and 
 wider, they determined once more to tighten the screws. 
 
 To this end they proposed that submissioii to the Con- 
 fession of Faith should be strictly regarded as a condition 
 of fellowship. This proposition met with strong oppo- 
 sition, and disturbed the peace of the church for a long 
 time. 
 
 Finally, a resolution was offered, demanding "to know 
 from this church whether she is governed by the Old and 
 New Testaments or by the Articles of Faith V (Church 
 Record.) This question, after a warm debate, was an- 
 swered as follows : " The church say, by the word of God." 
 CChurch Record.) 
 5
 
 50 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 This decision produced great excitement. Many of the 
 more zealous opposers of reform left the church, but their 
 places were soon filled ; for the community, generally, 
 approved of the action by which the seceders were so 
 greatly offended.' 
 
 Thus the Silver Creek church exchanged its human 
 for the Divine creed. But Elders Littell and their co- 
 adjutors had not yet clean escaped from the thraldom of 
 error. Though they had adopted the Bible as their rule 
 of faith and practice, they were still subject to the rule 
 of the Association ; and they still adhered to many 
 practices for which they could not have produced a " thus 
 saith the Lord." 
 
 One would suppose that they would not have been long 
 in being freed, if they did not free themselves, from the 
 authority of the Association ; for, under ordinary circum- 
 stances, that body would not have tolerated such an act, 
 on the part of a congregation, as the open renouncement 
 of the Confession of Faith. As it was, however, the 
 Littells held the reins ; and, by the exercise of discretion 
 and a spirit of forbearance and conciliation, they easily 
 thwarted the efforts of all such as desired their excom- 
 munication. The subject was brought before the Associ- 
 ation at its next session in New Albany ; but the excite- 
 ment passed away for that time without any serious 
 consequences. 
 
 The exercises of that session were also enlivened by a 
 revival of the two-seed theory. An aged brother from 
 the Blue River Association being appointed to preach, 
 began his discourse, very properly, with an apology for 
 his ignorance, adding, for the encouragement of his hear- 
 ers, that as the Lord would give to him so would he give 
 to them. He (or he and the Lord, as he would have 
 people believe) then proceeded to elucidate the two-seed 
 doctrine ! His speech had a powerful effect on the large
 
 ABSALOM, AND JOHN T. LITTELL. 51 
 
 Audienv.-x. —so powerful, indeed, that it moved many into 
 the streets and to their homes. 
 
 After it was all over, an old brother, whose speech be- 
 trayed the dialect as well as the penetration of the Yankee, 
 observed, that " all preachers of that kind would soon die 
 oif, and that the Lord xoould make no more on 'em." 
 
 The prediction was in a measure verified ; for from that 
 time the favorite dogma of Elder Parker gradually waned, 
 until it was no longer a matter of controversy. 
 
 For a few years subsequent to this, matters went on 
 peaceably, being conducted in the spirit of compromise. 
 The Baptists tolerated the abnormal views of those who 
 were almost Reformers ; and the Reformers, in turn, 
 yielded to some of the peculiar views and practices of the 
 Baptists. But each party became more and more posi- 
 tive in the advocacy of their respective tenets, until a 
 final separation could no longer be averted. This took 
 place first in the congregation at New Albany, in the year 
 1835 ; and soon afterwards in all the churches throughout 
 that portion of the State. 
 
 The Reformers, in all cases, opposed division ; and did 
 all in their power to persuade their disquieted brethren 
 to accept the word of God as their only rule of faith and 
 practice. This the Baptists would not do ; but, as soon 
 as they found themselves in the minority, they chose 
 rather to withdraw themselves, and have no further fel- 
 lowship with what they regarded as " the unfruitful works 
 of darkness." 
 
 With respect to those who continued in the " perfect 
 law of liberty," the Association of 1835 was the last. 
 From that time they held an Annual Meeting, not to form 
 or amend constitutions ; enact laws for the government 
 of the church ; or, in any way, to " lord it over God's 
 heritage;" but to hear encouraging reports from the 
 various churches ; to worship the Lord in the " beauty
 
 52 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 of holiness;" and to consider how they might most pro- 
 mote the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. 
 
 Such was the introduction of primitive Christianity 
 within the bounds of the old Silver Creek Association ; 
 and such was, briefly, the part taken by the Elders Littell 
 in that important movement. 
 
 All the elements of discord having been eliminated, 
 the disciples dwelt together in unity under the mild sceptre 
 of the Prince of Peace ; and, on every hand, they were 
 greatly multiplied. 
 
 John T. Littell, with unflagging zeal, continued to 
 evangelize for many years, baptizing a great number of 
 disciples, of whom he kept no record. Among the num- 
 ber were eleven of his own children ; and, since his de- 
 cease, the remaining one has entered into the kingdom. 
 Two of his sons — Milburn and John T., jr. — are success- 
 ful preachers ; and a third son — Maxwell — is an occasional 
 laborer "in word and doctrine." 
 
 Returning indisposed from one of his tours, on the 
 11th of February, 1848, he observed to his family that he 
 had /illed his last outstanding appointment — a thing which 
 he had not done before in thirty years. It was a singular 
 fact, in view of the sad event which so suddenly followed. 
 Always punctual in filling his appointments, it seems that 
 even death itself was not permitted to infringe upon so 
 good a habit. 
 
 Having taken some refreshments, he lay down before 
 the fire to rest. In a few minutes he made a sudden 
 effort to rise ; rested a moment on his elbow ; exclaimed 
 " I am dying ;" and almost instantly expired. Thus he 
 illustrated the great truth which he had so often endea- 
 vored to enforce, namely, that " in the midst of life we 
 are in death." 
 
 The following short extract is from his obituary notice, 
 which 'appeared in the Christian Record for March, 1848 •
 
 ABSALOM, AND JOHN T. LITTELL. 53 
 
 " This good brothel* and affectionate elder has labored 
 hard for his Lord and his numerous family for about forty 
 years, I have thought that I never knew a man who 
 loved the Bible more ardently than he. He has endured 
 many hardships for the truth's sake. He plead the cause 
 of the Bible alone in all matters of religion, and of the 
 union of all Christians on the Bible, for some twenty 
 years. But he has gone to ' rest from his labors ; and 
 his works do follow him.' " 
 
 Elder John Thompson Littell was a great man, physi- 
 cally, intellectually, morally. Had his mental been de- 
 veloped like his physical and moral powers, he would 
 have been almost " perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all 
 good works." His stature exceeded six feet; and his 
 weight was more than two hundred pounds. He had 
 dark hair ; a large, well-shaped head ; keen, blue, speak- 
 ing eyes ; a prominent nose ; a mouth that seemed made 
 for noble speech ; and a broad, open face, expressive of 
 every quick sensation. 
 
 He was a natural orator — clear in argument ; powerful 
 in exhortation ; in manner positive, if not dogmatical. 
 Education was all he lacked to make his name as familiar 
 to the nation as it was to the little circle in which he 
 lived, moved, and died. He was of a gentle and affec- 
 tionate spirit, full of vivacity and most excellent humor. 
 Seventy times seven, if his brother sinned against him, 
 seventy times seven could he forgive him, on the legiti- 
 mate condition of repentance. This trait of his charac- 
 ter, as well as the severe and peculiar manner in which 
 he sometimes put to shame the enemies of truth, was 
 clearly exhibited in an incident which certainly occurred 
 at or near Salem. 
 
 He was preaching to a large congregation in the presence 
 of a certain minister whose name and order shall be mer- 
 cifully concealed. In discussing some point relative to
 
 54 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Baptism, he made a quotation from Wesley's Doctrinal 
 Tracts, remai'king — as if fearful he had not given it ver- 
 batim — that if he had not quoted fairly he hoped he might 
 be corrected. The unsuspecting preacher instantly cried 
 out, " I unhesitatingly affirm that the passage does not 
 read that way." " Well, well," said Elder Littell, with the 
 greatest sangfroid, " we will read it as it is." Suiting the 
 action to the word, he drew from his pocket a copy of the 
 " Tracts ;" and read the passage which, as he knew very 
 well, was precisely as he had quoted it. Nothing daunted, 
 the preacher took the book ; and gave the audience a 
 diflferent reading. At the request of Elder Littell a small 
 boy then came forward ; and again read the passage as it 
 was. This settled the controversy ; and the discourse 
 was resumed as if nothing had happened. 
 
 When the speaker concluded, the convicted preacher 
 asked leave to make a few remarks. Being politely as- 
 sured that he should have perfect liberty, he arose and 
 spoke substantially as follows : — " I confess," said he, 
 " that, under the excitement of the moment and the bad 
 feeling that then possessed me, I read the passage wrong ; 
 and I pray God to forgive me." "Amen," said Elder 
 Littell ; and those who knew him did not doubt that the 
 response came from the bottom of his heart. 
 
 Though on all occasions he occupied a conspicuous 
 place among his brethren ; yet he never thrust himself 
 into the highest seat; but was always meek and unas- 
 suming. 
 
 Living in a controversial age, he was, necessarily, some- 
 what doctrinal ; but, in the main, his discourses were 
 eminently practical. When the occasion demanded it, he 
 could wield the sword of the Spirit with a strong and 
 skillful hand ; but he was more inclined to provoke his 
 brethren to love and to good works ; and most successful 
 in persuading sinners to lay hold on the hope which he
 
 ABSALOM, AND JOHN T. LITTELL. 55 
 
 eloquently set before tliem. Christianity in practice, was 
 the great object for wliich he strove. 
 
 Like all other men he doubtless had his faults ; but in 
 most things he might well have said to his brethren, "be 
 ye followers of me ;" for he followed Christ. But 
 
 " No further seek his merits to disclose, 
 
 Or draw his frailties from their dread abode — 
 There they alike iu trembling hope repose — 
 The bosom of his father and his God." 
 
 After the death of John T., his brother Absalom con- 
 tinued to labor in the gospel as in former years. Finally, 
 however, the infirmities of advancing age compelled him 
 to economize his strength ; and during the last years of 
 his life- he accomplished comparatively but little in the 
 work of the ministry. Yet the spirit was willing; though 
 the flesh was weak. The sickle was still keen as ever ; 
 but the power that wielded it was failing. 
 
 The nearer he approached the grave the more ardently 
 he desired the steadfastness of the disciples ; and among 
 the last words he ever wrote, were the following addressed 
 to his "dear brethren." 
 
 " Permit an old brother in the t4th year of his age, to 
 say to his younger brethren, and to all : Suffer no strife 
 to rise up among you. Abstain from all appearance of 
 evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; 
 and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be 
 preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 On the 11th of May, 1862, at 9 o'clock, P. M., he 
 breathed his last. Conscious of his approaching dissolu- 
 tion, he assured those present that death had no terrors ; 
 and that he "died only to live." His remains were fol- 
 lowed by a long procession to their resting place, in the 
 quiet old church-yard near Hamburg, where they await,
 
 56 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 in peace, the " v-^oice of the archangel and the trump of 
 God." 
 
 In appearance and character, Elder Absalom Littell was 
 much like his brother, John T. Born of the same parents ; 
 rocked in the same cradle ; hushed by the same lullabies ; 
 sent to the same schools ; baptized in the same stream ; 
 and preachers of the same gospel, which changes men into 
 the same image ; they could not well be so dissimilar as 
 to afford materials for two separate and distinct sketches. 
 
 Absalom was, however, somewhat larger than his bro- 
 ther; and he was regarded by many as correspondingly 
 superior in point of intellect. But the difference of ability 
 was rather the result of education than of any partiality 
 on the part of nature. 
 
 As an orator he was inferior, though he spoke readily, 
 forcibly, and to the point. Their sermons were similar in 
 character ; and were usually directed to the same end. 
 
 Absalom always conducted himself with gravity be- 
 coming his office ; yet he too was most richly endowed 
 with the faculty of wit, and with that cheerful disposition 
 which "doeth good like a medicine." In a little circle 
 of old friends, he was as agreeable as he was happy. 
 
 In the church and before the world, they manifested the 
 same spirit ; for both had "the spirit of Christ." 
 , Such were those two distinguished pioneers ; and such 
 the part they acted in establishing the " ancient order of 
 things" in the commonwealth of Indiana. It is necessary 
 to add only two borrowed lines, expressive, no doubt, of 
 the feeling with which every Christian reader will reach 
 the end of this brief and imperfect sketch : 
 
 "Those suns are set, 
 O rise some otlier sucli."

 

 
 JOSEPH HOSTETLER 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Shelby county, 
 Kentucky, February 2'7th, 1797. His father and grand- 
 father were natives of Pennsylvania; but his great-grand- 
 father was born in Germany, near the Rhine. His mo- 
 ther, Agnes, was the daughter of Anthony Hardman, about 
 whose ancestry nothing is known. 
 
 About the year 1795 his parents emigrated from Penn- 
 sylvania, and settled in Shelby county, Kentucky. Though 
 no longer in a German settlement, they still retained in 
 their family the German language ; and Elder Hostetler 
 distinctly remembers the difficulties he encountered in ac- 
 quiring the rudiments of the English. 
 
 When in his seventh year he entered a common school, 
 kept by a queer little Englishman of strong Roman Catho- 
 lic proclivities, though a member of the Episcopal church. 
 Intoxicating beverages were then freely used by people 
 of both sexes ; and, in this particular, the school-master 
 was wholly conformed to the world. Yet he maintained 
 inviolate the /o?'??i of godliness ; and, on every Friday af- 
 ternoon, required his pupils to form in a circle about him 
 and repeat after him, with great solemnity, the Lord's 
 Prayer and the Apostles' Creed ! 
 
 To this school he was sent three months each year until 
 he was twelve years old. By this means he acquired the 
 arts of i-eading and penmanship ; and also completed the 
 arithemetical course, which extended only to "the Single 
 Rule of Three." Except the medical lectures, which he 
 57
 
 68 PIONEER PRE ACHERS. 
 
 subsequently attended, this was all the instruction he ever 
 received at school. 
 
 His parents were both exemplary members of the Ger- 
 man Baptist or Tunker* church, which, even at that early 
 period, had adopted the New Testament as its only book 
 of discipline. It was their chief care to bring up their 
 children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; and 
 the mother, especially, spared no pains in teaching her 
 little ones to pray ; and in instructing them in what she 
 conceived to be the doctrine of Christ. 
 
 Under her teaching, Joseph became greatly interested 
 in reading the scriptural account of patriarchs and pro- 
 phets ; and often did he pray to be like little Samuel, or 
 like faithful Abraham, who " was called the friend of 
 God." 
 
 Along with these wholesome lessons, many supersti- 
 tious notions were inculcated by an old German woman, 
 who came frequently to his father's house and related 
 frightful stories about ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, etc. 
 Each of these served "to point a moral;" and all together 
 deeply impressed him with the reality of a future state 
 and the awful penalties visited upon evil-doers. 
 
 It was to be supposed that one brought up under such 
 circumstances would readily walk in the way of the 
 righteous. But he was naturally of a very mischievous 
 disposition ; at times highly passionate ; and " as prone 
 to evil as the sparks to fly upward." When, therefore, 
 he grew older and became less in the presence of his 
 parents, he often set at naught all their counsel to walk 
 in the counsel of the ungodly. 
 
 In the winter of 1810-11 there occurred, in his native 
 county, a great revival, which, beginning among the 
 Calvinistic Baptists, soon extended to the Methodists and 
 Tunkers. His grandfather and his uncle Adam Hostetler 
 
 * Commonly, but improperly, called " Duukard."
 
 JOSEPH HOSTETLER. 59 
 
 were the principal Tunker preachers, the former speaking 
 in German, the latter in English. Under their earnest 
 preaching and the excitement that generally prevailed, 
 his early religious feelings were revived ; and, but for the 
 intervention of his parents, he would have covenanted to 
 walk in a new life. They, however, thought him too 
 young ; and prevailed upon him to postpone for a brief 
 period his union with the church. 
 
 In the mean time he listened to the several surrounding 
 sects ; and his faith was not a little shaken by their con- 
 tradictory teaching. 
 
 Finally lie heard one of his schoolmates relate to the 
 Calvinistic Baptists an " experience," which, it seems, 
 ought to be incorporated in his history, because it exerted 
 a powerful influence on his life, and because it is a valua- 
 ble though sad exponent of the religion of those" times. 
 When asked to describe the work of grace upon his 
 heart, the poor lad sobbingly replied, " I don't know as I 
 has any works of grace to tell. I is a poor sinner." 
 " Do you believe in Christ ?" said the blind leader of the 
 blind. " yes, ever sence I can recollect," answered the 
 boy. Being asked if, when he found himself a sinner, he 
 had dreamed any thing remarkable, he proceeded to relate, 
 in substance, the following : 
 
 He said that he had retired, as usual, in great distress 
 of mind ; and had dreamed that as he was going he knew 
 not whither, the devil met him in the way, seized upon 
 him, and was hurrying him off towai'd hell : that having 
 been conveyed a great way, and thinking himself lost 
 forever, a young man met them, and rescued him from 
 the grasp of the destroyer ; and that on being thus libe- 
 rated he had awoke in a transport of joy. At this point 
 a gray-haired deacon sprang to his feet with a shout. 
 " Brethren," said he, " I've been a Baptist for twenty-five 
 year, and ef ever I heerd a experience o' true grace this
 
 60 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 boy has giv' us one. So it is with all poor sinners — they 
 are going they know not where tell the Lord meets 'em 
 as he did this boy. I can interpret his dream — he's 
 'powerfully converted.' Glory to God." This was the 
 opinion of the church, and they received the young candi- 
 date into their fellowship, without a dissenting voice. 
 
 Heai'ing this experience, and reflecting on the fact that 
 such dreams were the only foundation of the hope of hun- 
 dreds, he became skeptical; banished all thoughts of reli- 
 gion ; and was soon regarded as a ring-leader among the 
 " rude fellows of the baser sort." Among these he was a 
 kind of clown, who, after attending a meeting, would, for 
 the amusement of his companions, and with mock so- 
 lemnity, reproduce the sermon in substance, tone, and 
 gesture. 
 
 Subsequently, through the efforts of his uncle Adam, 
 he was induced to "ponder the path of his feet." He 
 grew more serious ; read the Bible through ; and became 
 convinced that his skepticism was based, not on the 
 Scriptures, but on the contradictory theories and absurd 
 speculations of professed Christians. 
 
 This conclusion reached, he again became a seeker ; 
 but the " whisper of peace," as formerly, strangely delayed 
 its coming. 
 
 Finally he discovered by his own reading what the lic- 
 liever must do to be saved. He revealed his discovery 
 to his uncle, who at once accepted his views and on the 
 next Lord's day taught the people openl}^ that they should 
 repent ; confess the Lord Jesus ; and be baptized in His 
 name "for the remission of sins." On that day Elder 
 Hostetler — then in his nineteenth year — made the good 
 confession and was immersed into the "one body." 
 
 Though he took this one proper step, yet he by no 
 means comprehended clearly the Christian system, nor did 
 he at that time realize the importance of the difference he
 
 JOSEPH HOSTETLER. 61 
 
 had discovered between it and the systems commonly 
 tauglit. On tins account he drifted heedlessly with the 
 popular tide ; until he was again borne far away from the 
 faith of the gospel. 
 
 Immediately after his immersion he began to take part 
 with his brethren in prayer and exhortation, and to labor 
 for the reformation of his wicked associates, some of 
 whom are indebted to him, under God, for their hope of 
 eternal life. 
 
 About this time a wealthy speculator in lands, whom 
 he attended during a protracted illness at his father's 
 house, gratefully offered to give him a classical education, 
 upon the single condition that, for one year immediately 
 after his graduation, he should remain, as a tutor, in his 
 patron's family. The proposition he gladly accepted, for 
 from a child he had thirsted for "the Pierian spring." 
 But to his great mortification his father positively forbade 
 him from entering into any such arrangement : alleging 
 that "high larnin" only fitted a man to be a villain ; and 
 that he might as well sell his soul to the devil at once, for 
 no lawyer could ever gain admission to the kingdom of 
 God! 
 
 This cherished design thus thwarted, he tui-ned his 
 thoughts into a different channel ; and, on the 20th of 
 July, 1816, was married to a pious sister who still sur- 
 vives. 
 
 Shortly after this event he was authorized, by the con- 
 gregation of which he was a member, to preach the gos- 
 pel and baptize believers according to the custom of the 
 Tunker church. His uncle being absent for the most part, 
 he at once assumed the principal care of the home church ; 
 and in a short time he accompanied his kinsman on a 
 preaching tour through the counties of Nelson, Franklin, 
 Washington, Mei'cer, Casey, Nicolas, and Fleming. 
 
 His ministry was fruitful from the very first, on which 
 6
 
 62 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 account, as well as by the expressions of his friends, he was 
 greatly encouraged. 
 
 In the fall of 1811, he removed to Washington county, 
 Indiana. Settling upon a tract of uncleared land, he de- 
 voted the most of his time and energies to the opening out 
 of a farm ; yet ou Lord's-days, and usually on two even- 
 ings each week, he proclaimed all he knew of the gospel. 
 Being yet in his minority he was denominated " the boy 
 preacher." This appellation usually attracted a large 
 audience ; and, even at that early period, his influence as 
 a preacher began to be felt. 
 
 In the Spring of 1819, he removed to Orange county, 
 near Orleans, and again settled in the woods. Here also 
 he worked hard by day ; and at night was equally diligent 
 in the study of the Bible and an English dictionary, which 
 two volumes made up the greater part of his library. 
 
 Though he occasionally went into Lawrence county, yet 
 his labors were for the most part confined to Orange ; and 
 in the fall of 1819 he and Elder John Ribble organized in 
 his neighborhood, and on the foundation of apostles and 
 prophets, a church of some thirty members. This was 
 the origin of what is now known as Old Liberty church — 
 one of the oldest, firmest, and most flourishing in the 
 state. 
 
 One night in August of the next year he dreamed that 
 he saw on the farther side of a river, a large field of wheat 
 and several persons importuning him to come over and 
 help them harvest. As dreams were then of great sig- 
 nificance in matters of religion, he inferred from this one 
 that God had called him to preach the gospel in the region 
 beyond White River. He was not disobedient unto what 
 he supposed "the heavenly vision," but set out straight- 
 way for the field indicated. 
 
 The first man — a blacksmith — to whom he revealed the 
 object of his mission, said to him, " Sir, you have come to
 
 JOSEPH HOSTETLER. 63 
 
 a poor place foi- your business. I have not been to meet- 
 ing in four years." Yet, commencing at that man's house 
 he preached at several points in that imaginary Macedo- 
 nia, everywhere relating his dream, which made a deep 
 and solemn impression upon the people ; because it led 
 them to believe that God had been mindful of them and 
 had sent his servant to warn them. Having immersed 
 eight persons and left appointments to preach again at 
 each point in four weeks, he returned home. 
 
 On his next visit he immersed about twenty, among 
 whom were the smith's wife and daughter ; and a short 
 time afterward a church was organized near Abraham 
 Kern's, in Lawrence county. 
 
 This year (1820) the Tunker churches in Indiana and 
 Kentucky determined to form a separate As.sociation, be- 
 ing unwilling to conform to all the rules observed by the 
 brethren in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other states. On a 
 specified day the delegates met, organized, and proceeded 
 to enact new laws for the govei'nment of the church. 
 Against this action Elder Hostetler, John Ribble of Salem, 
 and Peter Hon of Kentucky, solemnly, but vainly, pro- 
 tested. "Old men for counsel, young men for war," said 
 the venerable controllers of that ecclesiastical body. 
 
 The following year this Association met at Old Liberty, 
 at which session Elder Hostetler was regularly ordained 
 as a minister of the grace of God. 
 
 As a part of the ceremony his uncle Adam presented 
 him a small Bible, saying, "Preach and practice only what 
 you find in this Holy Book." This remark, made at that 
 solemn moment when he was on his knees before his 
 Maker, deeply impressed him with a sense of his respon- 
 sibility. Hitherto he had humbly submitted to the dictum 
 of those who had the rule over him, and had felt that they 
 were chiefly responsible for his ministerial action. But 
 now he realized for the first time that it was his duty to
 
 64 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 study to show himself a workman approved unto God, and 
 that to his own Master he should stand or fall. Hence he 
 applied himself more closely than ever before to the study 
 of the Scriptures ; and he was not long in discovering 
 radical differences between the church described by the 
 apostles and the various religious organisms by which he 
 was surrounded. 
 
 Pursuing the subject of creeds, he perceived that their 
 number constantly decreased in each preceding age, until, 
 arriving at the apostolic period, he found but " one Lord, 
 and the name one." By this fact his confidence in the 
 popular systems of religion was greatly shaken ; yet he 
 quietly adhered to the church of his fathers for two or 
 three years, during which period he baptized about as 
 many hundred pei'sons. 
 
 But the eyes of his understanding were being gradually 
 opened ; and his preaching was becoming more and more 
 in accordance with the oracles of God ; so much so, 
 indeed, that, at the session of the Association in 1825, he 
 was accused, by some of his brethren, of disseminating 
 heterodox opinions. No decisive action, however, was 
 then taken against him ; and he continued to preach 
 during another year, with more and more freedom from 
 all human authority. 
 
 In the mean time, the first volume of the Christian 
 Baptist fell into his hands. This he read with eagerness 
 though not with entire approbation ; for being yet identi- 
 fied with a sect he felt that the blows descended too fast 
 and too heavily. But still the light entered ; the faith 
 once delivered to the saints and long obscured by the 
 traditions of men, became more and more apparent ; 
 objections to creeds and sects continued to be multiplied ; 
 until he found it impossible longer to refrain from a full 
 and public avowal of his sentiments. Accordingly in the 
 spring of 1826, he gave notice that, on a certain day, he
 
 JOSEPH HO STETLER. 65 
 
 would preach at Orleans on the subject of primitive 
 Christianity. The news was carried far and wide ; ex- 
 pectation was on tip-toe ; and on the appointed day 
 about a thousand persons, including several of the preach- 
 ers of that section, assembled to hear the promised dis- 
 course. He spoke for an hour and a half from that pro- 
 position which affirms that " the disciples were called 
 Christians first in Antioch," discussing, 
 
 I. The Name. 
 
 II. The Manner of becoming a Disciple. 
 
 III. Creeds. 
 
 It was a day of great excitement. After he concluded 
 the people were seen in groups earnestly discussing the 
 merits of the anomalous discourse. Though many doubted, 
 not a few were convinced that Elder Hostetler had shown 
 them a "more excellent way." The preachers present 
 attempted no reply ; but adopted a policy which was 
 then, and still is, more effective than a manly opposition. 
 " Oh," said they, " what a great pity that one so young, 
 so useful, and so promising, should thus destroy his 
 influence by bringing in damnable heresies and attempting 
 to change the customs of our fathers." "You ought," 
 said they to his brethren, " to talk to him ; and unless he 
 recant you should bring him before the proper authorities 
 and expel him." This advice was listened to; and he 
 was accordingly notified that at the next meeting of the 
 Association be would be required to answer to the charge 
 of heresy. 
 
 In the mean time, desiring that all his brethren should 
 understand clearly the things whereof he was accused, he 
 visited all the churches that were to have a voice at his 
 trial ; proclaimed to them the ancient gospel ; and bap- 
 tized about a hundred, who gladly received the word. 
 
 Thus did God cause even the wrath of man to praise 
 him.
 
 66 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 When the day of this trial came he made an able 
 defense, showing that he opposed no practice for which 
 the word of God furnished either precept or example ; 
 that he had taught only what was clearly expressed in 
 words which, the Holy Spirit teacheth ; that he had ex- 
 horted to no duty not enjoined by the apostles ; and that 
 he had only repeated to the people the exceeding great 
 and precious promises of God, assuring them that He is 
 faithful that promised. In conclusion he referred to the 
 intolerance of all creed-makers, and to the long list of 
 martyrs that have been " beheaded for the witness of 
 Jesus," asking his brethren if, actuated by the same 
 spirit, they were willing to give their voices against him. 
 " No, no," was the audible response ; and a vote being 
 taken, all but five were found to be in his favor. Thus 
 he escaped excommunication ; and, in escaping, he made 
 more proselytes to primitive Christianity than he had 
 ever before done in one day. 
 
 So great was the confidence reposed in him that his 
 brethren appointed him to deliver the annual sermon at 
 the convening of the next Association. Seeing this, he 
 said to himself, " This day death passed upon this eccle- 
 siastical body. About this time next year it will breathe 
 its last ; and my discourse shall be its funeral." 
 
 Such was, indeed, the case. Public sentiment rapidly 
 underwent a change in favor of the Bible as the only plat- 
 form on which all Christians could and should unite ; and 
 when the Association came together there were present 
 delegates from the Dependent Baptists and the Old Chris- 
 tian Body, or Newlights, duly empowered to co-operate 
 with them, the Tunkers, in forming a union of the three 
 parties upon the foundation of apostles and prophets. 
 
 In this important movement they were successful. "With 
 few exceptions, all the churches of each sect throughout 
 south-eastern Indiana, came promptly into the Reforma-
 
 JOSEPH HOSTETLER. 67 
 
 tion. Parly names, and uiiautliorizerl assemblies such as 
 were their Conferences and Associations, were dispensed 
 with ; and Christ became " all and in all." 
 
 From this date (1828) Elder Hostetler is to be reckoned 
 among the public advocates of the current Reformation. 
 
 The year 1828 was fixed in his memory by other and 
 sadder events. He was brought to death's door by a fever 
 which seized upon him Avhile on a preaching tour to Ken- 
 tucky. He recovered ; but two of his brothers were sud- 
 denly cut down, each leaving a widow and three children 
 who became, to some extent, dependent upon him. 
 
 Depressed by these afflictions of Providence, and to 
 better provide for his family and, if need be, for the families 
 of his deceased brothers, he turned his attention to the 
 study of medicine. During the year, therefore, he travelled 
 but little and enlisted but few soldiers in the army of the 
 Lord. 
 
 During the summer of 1829 he and Elder Peter Hon 
 travelled extensively and preached the gospel with great 
 success. They visited Oldham, Nicolas, Bourbon, Mont- 
 gomery, and Fleming counties, Kentucky ; Highland 
 county, Ohio; and Lawrence, Harrison, Clarke, and Jack- 
 son counties, Indiana. They were frequently engaged in 
 protracted meetings and they closed their labors for that 
 year with about four hundred additions to the rapidly-in- 
 creasing number of the disciples. 
 
 The next year he and Elder Hon revisited nearly all the 
 churches for which they had preached the year before ; 
 held meetings at several other points; and brought, in all, 
 about five hundred persons to the obedience of the faith. 
 
 In the Spring of 1832 he removed to Illinois and settled 
 not far from Decatur. There he performed hard labor as 
 a pioneer preacher as well as pioneer farmer; for the pub- 
 lic mind was in a worse condition to receive the "incor- 
 ruptible seed" than was the natural prairie to receive the
 
 68 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 corruptible seed. During his first Summer in that place 
 he immersed some fifty persons ; and in October he or- 
 ganized, near home, a church of fourteen members, which 
 included more than half of the adults in the neighborhood. 
 The church still exists, having now more than one hundred 
 communicants. 
 
 Among the first and principal points at which he 
 preached was Decatur, where he encountered the Metho- 
 dists and Cumberland Presbyterians in force. They bit- 
 terly denounced his teaching as Campbellism, Romanism, 
 Infidelity, etc., yet the people believed and were baptized; 
 and in 1833 he organized what is still the church of Christ 
 at Decatur. 
 
 The same year he went into McLean and Sangamon 
 counties, where he baptized a considerable number ; or- 
 ganized one new church ; and brought into the Reforma- 
 tion a small congregation of his former Tunker brethren, 
 who were still clinging to the traditions of the fathers. 
 
 In the spring of 1834 he removed to Decatur and en- 
 gaged in the practice of medicine, though he still continued 
 to preach with tolerable success. Among his proselytes 
 was a Baptist preacher by the name of Bushrod Henry, 
 who has since established a number of flourishing churches 
 in Moultrie and Shelby counties, and rendered other im- 
 portant service in the cause of the Reformation. 
 
 In May, 1836, he returned to Indiana and settled on 
 another tract of unimproved land near Bedford, in Law- 
 rence county. 
 
 In September following, he attended once more the An- 
 nual Meeting, held near Salem ; and enjoyed a happy re- 
 union with many of his former yoke-fellows. Hundreds 
 of people were in attendance, many of whom camped upon 
 the ground ; and after several days of refreshing the meet- 
 ing closed with some sixty additions to be saved. Among 
 these were fourteen young ladies who, dressed in white,
 
 JOSEPH HOST ETLER. 69 
 
 walked out together into the stream where they were im- 
 mersed by Elder Hostetler. 
 
 Elder Jacob Wright stood on the shore, watch in hand, 
 and when they had all come up out of the water, he an- 
 nounced with a loud voice that the baptizing had occupied 
 just fifteen minutes. He added that he had never seen 
 as many spi-inkled in so short a time ; and that he hoped 
 the scene just witnessed would convince all present that 
 it was not impossible for the three thousand to be im- 
 mersed on the day of Pentecost. 
 
 Elder Hostetler, sometimes assisted by Elder William 
 Nevvland and others, held additional meetings this year at 
 White River Union, Salt Creek and other points, baptizing 
 in all about three hundred persons. 
 
 From 1838 to 1842 he devoted a portion of his time to 
 teaching classes in English Grammar, a respectable know- 
 ledge of which he had acquired from a book presented him 
 by a friend. In this respect he may be honorably con- 
 trasted with most uneducated preachers who, all their 
 lives, trample under foot the laws of syntax rather than 
 address themselves to the work of self-instruction. 
 
 Teaching, however, was never permitted to interfere 
 seriously with his duties as an evangelist; and during the 
 greater portion of his time he continued to preach the 
 gospel to the churches in Lawrence and the adjacent 
 counties, baptizing never less than a hundred, and some- 
 times as many as five hundred per annum. 
 
 In addition to his other labors in 1842, he held two 
 debates with Mormon preachers, which sect, about that 
 time, made a strong effort to gain a footing in Indiana. 
 With the assistance of Elder J. M. Mathes, he also wrote 
 and published, that year, a small pamphlet entitled 
 " Calumnies Refuted." This pamphlet was in reply to 
 another, entitled " Campbellism Exposed," which other 
 was published by a Methodist preacher by the name of
 
 70 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Holiday. Many copies of the two little works were 
 stitched together by the Christians and circulated among 
 the Methodists. 
 
 During the greater part of the year 1843 he labored as an 
 evangelist in Clark and Scott counties, discipling some, 
 but mainly endeavoring to revive and instruct the churches. 
 It seems that in some of these were entertained singular 
 views of Christian obligations, one of which was that it 
 was the duty only of elders to pay the evangelists that 
 came among them ! The bishops, it was held, were com- 
 manded to "feed the flock of God;" and this they must 
 do in person or provide food at their own expense. 
 Under such circumstances he received but little support ; 
 and his services being required in other and more pro- 
 mising fields of labor, he left the brethren of that locality 
 to eat the fruit of their own way. But this error, not 
 being embalmed in a creed, soon vanished away; and the 
 few that had held it, began to manifest proper zeal and 
 liberality in behalf of the gospel. 
 
 The progress of the truth was greatly retarded by the 
 political campaign of 1844, yet Elder Hostetler turned a 
 few from the darkness of sin or of mystic Babylon to 
 " the light of the glorious gospel of Christ." 
 
 In the Fall of that year he consulted his memoranda and 
 notes of travel ; and found that he had, in the course of 
 his ministry, baptized over three thousand persons, and 
 that he had spent more than a thousand dollars in the 
 service for which he had received from his brethren less 
 than half that amount. That he was able to do this is 
 owing to the fact that his family as well as himself were 
 industrious and economical ; and that he was very for- 
 tunate in his business transactions. He has acquired the 
 most of his earthly possessions — and they are amply suffi- 
 cient for the wants of his old age — by Iniying wild lands, 
 clearing them up ; and selling them at greatly advanced
 
 JOSEPH UOSTETLER. 71 
 
 prices. In all things he seems to have been the man of 
 whom it was said, " whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." 
 
 In 1845 the even tenor of his way was again inter- 
 rupted by a debate which took place near Fayetteville, in 
 Lawrence county. His opponent was the Rev. Mr. Forbes 
 of the M. E. church. 
 
 In 1849 he purchased two thousand acres of land in 
 Wisconsin, to which state he removed and entei'ed into 
 the practice of medicine. But he still continued to preach 
 as formerly, and, in a short time, established two churches, 
 which were among the first in the far north-west. 
 
 In 1855 he returned to Salem, Indiana, where he con- 
 tinued to reside for several yeai'S, preaching the gospel 
 with wonted success throughout Washington and the sur- 
 rounding counties. Among other points he visited Sul- 
 livan county, where, in company with Elder Jos. W. 
 Wolfe, he held several interesting and very fruitful 
 meetings. 
 
 He also returned in 1858 to Old Liberty church (in 
 Orange county), which he had established nearly forty 
 years before. Time had wrought many changes ; and as 
 he strolled sadly through the old church-yard, he read, on 
 the monumental stones, the names of many with whom 
 he had labored and rejoiced in early life. 
 
 In the Spring of 1861 he removed to Lovington, 
 Illinois, where he still resides. After an absence of 
 twenty-four years, he is once more a member of the con- 
 gregation on Okaw creek, which church he organized in 
 1832. He is at the present time employed as county 
 Evangelist ; and the pleasure of the Lord continues to 
 prosper in his hands. 
 
 Presuming that this sketch will be read by many of his 
 brethren, after his decease, he has furnished a short 
 address to them, a portion of Avhich is here inserted 
 agreeably to his wish. He says :
 
 T2 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 " As I shall soon take leave of this world, and as all 
 I can do must be done quickly, permit me, my dear 
 brethren, very briefly to address you. 
 
 "When I, with hundreds of others, came out of Babylon, 
 we were a praying people ; a Scripture-reading people ; 
 a church-going people. Our sisters were not ashamed to 
 talk about Jesus or to pray to him in the public assembly. 
 Our brethren carried their Testaments into their fields, 
 their workshops, their stores and offices. The word of 
 truth was spoken in the love of the truth. There were 
 then no choirs to monopolize the songs of Zion, but the 
 word was, ' Let the people praise Him ; let all the people 
 praise Him.' All joined in the sacred song; and the 
 unrhetorical, though fervent, prayer was responded to by 
 all with hearty ' amen.' 
 
 " But how are we now ? "We used to read the holy 
 word — comparing our lives, as well as our doctrine, with 
 the doctrine and lives of the primitive Christians ; but 
 now, alas ! we too often compare ourselves with one ano- 
 ther or with the pious among the sects. We now have a 
 great many learned preachers, who deliver elaborate dis- 
 courses, but seldom rebuke sin except at a distance.* 
 Thus they have many disciples. But, alas ! if the favorite 
 preacher is not to be there, only a few come out even on 
 the Lord's day. If any old-fashioned preacher comes 
 along, and talks about old-fashioned religion — such as 
 ' To visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction 
 and keep himself unspotted from the world' — they say, 
 ' Ah, this will never do — this is old fogyism !' Thus we 
 are becoming more and more conformed to the world. In 
 
 * Elder Hostetler would uot be understood as opposed to an 
 educated ministry ; and the fault which he justly finds with 
 modern preachers no doubt appears greater when contrasted 
 with the plain, blunt manner of the " former days."
 
 JOSE PH II OSTETLER. 73 
 
 theory we are right, but in practice how far do we fall he- 
 ' the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ !' 
 
 " The light of the world ! The salt of the earth ! 'If 
 the light that is in us be darkness, how great is that dark- 
 ness !' ' If the salt have lost its savor wherewith shall 
 it be salted V 
 
 "What else than unfruitfulness can we reasonably expect 
 if we walk not habitually with God ? If we have no 
 pleasure in obeying him ; no pleasure in his holy ordi- 
 nances ; but if we have pleasure in the things of earth — 
 its goods, its honors, its fashions, its follies, its forbidden 
 joys — whatever our professions of Christianity may be — 
 we can never stand justified before the Judge of quick and 
 dead in the great day of eternity. 
 
 " Long after I shall have gone to the grave, and, as I 
 trust, to rest, these words may meet the eyes of thousands 
 who have heard my feeble voice within the last forty-five 
 years. Let me therefore, for the last time, and standing, 
 as I do, near the brink of the grave, entreat them to live 
 for Christ, for Heaven, for the success of the glorious 
 cause in which they are engaged. 
 
 ' Why should we love the things of time ? This world 
 is a Golgotha; and during every hour of the cycles of 
 earth, thousands are breathing their last ; and tens of 
 thousands are weeping around their dying beds. Truly 
 ' The world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he 
 that doeth the will of God abideth forever.' 
 
 " Shall we not then so live that, when the coming of the 
 Lord draweth nigh, each may say, with happy John, 
 ' Even so, come. Lord Jesus.' 
 
 " In the hope of eternal life, 
 
 "Joseph Hostetler." 
 
 Elder Hostetler is about five feet eight inches high, 
 heavy set, and weighs about one hundred and seventy 
 
 7
 
 74 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 pounds. He possesses extraordinary vigor of both mind 
 and body. His years seem to press upon him lightly. 
 
 Though by no means a scholar, yet he has gleaned, by 
 the wayside, a great deal of useful knowledge. He is 
 well acquainted with history — especially the histoiy of 
 the church and of the religion of different ages and 
 nations. 
 
 As a speaker he is of the " rough and ready" style — 
 especially the "ready." Indeed he is particularly re- 
 markable for the ability and apparent ease with which he 
 can preach without previous preparation. His words are 
 always at hand ; his ideas clear ; his gestures numei'ous 
 and earnest. 
 
 In his daily walk he endeavors to live peaceably with 
 all men ; but in religious matters, he is fond of contro- 
 versy ; and indisposed to make any compromise that 
 requires the sacrifice of one jot or tittle of the word of 
 God. 
 
 He is a man that has many warm friends ; and one, 
 too, who has need to pray — as he no doubt does — for 
 his enemies. He loves the truth of God, and jealously 
 defends it at whatever saci'ifice of ease or popularity. 
 
 If he has fought, it has been a good fight ; and his cha- 
 racter is such — take him all in all — that there is reason to 
 believe there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness.
 
 IRSITY OF
 
 A^V*- 
 
 C^ytr^^^^
 
 JOHN B. NEW. 
 
 Elder John Bowman New was born in Guilford county, 
 North Carolina, November 7th, 1793. His father, Jethro 
 New, was a native of Kent county, Delaware, born Sep- 
 tember 20th, 1757. He served as a soldier under General 
 Washington, in the war of Independence ; and was one 
 of the guards over the unfortunate Major Andre, whose 
 execution he witnessed. His mother, whose maiden name 
 was Sarah Bowman, was also born in Kent county, Dela- 
 ware, on the 25th of May, 1764. His parents were both 
 Calvinistic Baptists, thoroughly orthodox on the subject 
 of Predestination ; and careful to instill into the minds of 
 their children the traditions of the fathers. 
 
 In the Fall of 1794, they emigrated to Kentucky, and 
 settled in Franklin county, in Dry Run, about five miles 
 from Frankfort. This long journey through a rough, wild 
 country, the mother and her infant son John B. made on 
 horseback, the iron horse having not yet been created. 
 
 After a residence of five years in Franklin county, they 
 removed to within fifteen miles of the Ohio river ; entered 
 three hundred acres of wild land in Owen county ; and 
 settled upon it, about three and a half miles from where 
 the town of New Liberty now stands. Their nearest 
 neighbor at that time lived at a distance of five miles. It 
 was therefore several years before the settlement was suf- 
 ficiently populous to secure the advantages of a school. 
 The first one was taught by Willis Blanton, to whom, on the 
 first day of the term, flocked stalwart youths and blushing 
 maidens, all— or nearly all— in their A B C's. The first 
 
 75
 
 76 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 day, Johnny New — as be was then called — learned his 
 a]phal)ct plus a line or two of spelling; and throughout the 
 term his progress was satisfactory to both teacher and 
 l)arents. Subsequently his teachers were a Mr. Ward, 
 Nathan Briton, and Henry Miller ; under whose instruc- 
 tions he obtained a tolerable education, according to the 
 standard of those times. The little one-story cabin in 
 Owen county with its rude benches and puncheon floor, 
 was the highest school he ever attended — to him it was 
 both college and theological seminary. 
 
 The education of his heart began at an earlier period 
 than that of his head. When only four years old he had 
 learned, and could sing very well, a song of fourteen 
 stanzas, relating to a Roman Catholic girl who had been 
 burnt at the stake for joining a Protestant church. This 
 little hymn inspired his young heart with devotion to the 
 truth and hatred of religious intolerance. His parents, 
 brothers and sisters were all good singers ; and the family 
 spent much of their time in singing the songs of Zion. 
 
 When seven. years of age he attended, for the first time, 
 a meeting for the worship of God. It was a prayer-meet- 
 ing of the members of the Baptist church, not then or- 
 ganized, and was held in a log-cabin erected in the forest 
 by James Blanton. At the close of the exercises they 
 extended to one another the hand of brotherly love ; and 
 an old brother by the name of Moses Baker, warmly shook 
 the hand of the little boy who was intently beholding their 
 devotions. The little fellow was highly pleased with this 
 expression of regard for him ; and from that day to this 
 Elder New has been a great lover of prayer-meetings. 
 
 Soon after this occurrence the first sermon he ever heard 
 was preached by a Baptist named John Reece, a German 
 who had been a soldier under General Washington. The 
 next sermon he heard was by a Methodist preacher, by 
 the name of Hardy. His text was, "Say to the righteous
 
 JOHNB.NEW. TY 
 
 it shall go well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of 
 their doings ; but woe to the wicked, it shall go ill with 
 them, for the reward of their hand shall be given them." 
 Although he had never been disobedient to his parents or 
 guilty of falsehood or profanity ; yet he felt that he was 
 classed among the wicked ; and, desiring that in eternity 
 it should go well with him, and not ill, he resolved to seek 
 a place among the righteous. To this end he read the 
 Bible daily, and prayed often and fervently; and for a 
 while he thought he was making rapid progress in "the 
 divine life " But one day while guiding an old-fashioned 
 plow around a large tree that stood in the field, the point 
 of the plow caught under a root, throwing up the handles 
 with such force as to hurt him severely, and causing the 
 horse, in his recoil, to plant his foot on a hill of corn. 
 This threw him into a terrible passion, which destroyed 
 in a moment all confidence in his righteousness. The ac- 
 cident has been of great service to him, admonishing him 
 all along the journey of his Christian life to put away 
 anger which " resteth in the bosom of fools." 
 
 The next discourse to which he listened was delivered 
 by John Scott, a Baptist of more than ordinary ability. 
 His subject, " The Cumberers of the Ground," was pre- 
 sented in such a manner as to cause young New to ad- 
 dress himself again to the task of "seeking religion" — a 
 search which was anxiously prosecuted for several weeks. 
 
 At length on a certain afternoon, as he rose up from 
 prayer for the fifteenth time that day, he felt that his sins 
 had been blotted out. But after a few moments' reflection 
 he concluded that this peace of mind was not owing to 
 the presence of the Holy Spirit — that it was only Satan 
 whispering to his conscience "peace, peace, when there 
 was no peace." He therefore applied himself again to the 
 work of prayer, that he might obtain from God an evidence
 
 78 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 of pardon, or some new revelation of the divine will con- 
 cerning him. 
 
 Finally, after struggling a long time in the Slough of 
 Despond, he read in Romans : — " If thou shalt confess 
 with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy 
 heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt 
 be saved." He read also in Mark : — " He that helieveth 
 and is baptized shall be saved." Though he did not then 
 know that baptism, preceded by faith and repentance, is 
 " for the remission of sins ;" yet he determined to confess 
 the Messiah before men ; and be baptized in obedience to 
 his command. At the next opportunity he did so ; and 
 as he walked out of the water he proclaimed with a loud 
 voice, to the many spectators: — "This is the way, walk 
 ye in it. " 
 
 At the next meeting of the Baptist chui'ch he united 
 with them ; and for the space of three years continued to 
 walk in what he believed to be all the statutes and ordi- 
 nances blameless, praying often in secret and reading the 
 Bible and other books of a religious character, prominent 
 among which were Pilgrim's Progress and Whitfield's 
 Sermons. 
 
 About this time, being then sixteen years of age, he 
 first conceived the idea of becoming, one day, a preacher 
 of the gospel. 
 
 In May, 1812, he was drafted as a soldier for six months, 
 to defend Indiana Territory against the invasion of the 
 Indians. He was not called into service until the next 
 August, on the 17th of which month he joined Colonel 
 Wilcox's regiment at Louisville, where he was inspected 
 by Genera] Harrison, then on his way to Cincinnati to take 
 command of the army of the north-west. 
 
 Having been armed and equipped at Jeffersonville, his 
 regiment marched first to the defense of Fort Harrison, 
 then commanded by Captain Zachary Taylor, subsequently
 
 JOHN B. NEW. 79 
 
 President of tbe United States. Afterwards they marched 
 up the Wabash to a point near La Fayette, whence they 
 returned in January, having passed the Winter thus far 
 in the flax-linen clothing with which they left home in 
 Auguat ! During the campaign he saw but one Indian, 
 who was running at such a rate that he could not obtain 
 a shot. Like Frederick V. in his dying hour, he could 
 say, " There is not a drop of blood on my hands." Since 
 his prejudices against that unfortunate people have worn 
 away, he is exceedingly glad that he took not the life 
 of one. 
 
 In the Spring of 1813 he entered the establishment of 
 Matthew Craigmiles for the purpose of learning the trade 
 of a cabinet maker. There he served out his apprentice- 
 ship ; and afterwards opened a shop in the town of 
 Cynthiaha, Ky. 
 
 Toward the last of February, 1814, the weather, which 
 had been very warm, suddenly became extremely cold, 
 occasioning a fearful disease, which the physicians called 
 Cold Plague — a malady similar in many respects to 
 Asiatic Cholera. 
 
 After having lost a beloved brother and several other 
 relatives. Elder New was himself seized with the swift 
 destroyer. The attack was severe ; the physicians de- 
 cided that he must die ; and his friends prepared for hini 
 his grave clothes. But while reflecting one day he came 
 to the conclusion that he would not then die ; that his 
 work for the Lord was not yet all accomplished ; and, 
 perhaps, through the mysterious influence which the mind 
 exerts over the body, or, it may be, through the provi- 
 dence of God, the long-balanced scale turned in favor of 
 life ; and he slowly regained his wonted health. 
 
 On the 2d of February, 1815, he located in Madison, 
 then a small village in Indiana Territory. The cause of 
 his leaving Kentucky was the same that has driven many
 
 80 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 a good citizen from her fertile soil — namely, the institution 
 of human slavery. His object in coming to Indiana 
 was to assist in making it a free State. His views of 
 slavery may be most fairly given by an extract from an 
 ai'ticle written by himself. In his own peculiar style, he 
 says : " I saw that a man in a slave State might possess 
 twice as much property as his slaveholding neighbor ; 
 might have four times as good fare upon his table ; might 
 have eight times as much sense ; and might manifest six- 
 teen times as much honor in his business transactions; 
 and yet the slaveholder would not regard him as his 
 equal. The possession of a few poor, ignorant, debased 
 slaves was a standard of respectability that I was unwil- 
 ling for myself and my posterity to be measured by." 
 
 In April, 1815, he cast his first vote, as a citizen of 
 Indiana, for delegates to form the first free State consti- 
 tution. In the same month he looked upon the first 
 steamboat that ever ascended the Ohio. When the six- 
 pounder announced her approach to the port, every man, 
 woman, and child in the village — in all about forty fami- 
 lies — ran down to the river to see the great wonder, the 
 Robert Fulton ; while the cattle, differently affected, fled 
 affrighted to the hills. 
 
 Soon after his arrival at Madison, he entei'ed the cabi- 
 net shop of Henry Critz, where he worked as a journey- 
 man for two or three years ; during the greater part of 
 which time he served as clerk of the Baptist church at 
 Mount Pleasant, near Madison. 
 
 At this time and place the " great salvation" was gene- 
 rally neglected ; and, falling in with the popular current, 
 he too soon became "barren and unfruitful." But he 
 soon repented of his folly, and with tears sought the 
 favor and the forgiveness of God. In order to renew his 
 spiritual sti'ength, he determined to visit New Liberty, 
 Ky., near which place protracted meetings were then
 
 JOHNB.NEW. 81 
 
 being held with great success. He went in the spirit of 
 David, praying God to create within him a clean heart, 
 and restore unto him the joys of his salvation. 
 
 The people among whom he went most certainly had a 
 zeal for God, though their knowledge of the truth was 
 imperfect. Their doctrine was corrupt, but their lives 
 were pure ; and it is to be regretted that in many respects 
 neither time nor the Reformation has produced their 
 superiors in moral excellence. They were a praying 
 people — in the family as well as at church ; in secret as 
 well as in public. They were a simple people, compara- 
 tively free from "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, 
 and the pride of life." They were a happy people, sing- 
 ing aloud the praises of God as they went to and from 
 the house of worship. They were a patient people, 
 never growing restless under a sermon sixty minutes 
 long ; but often assembling an hour before .sunset, and 
 protracting their worship until midnight. Among such 
 a people it was good for a faltering pilgrim to go ; for 
 they that act thus " declare plainly that they seek a 
 country." On the next day. after his arrival there he 
 delivered his first exhortation, at the house of a brother, 
 Samuel Sneed ; and, throughout the long series of meet- 
 ings which followed, he took an active part in singing, 
 prayer, and exhoi'tation. 
 
 After several weeks, the meetings closed with about 
 two hundred additions ; and he reluctantly returned to 
 Madison. On the first Saturday after his arrival, at the 
 request of the pastor, Jesse Yawter, he gave the church 
 at Mt. Pleasant an account of the Kentucky revivals ; 
 and exhorted them to diligence in the great work of 
 saving a world that " lieth in wickedness." This address 
 was quite unexpected to the brethren, causing them to 
 partially open their eyes and awake from their sinful 
 slumber.
 
 82 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 On tlie next day^ — Sunday — after a sermon by the pas- 
 tor, Elder New again arose, and began an earnest and 
 touching exhortation. Many in the audience were soon 
 weeping profusely ; and, when he sat down, the pastor, 
 with tears streaming down his face, began to go through 
 the house, exhorting and sha;king hands indiscriminately. 
 The effect was electrical ; and from that meeting the 
 interest spread into the country on both sides of the 
 Ohio ; nor did it abate until great numbers were " added 
 to the saved." 
 
 After his return to Madison, he endeavored to atone 
 for past delinquencies by double diligence in the service 
 of God. He quit all secular business, and entered upon 
 the study of the Bible, with the aid of Scott's Commen- 
 tary, resolved that, if the Lord should call him to preach 
 the gospel, he would not be disobedient. He believed 
 firmly in the doctrine of "a divine call" to the ministry, 
 as did thousands in his day, who, while waiting to re- 
 ceive it, saw multitudes go by in the broad road to 
 destruction, who, but for this grievous doctrine, would 
 have been among those who shall ascribe "blessing, and 
 honor, and glory, and power to Him that sitteth upon 
 the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever." 
 
 After studying and praying over this subject for several 
 months, he finally compromised the matter by resolving 
 that the church should assign him his sphere of action ; 
 and that he would endeavor to do whatever they might 
 require at his hands. They decided that he should 
 preach; and he accordingly began about the year 1818. 
 But, having spent all his money while investigating the 
 question of a divine call, he was obliged to betake himself 
 again to manual labor. Yet, with characteristic order 
 and economy, he reserved four hours out of the twenty- 
 four for study. 
 
 On the 19th of February, 1818, he was married to Miss
 
 JOHNB.NEW. 83 
 
 Maria Chalfaut, the third daughter of Thomas and Maiy 
 Chalfant, who resided in Kentucky, seven miles from 
 Madison, on the Frankfort road. Her parents were from 
 Pennsylvania; and both they and their daughter were 
 Baptists, and opposed to the institution of slavery. The 
 choice of his youth, and the sharer of his toils and trials 
 in the gospel, is still the companion of his old age. 
 
 Soon after his marriage, he and several others were 
 appointed a committee to amend and enlarge the rules of 
 decorum of the Mt. Pleasant church. When the commit- 
 tee met, he inquired of them if, in their opinion, the 
 church required rules to enforce any thing which the 
 Lord had not commanded in the New Testament. They 
 said, " Certainly not." He next inquired if they thought 
 the church needed rules forbidding any thing which the 
 Lord had not forbidden in the Scriptures. This was also 
 answered in the negative. " Then," said he, " it would 
 take much time, ink, and paper to write out all the Chris- 
 tian duties and privileges ; and, on looking into the law 
 of the Lord, I find that he has graciously relieved us 
 from so much labor and expense, by enumerating them 
 for us ; I therefore move that this committee recommend 
 to the church the adoption of the Holy Bible as their all- 
 sufficient rule of faith and practice." Such a report was 
 accordingly made and adopted by the congregation. It 
 will be remembered that this was at a very early period. 
 As yet no great reformer had clearly brought to light the 
 evil of creeds ; and he reached his conclusions by follow- 
 ing the plain reading of the word of God. 
 
 In March, 1821, he removed to Yernon, Jennings 
 county. In a short time Joel Butler, an orthodox Baptist 
 preacher of Indianapolis, delivered a discourse at the 
 house of Luther Newton, near Vernon ; and called on 
 brother New to close the meeting. In doing so he pressed 
 upon the audience the duty of complying with the "con-
 
 ? i P I N E E R P R E A C H E R S. 
 
 ditioiis" of the gospel. After dismission, the chief speaker 
 approached bim, with an air of great concern, saying, 
 " Brother New, are there any conditions in the gospel ? 
 If so, what are they ?" In reply to this singular question 
 he quoted Mark xvi. 16, Rev. ii. 10, and Heb. x. 38. 
 Most of the Baptist preachers of that day were equally 
 ignorant of the plan of salvation. They believed that 
 God either would or would not have mercy, according to 
 his own good pleasure ; and that the sinner either should 
 or should not be saved, according to his predestination to 
 glory or to shame. 
 
 On this subject of predestination he had much contro- 
 ver.'^y with his brethren, who stigmatized him as an Ar- 
 minian because he was not a Calvinist. On one occasion, 
 a Baptist from Kentucky preached in the court house at 
 Yernon ; and vulgarly announced to the audience that he 
 was "a predestinarian up to his knees, with a steel hoop 
 and an iron jacket." He and Elder New went to the 
 same house for dinner ; and at the table a controversy 
 arose between them, which continued, with a short inter- 
 mission for sleep, until nearly noon the next day. It is 
 said that when Sir Orthodox went back to Kentucky, he 
 unlaced his jacket somewhat, and did not wade quite so 
 deep in the mire of predestination. 
 
 The first standard work on theology that he read was 
 Gill's Body of Divinity. Finding that it advocated the 
 doctrine of a partial atonement, be laid it aside, when 
 finished, and christened it Gill's Body of Humanity ; be- 
 cause it was, in his opinion, as unlike the Divinity of 
 Christ as John Gill was unlike the Messiah. He next 
 read Andrew Fuller's Gospel, which he found to be very 
 different from Paul's ; for, although it taught that Christ 
 made an atonement for all, yet none could believe unless 
 first regenerated by the Hol}^ Spirit, which was eflfectuall}- 
 imparted "according to the determinate counsel and fore-
 
 JOHNB.NEW. 85 
 
 knowledge of God;" thus virtually attributing the loss 
 of the non-elect to Adam and the Almighty, while Gill 
 laid the blame upon Adam and the Redeemer ! 
 
 As fast as he could condemn such doctrines of men by 
 comparing them with the word of God, he threw them 
 aside ; for he had determined that, in matters of doctrine, 
 he would reject every thing which was not as old as the 
 New Testament ; and that he would confine himself as 
 closely as possible to the language of the Book, when 
 speaking of Father, Son, Holy Spirit, faith, repentance, 
 baptism, remission of sins, and whatever else is intimately 
 connected with man's salvation — a practice which, if 
 adopted by all preachers, would soon utterly destroy the 
 worthless dogmas that distract the church and stay the 
 progress of the gospel. 
 
 So numerous were these dogmas then, that it often 
 happened that there would be several sorts of Baptists in 
 one congregation. At one time the church at Vernon 
 wished to prepare a letter for the Silver Creek Association. 
 In carrying out their wish a difficulty arose as to the 
 manner in which the said letter should be prefaced. Some 
 desired that the adjective " United" should be prefixed ; 
 others preferred the prefix " Regular ;" while some, for the 
 sake of compromise, suggested the single word "Baptist." 
 To this Joel Butler stoutly objected, and, in his turn, sug- 
 gested that it be written: '^ The Galvinistic Close- Com- 
 munion Ba'ptisl Church'''' — a name eminently commemora- 
 tive of him who loved the church and gave himself for it I 
 But, says the practice of the orthodox, 
 
 "What's in a name? 
 A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." 
 
 Soon after his removal to Vernon, he began to preach once 
 a month in Ripley county, where he soon organized a 
 church according to the word of the Lord. Among tlio 
 8
 
 86 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 many additions to that congregation was old father Wiley, 
 then seventy-five years of age — almost ready to descend 
 into an earthy, instead of a watery grave. He had been 
 a Methodist for forty years, and when he walked out into 
 the stream he took hold of his coat with both hands and 
 turning toward the large assembly he said, " Some may 
 think that the old man is about to change his coat in his 
 old age ; but if I change it for the better I hope you will 
 excuse me." His wife, who had been a Methodist for 
 thirty years, preceded him into the kingdom. They both 
 walked worthy of their vocation during the remainder of 
 their earthly pilgrimage ; and died in full assurance of 
 faith. 
 
 A little prior to the immersion of father Wiley, a few 
 of that congregation, through the influence of Baptist 
 preachers, became greatly afraid that Elder New would 
 lead the church into " Campbellism." They therefore 
 summoned, from the neighboring churches, a council to 
 assist them in placing their pastor on the iron bedstead. 
 On a certain day the counselors came, and after a dis- 
 course by Elder New, the clerk of the church, who was 
 one of the alarmists, asked permission to read the Articles 
 of Faith of the Silver Creek Association. Permission be- 
 ing granted the articles were read ; whereupon a brother 
 James McClusky arose, and offered the following resolu- 
 tion ; " Whereas the church of Christ at this place has 
 lived together in peace and love, under the government 
 of the Lord without any rules of man's device, therefore 
 
 ^'Resolved, That the said church continue to live by and 
 under his laws alone, as revealed in the New Testament." 
 This resolution was adopted by a vote of thirty-five to 
 seven ; and the " council" retreated in the direction of 
 Silver creek ! 
 
 About this time, it seems that others became alarmed 
 at Campbellism. While the Association was in session
 
 JOHNB.NEW. 8T 
 
 at Shann creek, Bartholomew county, a brother Daniel 
 Pritchard arose and delivered the following lamentation. 
 Said he, " I expect to be compelled to live and die with 
 Arminians, a thing which I can submit to, though it hurts 
 my feelings to call them brethren ; but to live in full fel- 
 lowship with Campbellites (glancing at Elder New) is 
 more than I can endure." Upon this Elder New stood 
 up, and, with an air of great seriousness, observed that, 
 if there were such persons about, it would be well to have 
 them pointed out so that all good people might avoid them. 
 The conscientious brother, who afterwards came into the 
 Reformation, did not say any thing further, being no doubt 
 in the condition of another opposer who said of a certain 
 discourse, that he would have liked it very well if it had 
 not been so full of Campbellism. " True," said he, " I do 
 not know what Campbellism is, and God forbid I ever 
 should know." 
 
 In April, 1830, there being much strife and disorder in 
 the congregation at Yernon, he, with some eleven others, 
 including his wife and his brother Hickman New, obtained 
 from the church letters of dismission in full fellowship, 
 designing to organize as a separate church. For the 
 satisfaction of all concerned they requested that a council 
 should be summoned from six adjacent churches, by the 
 decision of which they pledged themselves to be governed. 
 The council met and decided that they should postpone 
 the new organization for one year, in hope that in the 
 mean time Providence would indicate some means by 
 which they might all dwell together in peace. He there- 
 fore waited until the next Spring, when he began to 
 preach the Reformation in the Baptist church. In July 
 following he immersed his brother Hickman's wife " for 
 the remission of sins." On Saturday evening before his 
 regular meeting in September, he preached at his own 
 house, and Perry M. Blankenship, whom he had brought
 
 OO PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 up and educated, confessed his faith in the Son of God. 
 Brother Blankenshij^'s entrance into the kingdom was 
 strangely opposed by his relatives, especially by his 
 mother, who, when she heard of his confession, declared 
 that she would rather have heard of his death ! — The next 
 day she came post-haste to meeting to prevent his im- 
 mersion. But her objections were finally overruled, and 
 her son, through obedience, became a son of God. He 
 afterwards studied theology, though compelled to labor at 
 the work bench ; and has been for many years an efficient 
 evangelist. 
 
 In November, 1831, he organized the Church of Christ 
 at Yernou, with about thirteen members, to whom were 
 soon added several others, including the wife of P. M. 
 Blankenship. 
 
 In the Summer of 1832, Colonel John King, the county 
 surveyor, came to Elder New's house on Sunday morning 
 with a change of raiment. After some conversation on 
 the subject of religion, he confessed his faith in Jesus, 
 and stated that he had come on purpose to obey him 
 After the morning service at church he was immersed, 
 and in a short time he became a zealous and successful 
 preacher. Through his influence, his father, then a deist, 
 profane and dissipated — was brought occasionally into 
 the sanctuary. He had not long heard the word until he 
 also believed ; and one day, while Elder New was in the 
 midst of a discourse, he rose up in the congregation and 
 expressed his desire to confess the Saviour before men, 
 and be buried with him by baptism into death. The ser- 
 mon being discontinued and an invitation given, he, his 
 son George, and several others came forward to the 
 acknowledgment of the truth. His wife, who had been 
 brought up a Presbyterian, soon followed him into the 
 Reformation, as did others of the relatives, in all about 
 twenty. The old man continued a faithful and devoted
 
 JOHNB.NEW. 89 
 
 disciple until the day of his death, Christ and the cross 
 being his constant theme. 
 
 In August, 1832, he attended a meeting at the Bluffs 
 of White River, some fifteen miles below Indianapolis. 
 There he first met John O'Kane, who agreed to meet him 
 at Greensburg in September and go with him thence to 
 Yernou to assist in a protracted meeting to be held there 
 in October. They met according to agreement, and held 
 their meeting at Greensburg on the last Saturday and 
 Sunday in September. On the next day they set out for 
 Vernon by way of Madison, preaching at New Marion, 
 Hebron, Madison, and Franklin's school-house. At the 
 last place David C. Branham was immersed — the first of 
 that large family that came out in opposition to all human 
 creeds. On Friday morning they arrived at Yernon, 
 where they met with a sore disappointment. They found 
 that the Baptist church, which had long been engaged for 
 the occasion by the Disciples, was occupied by the Pres- 
 byterians of Hanover, who were holding in it their Pres- 
 bytery. A Methodist Quarterly Meeting was in progress 
 in the court house ; and there was left no better place 
 for holding their meeting than in Hickman New's cabinet 
 shop. Previous to their arrival the brethren had set the 
 shop in order, and, hoping that all things would work 
 together for good, they began their meeting. It con- 
 tinued for about a week, and resulted in forty-five addi- 
 tions — the truth triumphing gloriously over its allied 
 opposers. The Presbyterians had no accessions ; the 
 Methodists drew only a few to the anxious seat, the most 
 of whom went away to the Christians' meeting, and 
 obtained pardon by attending to what had been appointed 
 for them to do ; while the Baptists were rewarded for 
 their faithlessness by the loss of ten of their members, 
 who went over to the Reformation. 
 
 About this time he began to preach monthly at Coffee
 
 f)0 PTO NEE 11 PREACHERS. 
 
 creek, some twelve miles from Yernon. It was a Baptist 
 community, and he held his meetings in the Baptist church. 
 It was not long however until the chain and padlock — 
 "the last arguments to which errorists resort" — were 
 placed upon the door. At this crisis two of the Baptists, 
 more noble than the rest, invited him to preach in their 
 houses, at the same time addressing him as "brother New." 
 For this act they were arraigned before the church, which 
 had already agreed to be governed by the word of God. 
 To that word they appealed, but were informed that they 
 were to be tried l^y the Baptist rules. They then plead 
 successfully that those rules did not forbid their calling a 
 good man brother or inviting him to preach in their dwell- 
 ings. It was then charged in the indictment that they 
 had hurt the feelings of the church. On this charge they 
 were excluded ; but through the door, which was opened 
 for their egress, about twenty others went out — so great 
 a matter did a little fire kindle. He continued his meet- 
 ings and organized a church there which soon numbered 
 a hundred members, about half of whom were from the 
 Baptists. In a little while they built a substantial brick 
 meeting-house, which, to this day commemorates the vic- 
 tory at Coffee creek. 
 
 In November, 1832, he and Carey Smith organized the 
 Church of Christ at Madison, which consisted at first of 
 about a dozen members. Among the original members 
 were Jessee Mavity and his wife. Elder Mavity had 
 been preaching for a few years and was an educated and 
 promising evangelist. To support his family he taught 
 school in the basement of the Masonic Hall, assisted by 
 his brother Henry Mavity. Prior to the organization of 
 the church, he had preached with great acceptance for the 
 several denominations of the city, all of whom were liberal 
 patrons of his school. But no sooner was an effort made 
 to build a church on the foundation which God has laid
 
 JOHN B. NEW. 91 
 
 in Zion, than they induced him to change his common 
 school to a High School, assuring him that he would thus 
 make a better support with less labor. The change beino- 
 made, they withdrew so much of their patronage that the 
 High School proved a failure. He was therefore com- 
 pelled to leave the city and retire into the country a 
 
 movement which deprived the infant church of a pastor. 
 This seems to have been a strategic movement on the part 
 of the allied sects to which they were no doubt prompted 
 by the Scripture which saith, "Smite the shepherd, and 
 the sheep shall be scattered. ^^ 
 
 The stategy, however, did not succeed. Elder New 
 went to the relief of the congregation, which he visited 
 once a month gratuitously until they were able to sustain 
 a preacher. Thus he not only planted, but also saved, the 
 Church of Christ at Madison. 
 
 Having assisted in building a good brick meeting-house 
 at Vernon, and having placed the cause upon a good foot- 
 ing, he determined to entrust the work, in that county, to 
 his brother Hickman and several other young preachers. 
 Accordingly in October, 1839, he removed to Ureensburg, 
 Decatur count}-, where there was a languishing church of 
 some thirty members. His first meeting was on a beauti- 
 ful Lord's day in October ; but, the brethren had so far 
 forsaken the assembling of themselves together, that there 
 were but thirteen of them and three small boys present. 
 After the discourse, he and his wife handed their letters 
 to one of the bishops, and were received into what little 
 fellowship the church possessed. The prospect was so 
 dark that his wife wept bitterly ; and his stouter heart 
 was not a little discouraged. They had left their com- 
 fortable old home ; were in debt for their new one ; and 
 without even the promise of a single dollar from the 
 church at that place. But he looked upon the Lord's 
 vineyard, all grown over with thorns, and also upon the
 
 92 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 field ripe for the harvest ; he girded up his loins with 
 truth ; set his sickle in order ; and resolved to labor, and 
 wait for his reward until the resurrection of the just. 
 
 He appointed a protracted meeting to be held early in 
 November ; and obtained the assistance of George Cald- 
 well of Rush, and Samuel Ellis of Decatur. At the first 
 meeting on Saturday morning eight persons were present, 
 one of whom had walked from Hartsville, a distance of 
 fourteen miles. On Saturday night there were twelve 
 present ; on Sunday twenty-five ; and the big meeting 
 adjourned sine die. It was about four months before he 
 could get a tolerable hearing ; but he received as much 
 pay, almost, from the empty pews as from the people, so 
 he toiled on, preaching in town every Thursday night and 
 five times on one Saturday and Sunday of each month, 
 and holding meetings in school-houses and private dwell- 
 ings throughout a district of ten miles square. Such 
 persevering industry, accompanied with fervent prayer to 
 the Giver of all increase, could not fail to produce some 
 good results ; and during the first year there were seventy- 
 five additions to the church. He preached at Greensburg 
 one fourth of his time for six years ; and each year brought' 
 about fifty into the fold of Christ. Under his diligent 
 culture, the small seed which he found there took such 
 deep root that it has steadily grown into a great tree 
 under whose shadow all other gospels enjoy but a sickly 
 existence. 
 
 In December, 1839, he went to Cincinnati, where he 
 preached five discourses and had twelve additions. This 
 was the beginning of the great meeting, which lasted 
 three whole months, and resulted in two hundred and fifty 
 accessions to the cause of righteousness and truth. 
 
 In January, 1840, he organized a church five miles 
 south of Greensburg ; and continued to preach for them 
 monthly until they reached a membership of sixty. In
 
 J O H N B . N E W. 93 
 
 June of the same year he held a meeting at Napoleon, 
 Ripley county. At this point there was no Christian 
 church, nor were there more than two or three disciples 
 in all that region. After a meeting of four days' continu- 
 ance, there was a church there of twenty-four members. 
 The twenty-tioo additions were from eleven different re- 
 ligious parties ! Hence it appears that the ancient gospel, 
 which in the days of Paul made " of twain one new man," 
 has not yet lost its power ; for it has in this century made 
 of eleven one new church. Notwithstanding their differ- 
 ences of opinion previous to their union, they afterwards 
 stood together as one man ; and Christ became " all and in 
 all. " So would all material differences of opinion perish, 
 were they not embalmed, like Egyptian bodies, in the 
 Greeds and Confessions of Faith. 
 
 In May, 1841, he held a meeting at Milroy, in Rush 
 county. The padlock being on the door of the M. E. 
 church, he preached at tlje house of Austin Smith. There 
 was then no Christian church at that place, and only one 
 disciple, the wife of Dr. Samuel Barbour. On Monday 
 morning the citizens said to him that if he would return 
 in eight weeks they would have a house ready for his use. 
 When he came, accompanied by Jos. Fassett, the house 
 was ready. They preached in it a few days, and left 
 there a church of seventeen members. Them also he fed 
 with the sincere milk of the word, until they were able to 
 take care of themselves. They are still a large congre- 
 gation, and have a good house of worship. 
 
 In August, 1841, he and Joseph Fassett held a meeting 
 of two days at Shelbyville, and immersed one. There 
 were then but three disciples at that place, and the oppo- 
 sition was very strong. He returned in March, 1842; 
 preached several days in the town and vicinity, and with 
 great difficulty collected sufficient materials to organize a
 
 94 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 church, to which, in April following, he added some twenty 
 disciples. 
 
 The same year, 1842, he organized two more churches 
 — one at Milford, and the other at Blue River. He also 
 held that year a number of protracted meetings, extend- 
 ing his circuit as far as Rising Sun. 
 
 On the first Lord's day in March, 1843, the M^eather 
 being very cold, he began a protracted meeting at Edin- 
 burg, Johnson county. When he arrived at the church * 
 on Monday morning, a little before the hour for preaching, 
 he found the door still locked. He hunted up the key, 
 unlocked the door, and proceeded to examine the stove, 
 which he found cold as the church, and nearly full of 
 ashes. These he carried out, and began to cast about 
 him for wood to make a fii-e. Finding none save some 
 large hickory logs, he procured an axe, prepared wood, 
 and soon had a comfortable fire. By this time a faithful 
 few had assembled ; and, being already " w^armed up," he 
 discoursed to them with unusual ease and fluency. Not- 
 withstanding this sad beginning, he continued the meet- 
 ing for several days ; and closed with nineteen additions, 
 most of whom were persons of wealth, intelligence, and 
 moral worth. 
 
 In September, 1846, he held a meeting at Williams- 
 burg, Johnson county. When he began, a certain brother 
 observed that he would not be afraid to promise him a 
 hundred dollars for every one he would immerse, there 
 being much sickness in the neighborhood, and also a great 
 sale of personal property, which attracted the attention 
 of the people. He continued to preach to very small 
 audiences until Thursday afternoon, at which time there 
 w^ere sixteen persons present — ten citizens of the king- 
 dom, and six "foreigners." Of these six, he immersed, 
 that afternoon, five ; and the other waited only a few days,
 
 JOHN B. NEW. 05 
 
 to obtain the consent of his mother.' This cireumstanct' 
 fairly ilhistrates his perseverance and hope. 
 
 In October, 1846, he was appointed by the State Meet- 
 ing as missionary to Fort Wayne, for a period of one 
 year. He was to receive out of the treasury two hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars, and the balance of his expenses lie 
 was to meet by the labor of his own hands. On the Yth 
 of November he arrived at Fort Wayne, in which were 
 then only two sisters and one brother. On the evening 
 of the 15th he preached his first sermon, in the court 
 house, all the churches being closed against him. Fort 
 Wayne then contained eleven churches, and a population 
 of about four thousand, of whom one thousand were 
 Roman Catholics and nearly another thousand German 
 Lutherans. The claims of the ancient gospel were firmly 
 disputed by the " clergy," who spared no pains to preju- 
 dice the public mind against it. From any point of view 
 the prospect was by no means flattering, if not absolutely 
 discouraging. However he still persevered in the work, 
 and it was not long until his efforts were rewarded by the 
 conversion of an Episcopal minister by the name of 
 Edward Hodgkins, who became an able advocate of 
 primitive Christianity. 
 
 It was two full months before he could command a 
 large audience ; but, when he began to immerse believers 
 in the canal, in which the ice was more than a foot thick, 
 the inhabitants became anxious to know more of those 
 people that were everywhere spoken against. 
 
 At the expiration of the first half of his year there was 
 at Fort Wayne a Christian chui'ch of fifty members, with 
 a well-attended and interesting Sunday-school. During 
 the other six months he preached half his time at other 
 points, including Auburn and Newville, De Kalb county ; 
 Ashland, Wabash county ; and Huntington and Wabash- 
 town, Huntington county. The result of his labors for
 
 96 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 the year was two chnrelies organized, and one hundred 
 and fifty-five accessions to the cause of primitive Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 During the next six months he preached for the churches 
 at Marion, Ashland, Wabashtown, and Huntington. In 
 those days he usually travelled in a buggy, and was fre- 
 quently accompanied by his wife. The roads were some- 
 times in such wretched plight that the horse could with 
 difficulty draw the buggy containing sister New alone. 
 In such cases the evangelist would be compelled to alight, 
 and, with pantaloons well rolled up, plod his weary way 
 through almost unfathomable depths of mud. Yet he 
 patiently endured all for Christ's sake and the gospel's ; 
 and, on reaching terra firrtia, he would mount again into 
 his carriage, with all the hopefulness of the poet, when 
 he sang : 
 
 "Come, let us anew 
 Our journey pursue ; 
 
 Roll round with the year, 
 And never stand still, 
 
 Till tlie Master appear." 
 
 In the Spring of 1848 he returned to Greensburg ; and 
 during the following Summer and Fall he visited most of 
 the churches he had planted, confirming the brethren. 
 
 In January, 1849, he preached, by invitation, before 
 the Co-operatioucMeeting then in session at Crawfords- 
 ville. In March following, he was employed for one year 
 by the brethren at Crawfordsville, to which place he re- 
 moved. The church was then in a sad state, owing to 
 strifes and divisions. He labored long and earnestly in 
 the capacity of a peace-maker, and finally succeeded in 
 reconciling the most of them ; but the influence of their 
 exam])le was such upon the world that he could accom- 
 plish but very little outside of the congregation. 
 
 At the close of his year he went back to Indianapolis,
 
 JOHN B. NEW. 97 
 
 where he fixed his permanent residence, perhaps for life. 
 For about six months after his return to that city he was 
 employed as agent and evangelist for the State Mission- 
 ary Society. During this time he travelled extensively 
 ii various parts of the State ; and his efforts were attended 
 with good success. 
 
 During the year 1852, being again employed by the 
 Missionary Society, he preached in the counties of Madi- 
 son and Delaware ; and with such success that he was 
 continued in that field six months longer. Within the 
 eighteen months he organized five new churches, and 
 made one hundred and twenty-five proselytes. 
 
 In February, 1853, he held a meeting at Terre Haute, 
 which greatly strengthened the church in that city. In 
 March following he organized the chui-ch at Paris, Illi- 
 nois, and left it with thirty-seven members. 
 
 About this time the great controversy with regard to 
 the powers of elders and evangelists was sweeping like a 
 tornado over Illinois, laying church after church in ruins. 
 Perceiving that general destruction was inevitable unless 
 the tempest could be stayed. Elder New made a tour 
 through that State, preaching almost exclusively to the 
 brethren, and exhorting them to " keep the unity of the 
 spirit in the bond of peace." 
 
 At Jacksonville he addressed the State Meeting on the 
 subject of Missions, on which occasion he presented the 
 following as the essential elements of a successful mis- 
 sionary : 1st. Godliness. 2d. A clear understanding of 
 the Christian system. 3d. Aptness to teach. 4th. A tho- 
 rough acquaintance with human nature. 
 
 During the year 1860, he served the congregations at 
 Mishawaka, South Bend, and Harris' Prairie, St. Joseph 
 county. When he first visited those churches, some were 
 weak and powerless on account of divisions. He suc- 
 ceeded in removing the most of these obstacles ; and the 
 9
 
 98 PIONEER PREACHERS, 
 
 gospel, in St. Joseph, now has "free course that it may- 
 run and be glorified." 
 
 During the past year he has continued to reside at In- 
 dianapolis ; from which point he has gone in every direc- 
 tion, preaching the gospel wherever there has been a de- 
 mand for his services. 
 
 Having thus reached the present, history can proceed 
 no further ; but if one had the gift of prophecy this sketch 
 might no doubt be considerably extended. For, though 
 old in years, the subject of it is still young in spirit, and 
 there is reason to hope that he will yet do much that will 
 redound to the glory of God and the advancement of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom. But already, as he looks back 
 through sunshine and shadow to the churches he has 
 planted, the schisms he has healed, the opposers he has 
 vanquished, and the hearts he has cheered, he may well 
 rejoice that he has not run in vain neither labored in vain. 
 
 In the physical contour of John B. New there is nothing 
 remarkable. He is a man of medium size, blessed by na- 
 ture with more than ordinary activity. Altogether, he is 
 a man of very good appearance ; and one, you may be 
 sure, who never appears to disadvantage through any 
 neglect of his toilette. Every hair knows its inevitable 
 position ; which position his nicely smoothed hat is careful 
 never to disturb. His snow-white cravat is always tied 
 precisely so, and his large full shirt bosom is spotless as 
 the soul of a saint. His boots are generally well blacked, 
 and you might as well search for the philosopher's stone 
 as for a grease-spot upon his clothing. Yet you must 
 not think he is foppish, he is only neat — hardly ever up 
 with the fashion, but generally dressed a little after the 
 style of the olden time. 
 
 Not merely in dress, but in every thing, he is cleanly 
 even to a fault. Should ho see you enter your own house
 
 JOHN B. NEW. 99 
 
 with a little mud adheriug to your shoe, he would hardly 
 hesitate to tell you to step out and remove the intruder ; 
 and if, in a house at which he is stopping, the children 
 have very dirty faces — or if the window panes are so dusty 
 that he cannot see out clearly — the good sister in charge 
 need not be surprised to receive from him a gentle hint 
 relative to the virtues of warm water. It is a matter of 
 regret, therefore, that with some housewives he is not a 
 favorite — yet he is "not a terror to good works but to the 
 evil." 
 
 He takes care that every thing is done not only "de- 
 cently," but also in order. Every book and paper must 
 be in just the right place. When he writes every i must 
 be dotted, and every t crossed ; and, about the whole 
 premises, every thing must be done just then and .so. It 
 is related of him that in one of his preaching tours he was 
 tarrying on Saturday at the house of a brother, who to 
 the neglect of his work had kept him company all the 
 afternoon. Towards nightfall he observed to his host 
 that if he had any chores to do, any wood to get, or 
 chickens to catch, it was then the proper time to attend 
 to such business. If this be true, there was not a parti- 
 cle of selfishness in the whole matter. It was not his 
 ajypetite, but his hump of order that constrained him to 
 offer the suggestion. 
 
 But with all these little faults, which lean to virtue's 
 side, he is an agreeable, an amiable man. Deep down 
 below these surface appearances he has a frank, generous 
 nature ; a pure, warm heart. He grasps your hand like 
 a brother indeed ; and Avhen he says, " How do you do V 
 it is because he really desires to know that you are well. 
 
 His mind is well informed, though neither of the high- 
 est order nor thoroughly cultivated. He has a large share 
 of the sound common-sense which Providence bestowed on 
 the generation past in lieu of the colleges and universities
 
 100 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 vouchsafed to tlie generation present. He has a remarka- 
 bly good memory, retentive of time, place, and event ; 
 supplying him promptly with chapter and verse ; and 
 reaching back almost to infancy. 
 
 In the pulpit, he is an eccentric, yet safe teacher — an 
 earnest and effective exhorter. His gestures are quick, 
 cramped, and rectilinear ; and he utters bluntly whatever 
 he thinks, whether it relates to friend or foe. He is mainly 
 argumentative, proving all things and holding veTy fast 
 that which is good. Owing to his highly nervous tem- 
 perament, he thinks and speaks rapidly ; yet he is not 
 always brief; and it need not surprise you if in his enu- 
 meration of topics he ascend even to thirteenthly. True, 
 he very often looks at his elegant watch ; but he cares no 
 more for its admonitions than he docs for a Confession of 
 Faith. 
 
 He enters with spirit into his subject ; but it is said 
 that he never becomes so excited in speaking, that he fails 
 to notice a dog if one ventures into the house of God. 
 It is said further, that, in such a case, he stops suddenly ; 
 indulges in a few significant looks and gestures ; and if 
 no one else restores order, he quietly descends from the 
 pulpit ; takes his cane ; expels the intruder ; and then re- 
 sumes his discourse. No Jew could have been much more 
 zealous in excluding the idolater from the Holy Temple. 
 
 Altogether he is a character worthy of the pen of a 
 Shakspeare. He has done but little evil to live after him, 
 and the good that he has accomplished can never be "in- 
 terred with his bones." He may pass away, and his chil- 
 dren in the gospel may lie down with him to sleep in dust; 
 but the churches he has planted will flourish after his 
 death ; the principles he has helped to establish will sur- 
 vive even his memory ; and the spirits of the just, made 
 perfect through the gospel he has preached, shall live and 
 rejoice with him forever before the throne of God.
 
 '^^'^mi o 
 
 w
 
 1/ {7^^1-9 /'^^^- 
 
 //J^^i^^Ai^^ ^a^yo^^^^cZ^.
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. 
 
 i Elder Beverly Yawter is a native of Yirginia, born 
 'on the 28th of September, 1789 — the same year in which 
 George Y^ashington was inaugurated first President of 
 the United States. In the same year also, Ethan Allen 
 died, and thus the place of the celebrated infidel was sup- 
 plied by the veteran Christian. 
 
 His parents, Philemon and Ann Yawter, were both 
 born in Culpepper county, Yirginia, and brought up in 
 the Episcopal Church. Soon after their marriage they 
 crossed the mountains and settled in Western Yirginia, 
 where their son Beverly was born. 
 
 In 1192 they emigrated to Kentucky, then a new-born 
 babe in the sisterhood of States. They settled in Wood- 
 ford county, and united with the Baptist church, in which 
 faith they lived and died without reproach. Several 
 years prior to his death, the father became a Baptist 
 preacher. 
 
 In about three years after their settlement in Woodford 
 county, they removed to a new home, on the bank of the 
 Ohio, in Boone county, Ky. There Elder Yawter spent 
 his boyhood, surrounded by savages and a few adventu- 
 rous pioneers. Books were so scarce in those times that 
 he was a full-grown man before he saw even an almanac ! 
 The best family library contained only a Bible and hymn 
 book, while newspapers and religious magazines were not 
 only unseen but almost unheard of 
 
 Under such circumstances his education was necessarily 
 very limited. He farmed, shivered with the ague, and 
 
 101
 
 102 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 went to what was called school, alternately ; and if it 
 M^ere all summed up — lost time being deducted — his 
 student life would amount to less than two years. To 
 spell, read, write, and " cipher" a very little, was all lie 
 learned at school. He has not, by his own efforts, greatly 
 uiultiplied his literary and scientific attainments ; but by 
 reading and observation he has, in the course of his long 
 life, acquired a respectable stock of general information. 
 When he entered into the Reformation, he was, in point 
 of scholarship, one of the weak things which God has 
 chosen to confound the things that are mighty. 
 
 His first attempt to draw nigh to God, was in harmony 
 with the religious teachings of his times, and not unlike 
 the efforts of others whose histories are contained in this 
 volume. It was simply a blind feeling after God in places 
 where he has never promised to be found, attended with 
 alternate seasons of hope and despair. In view of the 
 darkness of that day and the light that now shines upon 
 the way of life, he may well say to the people of this 
 generation : " Blessed are your eyes, for they see." But 
 the darkness is not all dispelled. Some of the old errors 
 still remain ; and, in order that the world may have still 
 further evidence of their pernicious influence, the history 
 of his conversion must be given. 
 
 When he was about ten years old there was a great 
 revival of religion in the only Baptist church then in 
 Boone county. Every body seemed to be joining the 
 church, under the stirring preaching of an aged minister 
 named John Taylor. One day, after meeting, Mrs. Vaw- 
 ter took occasion to talk with her son in regard to his 
 religious impressions, saying that he seemed to be affected 
 by the preaching ; that he ought to pray daily in secret ; 
 and, if possible, "get religion." Being a dutiful son, that 
 never was chastised with the rod in all his life, he readily 
 promised to follow her advice.
 
 BEAE K ] V \ A W T LU. 103 
 
 Soon after this, he again attended a meeting, at which 
 a great many young persons — older, however, than him- 
 self — were uniting with the church. One day, after a 
 large in-gathering, the preacher arose and inquired if 
 there was not " another little boy wishing to join :" then, 
 growing personal in his exhortation, he added, " Come, 
 Beverly, and tell us how you feel." At the mention of 
 his name, a certain Judge Watts took him up in his 
 arms ; cai'ried him, iiolens volens, over the benches ; and 
 sat down with him among the mourners. The preacher 
 with great solemnity asked him a great many questions, 
 all of which he was too much abashed to answer. His 
 mother came to his relief; and testified that, although she 
 could not get him to talk, she knew he prayed every day; 
 and she thought that from a given period she had noticed 
 a change in his countenance ! This was regarded, by the 
 preacher and church, as good evidence of a sound con- 
 version ! The next day they baptized him ; and gave 
 him the right hand of fellowship. About the same time 
 the wife of a Major Kirtley, a most excellent woman, 
 presented to him a nice suit of clothes as an earnest of 
 the many " good deeds" she afterwards performed for him. 
 Thus he experienced a change of raiment, instead of a 
 change of heart! He suspected as much himself, but 
 finally concluded that all was well, as the church seemed 
 to think so ; and they were certainly better judges than 
 himself. Soon, however, he expressed doubts as to his 
 conversion ; but these very doubts were construed by his 
 brethren into the most conclusive evidence that he was a 
 child of God 1 This is one of the errors that remain, as 
 the following incident will show. 
 
 About three years ago a Christian preacher was holding 
 a protracted meeting in a strong Baptist community, in 
 Warrick county, Indian^. He was accompanied by a 
 young man, a disciple, who, some years before, had been
 
 7 04 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 " powerfully converted" at the mourner's bench in the 
 same house in which the meeting was being held. At 
 the close of a discourse which made some encroachments 
 on that peculiar institution of pardon, the disciple above 
 mentioned arose and made the following revelation : 
 Said he, " It will do you no harm to go to the mourner's 
 bench." " Amen, that's a fact !" responded the Baptists. 
 " I am glad," he added, " to see one become so humble 
 that he is willing to go to the mourner's bench." Here 
 the voice of the Baptist preacher i-ose above all others, 
 saying, "Amen, go on Brother J — !" "But," continued 
 the speaker, " the feelings there experienced must not he 
 regarded as evidence of pai^don." (No response.) " I 
 experienced such feelings at this very altar, and I shouted 
 and praised God, believing that my sins were forgiven." 
 " But," said he, addressing the Baptists, who could not 
 question his integrity, " the next day I doubted my con- 
 version ; I expressed my doubts to you, and you said : 
 ' 0, never mind it, thaVs the way we all feel P " It is 
 needless to say that this " most unkind cut of all" was 
 received with profound silence. 
 
 Agreeably to this advice. Elder Yawter tried to " never 
 mind it ;" but the older he grew the more he was com- 
 pelled to "mind it." He soon discontinued his prayers; 
 but he remained in the church until he reached his twenty- 
 second year ; both because he feared to turn back, on his 
 own account, and was unwilling to wound the feelings of 
 his parents. At times he would renew his efforts to 
 obtain a satisfactory evidence of his acceptance with 
 God ; but it was all in vain. 
 
 When in his twenty-second year, some disturbance 
 occurred in the family of one of his brethren. He thought 
 the brother was guilty of maltreating his wife ; and he 
 one day said to a neighbor that " such a fellow ought 
 to be cowhided." This remark reached the ear of the
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. 105 
 
 church ; and a brother was sent to obtain from him an 
 acknowledgment of his fault. Desiring to be excluded, 
 he refused to confess. Being threatened with excommu- 
 nication, he replied that he had never "had religion;" 
 and it was better for him to be out of the church than in 
 it. This reply being reported, he was promptly ex- 
 cluded — a matter which troubled him only as it distressed 
 his parents. 
 
 During the next five or six years of his life, he banished 
 all religious impressions from his mind — God was not in 
 all his thoughts. Within this time he volunteered twice 
 in the service of his country; and, in the pioneer uniform, 
 marched to the defense of the north-western frontier. At 
 the close of the second campaign he exchanged the de- 
 moralizing influences of camp-life for the evil communi- 
 cations of river men. In the capacity of a flat-boat- 
 man he made a trip to the South, experiencing by the 
 way the earthquakes which occurred near New Madrid 
 in 1811. 
 
 On the 5th of March, 1812, he married Miss Elizabeth 
 Crawford ; settled down upon a farm ; and, for a few 
 years, devoted all his powers to the acquisition of wealth. 
 
 On a certain Lord's day, in June, 1816, he went to hear 
 a Newlight preacher. The discourse made no impres- 
 sion on his mind ; for he was strongly prejudiced against 
 that people on account of the bodily exercises* prevailing 
 among them. Returning home, he was passing through 
 his field of corn, then gently swayed by a summer breeze. 
 " This," said he to himself, " is God's blessing on a sin- 
 ner, for which he receives no thanks." He instantly re- 
 
 * " The bodily agitations, or exercises, attending the excite- 
 ment in the beginning of this century, were various, and called 
 by various names — as, the falling exercise ; the jerks ; the 
 dancing exercise ; the barking exercise ; the laughing, and 
 singing exercise, &c." — Biography of W. B. Stone.
 
 106 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 solved that he would once more " praise the Lord for his 
 goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of 
 men." While, therefore, his wife was preparing dinner, 
 he stole away into a grove ; and there oifered thanks to 
 God, beseeching him to grant unto him faith and remis- 
 sion of sins, if indeed he was one of the elect — for he was 
 a firm believer in the doctrine of eternal election, and 
 faith as the direct gift of God, through the secret opera- 
 tion of the Holy Spirit. He was a firm believer also in 
 the Bible, if he had known it ; but he had been taught 
 to expect " some great thing" instead of " the simplicity 
 that is in Christ." 
 
 In search of faith he opened his mind to the Newlight 
 preacher ; but he received fi'om him no consolation. He 
 informed his uncle, a Baptist preacher, that he " could not 
 obtain that divine faith which proceeds from the throne 
 of God." His uncle tried to persuade him that he already 
 had religion ; and offered to receive him into fellowship. 
 He refused, observing that he would never rest until 
 satisfied of his pardon. "That,^^ said his uncle, "is a 
 hard thing to know in this life, but we hojx on till death." 
 How little better the consolations of such religion than 
 the uncertain hopes of immortality cherished by the 
 heathen philosophers ! Again he applied to an aged and 
 intelligent Presbyterian, whose only reply was : " A man 
 cannot help what he believes." He attended the meet- 
 ings of the sects within his reach, ever in search of one 
 object, which he already possessed — that is faith. 
 
 At last he obtained light on this subject in the follow- 
 ing manner : On going, one day, to the house of his 
 brother-in-law, he found his wife's sister alone and en- 
 gaged in fervent prayer. He sat down on the door-step 
 that he might not disturb her devotions. When she arose 
 from prayer she approached him with a face bedewed 
 with tears, and placed in his hand a small pamphlet, with
 
 BE VERLY V A WTER. 107 
 
 the request that he would read it. It proved to be "Stone, 
 on the Doctrine of the Trinity, Atonement, and Faiih.^^ 
 He read with avidity the essay on Faith, which was short, 
 pointed, and evangelical. Among the quotations intro- 
 duced were Romans x. IT, and John xx. 30. These pas- 
 sages relieved his mind; for if faith is only to believe 
 that Jesus Chrifst is the Son of God, on the authority of 
 the written word, he was satisfied that he had it. But 
 he did not yet enjoy the conviction that his sins were for- 
 given ; therefore he continued his efforts to obtain pardon. 
 The common methods of seeking it in those days were 
 by prayer and by endeavoring to claim, in a special man- 
 ner, some promise of the Lord. To both these expedients 
 he resorted ; and in search of promises he happened upon 
 these : " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." 
 " Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name 
 of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall 
 receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Upon these pro- 
 mises he rested, assured that they indicated the way of 
 salvation ; and, notwithstanding that he had been once 
 baptized, ho resolved to obey the commands afresh, and 
 receive God's word as the evidence of his pardon. He 
 communicated his intention to his wife, who expressed 
 her determination to do likewise. The only question was 
 to what church they should present themselves ; her rela- 
 tives being Newlights and his being Baptists, to whose 
 views he was strongly inclined. They were not long in 
 deciding. John McClung, a Newlight, was preaching 
 once a month in the neighborhood ; and they attended 
 his next meeting; He presented the Bible alone as the 
 only sufiBcient rule of faith and practice ; and, Avith great 
 earnestness, urged all who loved the Lord Jesus in sin- 
 cerity to forsake all human creeds, and unite on the foun- 
 dation of apostles and prophets. This turned the scale 
 in favor of the divine creed ; and on the first Lord's da^
 
 108 PIONEER THE AC HERS. 
 
 in January, 1817, they were immersed by John McClung. 
 It was a clear, bitter cold day, and their garments froze 
 upon them as they walked from the icy stream to the 
 nearest house. But they were in possession of a good 
 conscience ; and, by faith, they rejoiced in the assurance 
 of the remission of sins and the hope of eternal life. 
 
 Thus, under the religious systems of those times, was 
 Elder Vawter eighteen years in experiencing the joys of 
 salvation ! Yet the same systems, slightly modified, are 
 still recommended to the people as the gospel of the Son 
 of God ! How long, Lord, how long, till the minds of 
 the people shall no more be " corrupted from the simplicity 
 that is in Christ I" 
 
 A little subsequent to his immersion, a church was 
 organized in his neighborhood. Elder Vawter was ap- 
 pointed deacon ; they held social meetings weekly ; and 
 the first year there were a great many additions. He then 
 began to think of preaching to others the gospel he had 
 been so long learning. But to this procedure two things 
 stood opposed. At the door of the ministry the doctrine 
 of " a divine and effectual call" confronted him. At this 
 he halted, reflected, and prayed, until finally his uncle 
 Jesse Vawter convinced him that a good opportuniiij to 
 do good is the best call to the ministry. 
 
 This difficulty being disposed of, another yet remained. 
 He was so timid that he almost despaired of ever being 
 able to speak in public. Of this weakness the following 
 incident is a cori'ect exponent : 
 
 Having, two children, which he wished to train up in 
 the nurture and admonition of the Lord, he set up an 
 altar, and instituted family worship. He conducted the 
 service very well while the family were left to themselves ; 
 but it was not long until his mother came to pass a night 
 under his roof. Her presence was a cross which he felt 
 unable to bear. After a long conflict, conscience pre-
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. 109 
 
 vailed. He read a chapter, and offered his sacrifice of 
 praise ; but so confused was he that, on kneeling down 
 to pray, he felt that he " was spinning round like a top," 
 and when he arose his mother observed, " I thought you 
 were a good reader, Beverly, but you can scarcely read 
 at all." 
 
 This diflSdence he gradually overcame by singing, pray- 
 ing, and exhorting in the social meetings, of which they 
 had many ; and, being encouraged to preach the gospel, 
 he finally gained the consent of his mind to make the 
 effort. Accordingly he was ordained as an evangelist in 
 the year 1819, by Elders J. Grafton and John Henderson. 
 
 In order to support his family, he determined to invest 
 his limited means in a carding machine. As he designed 
 this to be driven by water power, he removed to Indiana 
 in March, 1819, and settled a few miles above Madison, 
 on the west fork of a small creek called Indian Kentucky. 
 . There he united with a church organized the summer 
 before by John McClung and Henry Brown, preachers 
 full of zeal and love, who have long since entered into 
 rest. For that congregation he preached regularly ; and, 
 aided by Truman Waldron and Joshua Loudrey, he held 
 there a protracted meeting, which resulted in many 
 additions. 
 
 In 1820, having got his machine in successful opera- 
 tion, and employed a hand to attend to it, he began to 
 devote the most of his time to the proclamation of the 
 word. About this time he began to travel, his first tour 
 being into Monroe county, where he hold some interest- 
 ing meetings. The burden of his preaching at that time 
 was the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for the govern- 
 ment of the Church of Christ ; and in his humble way he 
 did much to weaken public confidence in human creeds, 
 and direct the minds of the people to the Bible as the 
 only authority in matters of religion. . Thus was he pre- 
 10
 
 110 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 paring the way for the Reformation, which was nigh at 
 hand. 
 
 In the winter of 1821 he visited a brother-in-law, who 
 lived on Laughery creek, in a community in which sin 
 so abounded that a Methodist and a Baptist preacher had 
 been driven away by a mob. His brother-in-law received 
 him kindly ; took him over his farm ; and did all in his 
 power to interest him with things temporal ; but the 
 preacher's thoughts were on things spiritual and eternal : 
 he was considering how he might get an opportunity to 
 declare unto them the gospel. 
 
 As his host was a staunch Seceder, he did not suppose 
 that he would be permitted to preach in his house ; but 
 night came, and, somewhat to his surprise, he was invited 
 to read and pray with the family. The next day was 
 Sunday, and he retired to rest, longing to see the truth 
 planted in that place. That night he dreamed that he 
 was invited to preach ; and, before the sun arose, his 
 dream was realized. His host and hostess invited him to 
 preach in their house ; and the appointment was speedily 
 circulated. At the appointed hour the house was crowded ; 
 and, to his great surprise, the auditors were respectful 
 and attentive. At the close of the discourse, he said he 
 would visit them again if they would signify their consent 
 by rising ; whereupon every person in the house rose up. 
 Accordingly he preached for them occasionally for about 
 a year, but with few indications of reform. 
 
 The next winter, aided by Elder Jesse Mavity, he held 
 a protracted meeting at that place, which resulted in a 
 great many additions ; among whom were several — per- 
 haps all — of the Seceder's children. These were all im- 
 mersed without their father's consent, as they had been 
 sprinkled in infancy ; except two, who had never been 
 thus christened. The father himself led them down to 
 the water, while the big tears rolled copiously down his
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. HI 
 
 cheeks. Such was the fruit gathered, by prudent manage- 
 ment, where violence was expected. 
 
 In August, 1822, he held a protracted meeting at the 
 mouth of Turkey Run, on Laughery creek, in a house 
 built for his use, mainly by citizens who had not yet 
 obej^ed the gospel. His first discourse, on Church Gov- 
 ernment, he closed with an invitation to all who were 
 disposed to place themselves under the government of the 
 Lord. Several persons presented themselves, among 
 whom were two Baptists. Many others were added 
 during the progress of the meeting, which gave a great 
 impetus to the Bible cause in that region. There he 
 organized a church, which he visited for several years 
 with gratifying results. 
 
 Sometime in the year 1823 he was invited to preach to 
 a Baptist congregation on Hogan Creek. He went ; and 
 by sound and discreet teaching turned them all over to 
 the divine creed and Christian name ; for be it remem- 
 bered that they called themselves Christians, and were 
 called Newlights only to distinguish them from others 
 who claimed to be " Christians" also, but would not call 
 themselves by that name. In addition to this flock and 
 their pastor, Joseph Shannon, there were among the con- 
 verted a Methodist class and their leader, together with 
 many from the world. These were all united on the one 
 foundation. 
 
 In the year 1824 he organized another church on Otter 
 creek, in which stream he immersed a great many. At 
 that place there came to him a woman, saying that she 
 had long been seeking religion, but could not obtain it; 
 and that she greatly desired to be immersed because the 
 Lord had commanded it. He asked her if she believed 
 that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. When she had re- 
 plied firmly in the affirmative, he said, " On this profes- 
 sion I will immerse you. ' If thou believest with all thy
 
 112 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 heart, thou mayst,' is the language of the Book." " But," 
 said she, "my husband has declared that he will whip any 
 man who attempts to baptize me. Must I obey him or 
 my Saviour ?" He replied, " It is better to obey God 
 than man ; come to-morrow to the Ijaptizing, and we shall 
 see." She came, and while he was immersing others she 
 was prepared by the sisters, and conducted down to the 
 water. Casting his eye up on the bank, he saw her hus- 
 band, looking calm and composed ; but, having resolved 
 to immerse her at all hazards, he proceeded at once to 
 the performance of the dangerous task. When she came 
 out of the water praising God, the husband walked down 
 to the edge of the stream ; took the preacher by the hand ; 
 and invited him to his house for dinner ! He observed 
 to others that the work had been so nicely done that he 
 could say nothing against it ; but there was, no doubt, a 
 more serious reason. 
 
 On another occasion, he immersed a woman, and thereby 
 so enraged her husband that, at his next appointment, he 
 was barely saved, by a civil officer, from violence at the 
 hands of a mob. At the next meeting, also, the offended 
 man called him out, saying that he wished to speak to 
 him, and that he would not, at that time, injure him. 
 Though opposed by the brethren, he went out ; and was 
 addressed by the man as follows : " Did you know, sir, 
 when you baptized my wife, that it was being done con- 
 trary to my will ?" " I did," replied the preacher. 
 " Then," said he, " if ever you pass through my farm, I 
 will whip you ; I am able to do it, and I have a bundle 
 of switches and a pile of stones prepared for you." For 
 several years he submitted to the inconvenience of avoid- 
 ing the belligerent soil. But thinking the matter was all 
 forgotten, he one day attempted to pass through the pre- 
 mises in company with two other brethren. As they 
 neared the house, the proprietor leaped over the fence,
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. 113 
 
 and gathered up a handful of stones, saying, " Back out, 
 sir, back out. You remember what 1 told you." Had 
 he attempted to advance instead of making good his re- 
 treat, he would doubtless have shared the fate of Stephen ! 
 
 Soon after the meeting at Otter creek, he organized a 
 church at Yernon, Jennings county, and subsequently 
 preached extensively in Jefferson, Switzerland, Ohio, De- 
 catur, Scott, Clarke, and some other counties. 
 
 Up to this time, it must be borne in mind, he had not 
 entered fully into the Reformation. He was with it on 
 the one platform, and on the action of baptism. Theo- 
 retically he was with it on the design of baptism, and 
 sometimes practically ; but in the main he yielded to the 
 views of his fellow-preachers who clung to the old system 
 with its mourner's bench. 
 
 At a protracted meeting held in 1826, he conversed 
 with a brother Daniel Roberts with regard to baptizing 
 believing penitents, or "mourners." He related the 
 several cases that had occurred in his abnormal ministry, 
 and expressed his belief that such persons were proper 
 subjects for baptism. "Brother Yawter," said he, "give 
 me your hand on that : I will preach it if I have to be 
 sawn asunder for it." 
 
 Two years after that, at a protracted meeting held at 
 Pleasant meeting house, in Jefferson county, this same 
 Daniel Roberts came to him, took him aside, and thus 
 addressed him : " Brother Yawter, the brethren have 
 solicited me to inform you that you must desist from 
 preaching baptism for the remission of sins. They say 
 you will ruin your popularity by this procedure." "Is 
 the doctrine true ?" inquired Elder Yawter. " Yes ; we 
 must confess that it is found in the Bible," was the reply. 
 "Be assured, then," replied the faithful minister, "that 1 
 shall continue to preach it, whatever may become of my
 
 114 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 popularity." " Then," said the would-be martyr, " I give 
 j-ou up for lost ; and will so report you to the church." 
 
 In a short time he held a meeting near Greensburg, 
 Decatur county, assisted by his true yoke-fellow Joseph 
 Shannon, and a Baptist preacher named Daniel Douglas. 
 On Lord's day his subject was the Kingdom of Heaven ; 
 and in the course of his remai'ks he, for the first time, 
 boldly and publicly taught the "strangers and foreigners" 
 how they might obtain citizenship in that Kingdom. 
 Among his quotations was Acts ii. 38. By repeating this 
 text he greatly offended his good brother, Douglas, who 
 met him at the foot of the stand with the observation : 
 "You preached rotten doctrine, to-day." 
 
 Vawter. — What did I teach that is wrong ? 
 
 Douglas. — It is not "wrong;" it is rotteyi — rotten as a 
 pumpkin, sir. You preached baptism for the remission 
 of sins. 
 
 Vawter. — Did not Peter preach the same ? 
 
 Douglas. — Yes, but he did not mean it. He meant 
 " because of." 
 
 Vawter. — How do you know that ? His words do not 
 convey that idea, and if he meant " because of" why did 
 he not say so ? In the conversation that followed, the 
 Baptist preacher stated that a man had recently passed 
 through Kentucky, preaching that doctrine and thereby 
 doing great mischief in the Baptist churches. That "man" 
 was Alexander Campbell, never before heard of by Elder 
 Yawter. He is not, therefore, a "Campbellite :" he ob- 
 tained his views from Peter, and must at least be ac- 
 knowledged as a Peterite. 
 
 Mortified by the difference of opinion between him and 
 his senior co-laborer, he took his Bible ; stole away into 
 the forest ; prayed God to guide him in the way of truth ; 
 and then read again and again the offensive passage : but 
 he could not ascertain why Peter did not say what he
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. 115 
 
 meant, or why he should not be understood to mean what 
 he said. 
 
 The next morning they met at the water. His friend 
 Douglas preached on the all-engrossing theme, Baptism, 
 and gave a synopsis of Campbell's views. Unlike many 
 of his successors, he did it fairly ; for he had sufficient 
 sense to understand an argument when clearly stated ; 
 and such were his powers of memory that he could re- 
 peat almost ver'batim any discourse he had ever heard. 
 He then labored long to refute the doctrine stated ; but 
 when he descended from the pulpit. Elder Vawter said to 
 him : — " Brother Douglas you did not refute it. You 
 have been of great service to me to-day in telling how 
 Campbell presents that subject." This discourse dispelled 
 from his mind every lingering doubt on this important 
 subject ; and from that day he began to proclaim, with all 
 boldness, the gospel as it was declared by the inspired 
 apostles. Here the glorious light of the Reformation 
 beamed directly upon him ; he saw clearly the great 
 first principles of Christianity ; and all the mist and fog 
 engendered by tradition and philosophy vanished away 
 forever. 
 
 Returning home from Greensburg, he held a meeting 
 near Thomas Jameson's, on Indian Kentucky. On Lord's 
 day an orthodox preacher occupied the pulpit, and two 
 persons "got religion" at the mourner's bench. On Mon- 
 day Elder Yawter preached the more excellent way, from 
 Peter's second discourse ; Acts iii. 19. At the close of 
 the sermon two persons professed their faith in Jesus ; 
 and were straightway immersed. As he went to the 
 water he heard much complaint as to his novel procedure. 
 A colored preacher, named Aaron Wallace, observed in 
 the crowd, that brother Yawter "had cut a new 7'oad to 
 Heaven.'''' 
 
 Returning to the house, he was rejoiced to find that
 
 116 PIONEER PHEACHERS. 
 
 brother Jameson and his wife agreed with him upon the 
 new doctrine ; and a brother Samuel Humphreys also, met 
 him in the yard, and handed him three dollars, saying, 
 " That's the doctrine, brother Vawter. You will meet 
 with opposition, but it will give way before the truth." 
 This was the first money he ever received for preaching ; 
 and about the first encouragement to preach the plain 
 woi'd of God. The opposition did give way so rapidly 
 that in a short time the majority were on the side of 
 reform. Elder Vawter, being absent much of his time, 
 advised the church to select three elders to preside over 
 the congregation and administer the Lord's supper on 
 every first day of the week. This proposition was agreed 
 to, and John Eccles, William Guthrie, and Thomas Jame- 
 son were appointed elders. After this they, in all things, 
 imitated the order of the churches in apostolic times. 
 
 In July, 1828, a conference was held near Edinburg, in 
 Bartholomew county, for the purpose of effecting a union 
 between the Newlights and the Dependent Baptists, who 
 were represented on that occasion by that able and earnest 
 union advocate, John Wright, sen., and other prominent 
 preachers. Sectarianism had done its work so well in 
 that community that, out of fifteen preachers present, 
 Elder Vawter was the only one whose preaching would 
 probably be acceptable to all parties. Being therefore 
 pressed into the service, he discoursed to them on the 
 government and unity of the primitive church, and with 
 such effect that the contemplated union was speedily 
 formed on the Bible creed and Christian name. 
 
 During the remainder of this year and the next, he was 
 engaged in many remarkable meetings. Sometimes the 
 tide of controversy would rise high ; for the opposing 
 currents of truth and error would meet in the same house. 
 The Baptist and Newlight preachers would bring the 
 people to the anxious seat to plead for pai'don; and Elder
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. lit 
 
 Vawter would approach them like Ananias, saying, "Why 
 tarriest thou ? arise and be baptized and wash away thy 
 sins calling on the name of the Lord." With many other 
 words would " he testify and exhort them, saying, Save 
 yourselves from this untoward generation." Many of 
 them would gladly receive the word ; and the same hour 
 of the day or night, would obey from the heart the form 
 of doctrine delivered unto them, with an intelligent un- 
 derstanding that they were then to be made free from sin 
 and become the servants of righteousness. 
 
 In the Spring of 1830 he was invited to Kent — then 
 called White River — to preach at the funeral of a brother 
 Ramsay. At the close of the services he was requested 
 by Samuel Maxwell to deliver, immediately, a sermon on 
 Primitive Church Government; and make an effort to 
 organize a church. He complied with the request with- 
 out leaving the house ; and warmly exhorted the people 
 to unite on the God-given foundation. Nine persons 
 presented themselves, and the Church of Christ at Kent 
 was then organized. With the exception of one serious 
 and shameful disturbance it has enjoyed a peaceful and 
 prosperous career, and is now one of the principal churches 
 of south-eastern Indiana. 
 
 In the Summer of this same year, he was invited to 
 attend the monthly meeting of a Separate Baptist church 
 near the forks of Indian Kentucky. Their preacher and 
 elder was a man by the name of Levitt, who was bitterly 
 opposed to what he was pleased to denominate Campbell- 
 ism. At the meeting on Sunday Elder Vawter preached, 
 and four persons made the confession. The Baptist 
 elder, being requested to attend to their immersion, re- 
 plied indignantly, " No, sir, they are your converts — I 
 will have nothing to do with them." The next day the 
 elder came to meeting with Walker's Dictionary, which 
 he thrust into the face of Elder Vawter, exclaiming, with
 
 118 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 an air of triumph, " There's what will refute your doc- 
 trine." But the Bible withstood even Walker's Diction- 
 ary, which gives "because of" as the only definition of 
 " for." The meeting closed with good results; and Elder 
 Vawter was invited to be with them at their next monthly 
 meeting, at which time they proposed to examine their 
 creed in the light of divine revelation. The meeting came 
 on ; the invited preacher was present ; the creed was 
 weighed in the balance and found wanting ; and the 
 Bible was accepted as their only rule of faith and prac- 
 tice. This was the origin of the Church of Christ, now 
 known as Milton Church, which still yields the peaceable 
 fruits of righteousness under the pastoral care of Charles 
 Lanham. 
 
 In 1831 he visited Barton W. Stone at his residence 
 near Georgetow^n, Kentucky. He arrived on Saturday 
 evening, too late to attend a meeting then in progress. 
 The next morning Elder Stone admonished him to pre- 
 pare to preach that forenoon. At this juncture his sub- 
 dued timidity revived again and plead for him many 
 excuses, which were all unavailing. Just as he had con- 
 sented to preach, a fine looking young man was ushered 
 in, whom Elder Stone introduced as Elder John A. Gano. 
 The presence of this strange and apparently polished 
 preacher, greatly increased the weight of the cross that 
 had been laid upon the brother from Indiana. On arriving 
 at the place of worship he met Elder Frank Palmer, to 
 whom also he was introduced as the preacher of the day. 
 Despairing of being able to proclaim the gospel in the 
 presence of so many superior workmen, he renewed his 
 request to be excused. This being kindly denied, he as- 
 cended into the pulpit with a feeling of fear and trembling 
 akin to that of Moses un the Holy Mount. He preached 
 as best he could under the circumstances ; the other two 
 preachers made some remarks also ; and Elder Stone
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. 119 
 
 closed the meeting witli a most beautiful and touchiu}]!; 
 exhortation. Nor was it a fruitless meeting ; on the 
 contrary some six or eight were added to the saved. He 
 remained several days with brother Stone, whom he re- 
 presents as so meek and affable that his presence was to 
 the stranger as the society of old friends. 
 
 He returned home by way of Lexington, where he made 
 the acquaintance of Dr. Fishback. On the way home he 
 also met, for the first time. Elders Marshall and Paterson, 
 with whom he made arrangements for holding a series of 
 meetings, the next year, on both sides of the Ohio river, 
 above Madison. These meetings were held ; were largely 
 attended ; and resulted in great good. 
 
 Prior to the meetings above mentioned he made a tour 
 through Switzerland county, where the light of the Re- 
 formation was just beginning to dawn. On one occa- 
 sion, having preached to a large audience in which were 
 many Methodists and Baptists — the dominant sects at that 
 time — an aged Methodist minister arose in defense of the 
 doctrines contained in the creeds This led to a sharp dis- 
 cussion, from which the Methodist soon withdrew in high 
 dudgeon declaring that he would never again listen to such 
 a preacher, and hoping that his brethren would close their 
 ears and their house against him. Whereupon a Baptist 
 by the name of John Buchanan invited Elder Vawter to 
 leave another appointment, promising that he would pro- 
 cure for him the Baptist church. The appointment was 
 left ; but when he came to fill it, he found the door firmly 
 secured by chain and padlock ! He was therefore com- 
 pelled to retire to an humble school-house; the only place, 
 save the open air, in which even certain quotations from 
 Holy Writ could find expression. But, although the rude 
 doors of the orthodox churches could shut out the preacher, 
 they could not exclude all the light. A sufficiency of 
 rays gained admission to enable all who would see to dis-
 
 120 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 cover their errors. Such as these gladly received the 
 word, together with many who were wedded to no creed; 
 and, even in the midst of such united opposition, a church 
 was established on the foundation laid by the " wise mas- 
 ter-builder." This result was effected, not by any extra- 
 ordinary excitement, but by a plain, earnest declaration 
 of the whole counsel of God. The " incorruptible seed" 
 was sown indiscriminately, with a libei'al hand, and, when- 
 ever it chanced to fall upon "good ground," it germinated 
 and yielded its fruit as quietl}^ as do the seeds deposited 
 in the earth. The following incident will illustrate the 
 influence of the simple truth in that community: 
 
 Once while Elder Yawter was waiting, at the house of 
 a brother, for the return of night, at which time he was to 
 preach, the wife of a Mr. Harvey entered the room where 
 he was sitting, and, after the usual salutations, informed 
 him that she wished to obey the gospel. Agreeably to 
 the precedent established by the ancient evangelist, he 
 replied, "If thou belie vest, thou mayst." She assured 
 him of her faith in Jesus, the Son of God ; was immersed 
 the same afternoon ; and to this day is a burning and 
 shining light in the Church of Christ at that place. He 
 had preached to her the word, on some previous visit ; 
 during his absence it had germinated ; on his return it 
 brought forth fruit. 
 
 In the year 1832, he travelled and preached, in company 
 with Love H. Jameson, through the counties bordering 
 on the Ohio, above the city of Madison. At Yevay they 
 preached in the school-house ; and from them the people 
 of that village heard, perhaps for the first time, the re- 
 pentance and remission of sins which began at Jerusalem. 
 As they went from the place of worship to the spot where 
 they had hitched their horses, they reflected on the un- 
 pleasant fact that they were in a strange land without a 
 cent of money with which to procure food for themselves
 
 m. 
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. 121 
 
 and tlieir horses. While indulging these reflections tlieir 
 old friend Buchanan, the Baptist previously referred to, 
 took them them to an inn, where both horses and riders 
 were duly cared for. After dinner they again set out, 
 neither knowing nor caring whither they went ; for they 
 sought only the lost sheep to bring them back to the 
 Shepherd's fold. Wherever a door of utterance was opened 
 there they set forth Christ crucified ; and exhorted the 
 people to receive and obey the truth. Upon this journey 
 they were not reapers gathering into the Master's barn 
 what was already ripe for the harvest, but sowers rather, 
 removing the obstructions of sectarianism, and depositing, 
 in the simple and candid hearts of those times, the incor- 
 ruptible seed, which, through the labors of other men, 
 brought forth abundant fruit to the glory of God and the 
 advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. 
 
 Soon after his return from this tour he so far lost his 
 health that for several years he was unable to enter into 
 the sanctuary of God. On his recovery he found the home 
 church on Indian Kentucky in a bad condition, through 
 indiscreet management and lack of regular preaching. 
 His first effort after his recovery, was to deliver this flock 
 from spiritual famine. In this he was entirely successful. 
 Under his teaching and the wise rule of Elders Jackson and 
 Halcomb, the church soon revived, and became stronger 
 than at any past period in its history. 
 
 About the year 1850, the subject of Co-operation be- 
 gan to be agitated in southeastern Indiana ; but it was a 
 great while before there was much action in that direc- 
 tion. In the meantime Elder Vawter kept the field as in 
 former years, making numerous proselytes ; organizing 
 here and there a church ; warning the people against the 
 delusion of Millerism ; and endeavoring to turn them 
 from all other isms to the faith of the gospel. 
 
 In the year 1853, a mass-meeting was held p.t North 
 11
 
 122 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Madison to devise a system of co-operation for the coun- 
 ties of Jefferson, Switzerland, Ohio, Ripley, Jennings, 
 and Bartholomew. Of said meeting W. C. Bramwell 
 was chairman, and Elijah Goodwin secretary. After due 
 deliberation they appointed Beverly Vawter as an agent 
 to raise funds, at a salary of $0. 00 per annum ; and hi? 
 son Philemon Vawter as an evangelist, at a salary of six 
 hundred dollars per annum. He accepted this agency, 
 and was far more successful in raising money for others 
 than he had ever been in his own behalf. In the course 
 of fifteen months he payed into the treasury over one 
 thousand dollars ; and obtained pledges for as much 
 more. He also made some fifty proselytes ; and re-united 
 a scattered flock at New Marion, Ripley county. His 
 success so encouraged the Board that they voted him a 
 compensation of two hundred dollars. At the expiration 
 of the fifteenth month, his resignation, which had been 
 several times tendered, was accepted by the Board ; and, 
 as the public predicted, the system of co-operation soon 
 failed through lack of means. 
 
 After his resignation of the agency, he in a measure 
 retired from the field, until some two years ago, when he 
 preached a good deal while paying perhaps his last visit 
 to his friends, relatives, and brethren in various portions 
 of the country. 
 
 He is now in his seventy-third year ; and what he may 
 yet accomplish will not materially change the sum of his 
 life-work. We may therefore present a brief summary 
 of his labors in the Lord's vineyard. 
 
 He has organized thirteen churches on the apostolic 
 basis ; and immersed more than twelve hundred disciples, 
 very many of whom are scattered throughout half the 
 States of the Union, dispensing, wherever they go, the 
 principles of the Reformation. He has also been instru- 
 mental in sending into the field several other preachers,
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. 123 
 
 whose labors have added many a living stone to God's 
 building. Prominent among those whom he has set on 
 Zion's walls is Love H. Jameson, his son in the gospel. He 
 has faithfully preached during forty-two years, for which 
 service he thinks he has received fi'om the churches only 
 eighty-seven dollars, plus a few presents, amounting in 
 all to about one hundred dollars, or less than tivo dollars 
 and fifty cents per annum. The church at Liberty, where 
 he began to preach, and where he still officiates occasion- 
 ally, is said to have paid him, for the services of nearly 
 half a century, the sum of twenty-five dollars, or a little 
 more than fifty cents a year. He could truthfully say to 
 his brethren, in the words of the self-sacrificing Paul, " I 
 have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, 
 ye yourselves know that these hands have miui.stered unto 
 my necessities and to them that were with me." 
 
 But his hands are now growing tremulous and feeble ; 
 and it is to be hoped that the brethren, among whom he 
 has gone preaching the kingdom of God, will soon learn 
 — nay, have already learned — " that so laboring they ought 
 to support the iveak;" and to remember the words of the 
 Lord Jesus, how he said, "It is more blessed to give than 
 to receive.''^ 
 
 Physically considered. Elder Vawter is of medium size. 
 His frame is well proportioned, and it moves about with 
 the easy, graceful, and dignified air of an old Kentucky 
 gentleman. Stoutly compacted by nature, and carefully 
 preserved by life-long habits of temperance, it seems to 
 bear along easily the weight of three score years and ten. 
 His sallow face is but slightly furrowed ; his keen black 
 eye gleams almost as of old ; and the light of the other 
 world, fast dawning upon him, has not yet chased all the 
 dark shadows from his hair. 
 . In mind, as in body, he is not a giant ; but a man of
 
 124 P I N E K ]l P R K A C ri K R 8 . 
 
 moderate ability, possest^ing a sound jadg'iuent, a clear 
 perception, and an excellent memory. His head is best 
 developed in the moral department ; but his reasoning 
 powers were worthy of a better cultivation than it was 
 possible for them to receive. 
 
 He is a man of great iirmness ; of strong determina- 
 tion ; and is at times, perhaps, a little self-willed — ^as are 
 most men who accomplish any good in the world. There 
 is not a little combativeness in his mental organism ; and 
 therefore he has never refused to take up the gauntlet 
 when thrown down to him — never hesitated to assail 
 whatever stood opposed to the glory of God, or the 
 spiritual interests of man. 
 
 In the pulpit he is the impersonation of candor and of 
 love to God and man. His plain address and the earnest 
 expression of his honest face impress the hearer no less 
 than what he says. He argues with considerable force, 
 and speaks with tolerable fluency ; but he is not an orator 
 either born or made. He is a documentary man, always 
 giving chapter and verse ; and succeeding more by engag- 
 ing the intellect than by storming the citadel of the heart. 
 
 In the church he is faithful, peaceable, liberal ; having 
 given far more for the support of the gospel than he has 
 ever received for preaching it. So much of his means 
 has been invested in heaven that he has but little treasure 
 laid up on earth ; yet he is rich in good works, ready to 
 distribute, willing to communicate. 
 
 In society he is universally regarded as a man fearing 
 God and following after righteousness. Though some 
 may find fault with him as a preacher, all esteem him 
 highly as a neighbor and friend. Much of his usefulness 
 is owing to the fact that in every place he has possessed 
 " a good name," which, by the evangelist especially, is 
 rather to be chosen than great riches, or great learning, 
 or great eloquence.
 
 BEVERLY VAWTER. 125 
 
 His value to the church of Christ and to the com- 
 munity in which he lives, will scarcely be realized until 
 after his departure. This event cannot be far distant — 
 his course must be almost finished. Like Bunyan's Pil- 
 grim, he has passed, after a long and severe struggle, 
 through the strait gate ; traversed the Slough of Despond 
 peculiar to the gospels which are of men ; surmounted 
 many Hills of Difficulty ; and encountered lions in the 
 persons of violent opposers of the truth. Soon will he 
 cross the river of death ; and press with his weary feet 
 the golden pavements of the celestial city.
 
 JOHN P. THOMPSON. 
 
 Elder John Philips Thompson was born in the city of 
 Washington, D. C, March 6th, 1195. His grandfather 
 on his father's side was a native of Scotland, born in 
 Edinburg, in 1749. About the year 1170 he came to 
 America, suffering himself to be sold for a season to pay 
 the cost of his transportation. He subsequently married 
 Nancy Perry, who is said to have been a distant relative 
 of the hero of Lake Erie. They were blessed with six 
 children, James, the father of John P., being the eldest 
 of their four sons. 
 
 Elder Thompson's grandfather served in the Revolution ; 
 and an uncle on his mother's side lost his life in the strug- 
 gle for independence. His father also served eighteen 
 months in the war of 1812, and participated in the bloody 
 and disastrous engagement at the river Raisin. Having 
 survived the awful slaughter of that day, he afterwards 
 joined an artillery company, and applied the match to the 
 guns at the defence of Fort Meigs. He died in peace 
 when almost eighty years of age. 
 
 Jonathan Philips, the grandfather of Elder Thompson, 
 (on his mother's side,) was of English descent, and a 
 member of the Church of England. He lived on the 
 eastern shore of Maryland, where his daughter Mary, the 
 mother of Elder Thompson, was born, bred, and married. 
 She was of age at the time of the Revolution ; and saw 
 the French army on its march to Yorktown to assist in 
 capturing the forces under Lord Cornwallis. In after 
 years she often described to her children the stirring 
 126
 
 6/^ 
 
 -&^
 
 L?:. . 
 
 OF THE 
 
 L :;vlhsity of \im-i^
 
 JOHN v. THOMPSON. 12t 
 
 evenls, and sang to them the patriotic songs of that era 
 of heroism. By such means she inspired them with the 
 love of liberty, and with an undying devotion to the flag 
 of their country. She attained to the remarkable age of 
 ninety-five years. 
 
 In the year 1800 James Thompson removed with his 
 family to Kentucky, and settled near Germantown in 
 Bracken county ; whither his father had previously emi- 
 grated. The Thompsons were a religious people ; and 
 the most of them were members of the Baptist church. 
 The grandfather of John P. was a preacher of that order, 
 noted for the facility with which he could quote Scripture. 
 
 As Elder Thompson was only five years old when he 
 came to the West, he claims to be a Kentuckian. His 
 habits, as well as many of his political and religious 
 opinions, were formed and confirmed in that renowned 
 State which contains the graves of his ancestors. There 
 too, he acquired his education, which was not better than 
 that ordinarily received by the children of the West in 
 that day. 
 
 Vice, especially in the forms of drunkenness, gambling, 
 and profanity, prevailed all around him ; yet through the 
 influence of his pious parents, and in that quiet Baptist 
 retreat, he formed habits of temperance, honesty, and 
 piety, which have successfully resisted all the temptations 
 incident to his long life. He naturally inclined to virtue's 
 side ; and he had also a laudable pride which would not 
 permit him to do any thing that would have sullied the 
 good name of his family. 
 
 It is perhaps natural, rather than remarkable, that in 
 the midst of scenes of oppression he learned to sympa- 
 thize with those in bonds ; and became a firm believer in 
 the doctrine that "all men are created equal; and are 
 endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ;
 
 128 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- 
 ness." 
 
 About the year 1805, a divi-sion on the subject of slavery 
 took place in the Licking Locust church, which was a 
 member of the Bracken Association. The said Associ- 
 ation, in attempting to suppress the anti-slavery element, 
 inflamed the other churches within its confines, and simi- 
 lar divisions occurred in the congregations at Ohio Locust, 
 Lawrence creek, Mayslick, Mt. Sterling, New Hope, Gil- 
 gal, and several other points. 
 
 This new sect called themselves Friends of Humanity. 
 They differed from their late Baptist brethren only on the 
 slavery question ; and proposed to return to their spirit- 
 ual allegiance provided the Baptists would join them in a 
 petition to the Legislature, praying for the gradual eman- 
 cipation of the slaves. This proviso not being acceptable 
 to the pro-slavery party, the Friends of Humanity formed 
 an independent Association ; and were subsequently 
 among the first to embrace the current Reformation. 
 
 Mr. Thompson, though a small boy, imbibed the eman- 
 cipation views of those people ; which views he has held 
 fast to the present day. 
 
 It was in the year 1812, and under the ministry of Jere- 
 miah Vardemon, that he was first led to reflect upon his 
 spiritual condition and his obligations to God. 
 
 Then came the usual long period of seeking and sup- 
 plicating ; of hoping for the mercy of God, and fearing 
 that he was one of the non-elect. 
 
 At last, by a certain train of reflection — not by the 
 knowledge that he had complied with the terms of par- 
 don — he was brought to feel that his burden of sins had 
 been I'emoved. Soon afterwards (being then in his seven- 
 teenth year) he united with the Baptist Church, and was 
 immersed by his grandfather. 
 
 When in his nineteenth year he was employed as a
 
 JOHN P. THOMPSON. 129 
 
 country school-teacher ; and so acceptable were his ser- 
 vices in ihAt profession that he was retained in the same 
 neighborhood for a period of six years. While thus em- 
 ployed he acquired, by diligent self-instruction, the most 
 of his own education. 
 
 When in his twenty-third year, he was married to Miss 
 Priscilla Gregg ; all of whose ancestors, as far back as 
 known, were staunch members of the Society of Friends. 
 At the time of their marriage both parties were very poor, 
 their united fortune consisting of only a horse, a cow, and 
 the essential articles of log-cabin furniture. But "better 
 is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure 
 and trouble therewith." 
 
 In August, 1819 — forty-three years ago — he began to 
 preach the gospel in the community in which he lived. 
 He would have commenced preaching at even an earlier 
 period, but for the fact that he waited a long while for a 
 special call from heaven. 
 
 The commencement of his public ministry was attended 
 by a considerable revival of religion ; and he at once be- 
 came a preacher of some prominence. He preached regu- 
 larly, once a month, for the home church, (Ohio Locust,) 
 and also for the congregation at Lawrence creek. In a 
 short time he began to travel abroad, visiting the churches 
 in Mason, Nicholas, and Montgomery counties. 
 
 In the fall of 1819, while on his way to the Baptist 
 Association, held that year in Butler county, Ohio, he 
 stood for the first time upon the soil of Indiana. The 
 following fall he again came to this State on a visit to 
 some of his relatives, who urged him to settle near them. 
 Accordingly he borrowed money, entered eighty acres of 
 land in Rush county, and removed to it on the 22d of 
 March, 1821. 
 
 Here he lived for several years in a log-cabin, working 
 hard at the carpenter's bench and in the forest with hand-
 
 130 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 spike and axe. At log-rollings, clearings, house-raisings, 
 etc., he was always on hand; and through his influence 
 mainly a rule was established in the neighborhood, pro- 
 hibiting the use of intoxicating liquors, on all such oc- 
 casions. He has always been a zealous advocate of the 
 temperance cause. 
 
 Very soon after his removal to Indiana he united with 
 the Flat Rock (Baptist) church and began to preach for 
 the same once a month. He also preached monthly at 
 Franklin, near Connersville ; and occasionally at Ben Davis 
 Creek, Pleasant. Run, Blue River, and Antioch, 
 
 In 1822 he organized a church in Rushville, and had 
 the pastoral care of it during his connection with the 
 Regular Baptists. 
 
 In those days he travelled altogether on horseback or 
 on foot, and received but little pay for his services. Ten 
 dollars would perhaps cover all his cash receipts during 
 his stay with the Baptists. Yet he does not complain of 
 their treatment. They too were very poor — so poor that 
 each could almost say with Peter, " Silver and gold have 
 I none." They esteemed him very highly for his work's 
 sake. The busy-fingered sisters occasionally presented 
 him a homespun coat or vest; and the strong-armed 
 brethren met together, prepared his firewood, split his 
 rails, and made his fences. 
 
 In the Fall of 1821 he went as a delegate from the Flat 
 Rock church to the White River Association which met 
 that year at Franklin. Finding that body divided into 
 two parties — some being ultra Calvinists who called the 
 others Arminians — he sided with the latter ; took an active 
 part in the discussions, and at once became a leading 
 spirit in the assembly. He was subsequently elected 
 clerk of that body, and more than once had the honor of 
 writing what was called the " circular letter." 
 
 One of his letters on the subject of Predestination was
 
 JOHN V. THOMPSON. 131 
 
 printed by the Association ; and it did mucli to modify 
 the views of his ultra Calvinistic brethren. He was at 
 this time very popuhir as well as influential among the 
 liajjtists, to many of whom he, in turn, was ardently at- 
 tached. But the period of their separation was drawing 
 nigh. 
 
 In June, 1826, he became a subscriber for the Christian 
 Baptist. In that he read accounts of remarkable meetings 
 held in various parts of Kentucky by Elders Walter Scott, 
 John Smith, and other pioneer Reformers. Ere long he 
 learned that the tide of reformation had reached his old 
 home in Kentucky : and that many of his friends and re- 
 latives were worshipping God in the way which was 
 generally called heresy. Anxious to discover the means 
 which seemed so effectual in turning people from the old 
 paths, he resolved to revisit the scenes of his childhood, 
 and listen to the teachers of the strange, subversive doc- 
 trine. 
 
 Arriving upon the spot he found the reports true — that 
 those who were turning the world upside down had in- 
 deed come thither also. He listened to the views of his 
 friends without losing much of his former faith. He went 
 to hear Elder Abernathy, the chief Reformer in that lo- 
 cality : but even he did not convince him of any superior 
 excellence in what he regarded as the new way. 
 
 At the close of his sermon the speaker gave notice that 
 John Smith would preach at that place on the next day. 
 Though Elder Thompson was on the eve of returning 
 home as he had come, he resolved to remain one day 
 longer in order to hear the discourse of one as renowned 
 for his acumen as for his eccentricity. Elder Smith was 
 accompanied by a young brother Payne, who spoke first, 
 presenting the facts and conditions of the gospel with 
 great force and clearness. When he concluded Elder 
 Smith arose; and in his peculiar manner said, "I have no
 
 132 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 doubt that while my brother was speaking you were 
 thinking as I was, of that passage of Scripture which 
 saith, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the 
 Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him ; neither 
 can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 
 This very passage had been in the mind of Elder Thomp- 
 son ; and he had employed it to rebut many of the texts 
 introduced by the first speaker. It was, indeed, the key- 
 stone of his whole theological system. After listening 
 to the profound exposition of the passage, he seriously 
 doubted the correctness of his former teachings ; and 
 without revealing his thoughts to any one he resolved to 
 examine carefully the whole ground. 
 
 He entered upon this investigation with fear and trem- 
 bling ; for he had a presentiment that he would find him- 
 self in error ; and he foresaw the estrangement, the strife, 
 the schism that would result from any attempt to change 
 his position. He spoke of all this to his wife ; and with 
 her full consent, he resolved to open his understanding to 
 every ray of light and to follow the truth of God at what- 
 ever sacrifice of property, fi-iends, or reputation. 
 
 The next time he met with the congregation at Flat 
 Rock, he felt but little inclination to preach ; for the old 
 landmarks had been removed, while others had not been 
 firmly established in their stead. However, he took for 
 his text John v. 1, because he could discourse upon that 
 without revealing his new views or his doubts relative to 
 his old ones ; and the brethren were well pleased as usual 
 with his teaching. 
 
 The next meeting was at a brother Elias Stone's house, 
 an humble cabin with a puncheon floor and a rude porch on 
 one side. A large congregation for that day were seated 
 in the house and on the porch ; while Elder Thompson, 
 who by this time had a tolerable knowledge of tlie Chris- 
 tian system, took his position in the door to declare once
 
 JOHN p. THOMPSON. 1:]3 
 
 more to his humble neighbors " the unsearchable riches 
 of Christ." He did not intend at that time to bring any 
 " strange things" to the ears of his brethren ; but his mind 
 was full of great ideas recently acquired, and his heart 
 was swelling with unfeigned devotion to God and sincere 
 desires for the welfare of his fellow men. When, there- 
 fore, he was about half through his sermon, his spirit over- 
 leaped all barriers that creeds and traditions had thrown 
 around it ; and, as if suddenly inspired, he proclaimed to 
 his astonished hearers the fullness, the freeness, the sim- 
 plicity of the gospel of Christ. 
 
 That morning's service was the beginning of a great 
 reformation in eastern Indiana. Hitherto the people had 
 taken but little interest in the study of the Bible, having 
 been taught that it was designedly incomprehensible to 
 the unregenerate mind. But now all was excitement, 
 searching the Scriptures, animated private discussions, 
 and flocking to the house of worship to hear the public 
 teachers and compare their views with the word of God. 
 The preacher's dixit was no longer profitable for doctrine, 
 nor was the Confession of Faith an end of all controversy. 
 The people were beginning to demand for every tenet a 
 " thus saith the Lord." 
 
 There were at that time but three houses of worship in 
 Rush county ; and these were merely closed in — not 
 finished. The uncovered sleepers served for pews ; a 
 rude box, filled with clay, on which glowed a heap of 
 charcoal, constituted the warming apparatus; and a clap- 
 board, nailed to the top of a couple of great pins or posts 
 inserted in the sleepers completed the substitute for a 
 pulpit. To these houses, when the private cabins would 
 no longer hold the increasing audiences, the worshippers 
 resorted; and they were fre(iuently filled with anxious in- 
 quirers after truth, many of whom came a distance of ten 
 or twelve miles, and returned home the same day or night. 
 12
 
 134 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Elder Thompson was, of course, the chief speaker. He 
 travelled over the whole county, inculcating the doctrine 
 of the apostles so far as he had learned it. The most of 
 the converts of that day have remained steadfast ; and 
 the church called Boundary Line, in Wabash county, has 
 now within its pale many of the fruits of the early 
 reformation. 
 
 Elder Thompson was still a nominal Baptist. The 
 more orthodox of his brethren had perceived with regret 
 the change that had taken place in his preaching ; but 
 they esteemed him very highly as a brother, and on that 
 account were disposed to say to one another, " Let brother 
 Thompson alone : it is owing to the excitement that he 
 fails to inculcate the received doctrines ; and when the 
 revival is over he will teach the converts " experience and 
 doctrine" — a phrase which simply meant that he would 
 return to the traditions of the fathers. 
 
 Thus matters went on until about sixty members — all 
 Reformers — withdrew from the Flat Rock church with 
 its consent ; and, at a more convenient point in Fayette 
 county, were organized as a separate church on the foun- 
 dation of apostles and prophets. 
 
 But he did not long enjoy the blessedness of such tole- 
 ration. The leading orthodox preachers having given 
 their voices against him, many of his nearest neighbors 
 and most intimate friends could no longer listen patiently 
 to his teaching. At first they endeavored to dissuade 
 him from his course ; but he continued witnessing to both 
 small and great, and appealing to the Scriptures as proof 
 that he taught none other things than those which he had 
 learned and received from the apostles. All other means 
 having proved ineffectual, they determined to cast him out 
 of the synagogue. They arraigned him before the congre- 
 gation, and both prosecution and defense were conducted 
 in the presence of a large and intensely excited audience.
 
 JOHN I-. THOMI'SON. 135 
 
 It was finally agreed that the church should decide by 
 a vote whether or not his teaching was heretical ; and the 
 vote being taken it was decided by a majority of seven 
 that he taught according to the oracles of God. It being 
 a well established law of the church that the majority 
 should rule in every case, he immediately turned the 
 tables upon his prosecutors; and had he been so disposed, 
 he might have excluded every one of them /or heterodoxy! 
 But he was unwilling to attempt, himself, what he had so 
 recently condemned in them ; so the proceedings were 
 discontinued and the Inquisition adjourned. 
 
 At the next official meeting it was agreed by the two 
 parties that they should occupy the house alternately for 
 one year. A short time afterward Mr. Thompson and 
 those whose views coincided with his own, formed a 
 separate organization called the Church of Christ ; and 
 gave to one another the hand of Christian fellowship. 
 
 Thus did he enter fully into the Reformation ; and 
 thus did he bring with him out of the Flat Rock church, 
 the nuclei of what are now two large and flourishing 
 churches of the living God. 
 
 On the next Lord's day after their organization, an ec- 
 centric Baptist preacher by the name of Thomas (commonly 
 called the White Pilgrim, on account of his white raiment) 
 was present, and, by request, preached. A great many 
 " Newlights," of whom there was a large congregation 
 about two miles to the north, were present on that occa- 
 sion, and they became greatly offended because not spe- 
 cially invited to the Lord's table. Out of this circum- 
 stance there arose a great controversy on the subject of 
 communion, which warfare was zealously participated in 
 by Elders Thompson and John Longley, then a member 
 of the Newlight congregation mentioned above. 
 
 At last the difficulty was amicably adjusted. Elder 
 Longley with the majority of his brethren soon came over
 
 136 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 to the Reformation ; and be became also a zealous advo- 
 cate of tbe ancient gospel. 
 
 In tbe mean time the congregation was greatly strength- 
 ened by accessions from tbe world, and by immigrant 
 disciples from Kentucky, among whom was Elder Benja- 
 min F. Reeve. He, having already commenced preacb- 
 ing, was soon associated with Elder Thompson in the 
 eldei-sbip of the congregation, which they directed and 
 edified with the most perfect unanimity for nineteen 
 years. 
 
 So great was tbe prosperity of the new church that 
 within one year after its organization a new bouse of 
 worship was erected. None were more liberal or zealous 
 than Elder Thompson in tbe prosecution of this enterprise. 
 
 In the Fall of 1832, John O'Kane first visited Rush 
 county, where be was employed to evangelize for one 
 year. He and Elder Thompson travelled together over 
 the counties of Rush, Fayette, and Decatur, being the 
 first at almost every point to publish the doctrine of the 
 Reformation. When they arrived at Greensburg, O'Kane 
 rang tbe court-bouse bell ; a small audience collected ; 
 Thompson preached; and one came forward to confess the 
 Lord. This was the first evangelical sermon and the first 
 disciple at that place, which is now the centre of a power- 
 ful influence in favor of primitive Christianity. O'Kane 
 followed, and three others made tbe good confession. 
 
 At night they preached at a point four miles northwest 
 of Greensburg ; and two were added to the saved — one of 
 them a daughter of a brother North Parker, who is believed 
 to have been tbe first person that embraced tbe ancient 
 gospel in Eastern Indiana. 
 
 From that point they continued their journey, the people 
 everywhere gladly receiving tbe word. Though sectarian 
 opposition was very strong ; and though there was much 
 ill-feeling toward O'Kane, growing out of his active par-
 
 JOHN P . THOMPSON. 13t 
 
 ticipatioii iu tlie Presidential campaign ; still the disciples 
 were multiplied, new churches were established, prejudices 
 were eradicated, and Bible principles inculcated. 
 
 Thus the work was carried forward for several years, 
 Elder Thompson being always in the van. 
 
 But about the year 1836 he was compelled to greatly 
 circumscribe the area of his operations. The demands of 
 his large and increasing family could no longer be sup- 
 plied by however diligent a use of a small portion of his 
 time. Therefore he ceased in a great measure to preach 
 the gospel in the regions beyond his own county. But 
 there, without money and without price, he has continued 
 until this day to warn the unruly, comfort the feeble- 
 minded, edify the faithful, and point the children and 
 grand-childern of his old pioneer friends to "the Lamb of 
 God that taketh away the sin of the world." 
 
 In April, 1849, his wife, who had faithfully shared all 
 his toils and privations, departed this life. She died in 
 faith, leaving with her husband a large family of children. 
 
 In 1851 he was married to Mrs. Mary Allen of Con- 
 nersville ; and the year foil-owing he removed to his little 
 farm near Fayetteville, in Fayette county, where he ex- 
 pects to pass the remainder of his days. Already tremu- 
 lous with age ; the work given him by the Master well- 
 nigh finished ; a large portion of his family beyond " death's 
 cold flood," and all the survivors, save one, heirs of the 
 kingdom ; he is only waiting for the welcome moment 
 that shall piei'ce the vail of mortality and reveal to him 
 what "eye hath not seen." 
 
 He has reserved for his burial place a spot in the old 
 church-yard at Flat Rock, desiring that his dust may re- 
 pose beneath the old vine, which, planted by his own 
 hand over thirty years ago, now shoots forth its branches 
 over the wall.
 
 138 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Elder Thompson is a man of medium height, and slender 
 frame. He was once remarkably stout and active ; but 
 heart and flesh are fast failing. His complexion is light. 
 His hair, now white as wool, was once quite dark. His 
 eyes are blue — their expression intelligent, cheerful, be- 
 nignant. 
 
 He is a man of warm and generous emotions ; ardently 
 attached to his friends ; sincere in his supplications for 
 the whole human family. 
 
 Though a man of good natural abilities, yet it is for his 
 goodness rather than his intellectual power that he is so 
 liit;lily esteemed by all who know him. 
 
 He is a good speaker and an excellent exhorter. His 
 delivery is fluent and forcible ; his manner, grave, very 
 earnest, unostentatious. He pretends to be no more than 
 he is — a plain, humble preacher of the olden time. 
 
 Though he has walked for half a century in the midst 
 of a very crooked and perverse nation ; yet his Christian 
 character is without spot or blemish. 
 
 His whole Christian life has been characterized by 
 supreme devotion to the interests of the Redeemer's 
 kingdom. 
 
 At one time especially when sorely pressed for the means 
 of a comfortable subsistence, his friend, Dr. Jefferson Helm, 
 made the most tempting proposals to induce him to ex- 
 change the ministerial for the medical profession. But 
 he replied, "I am engaged in a great work, and cannot 
 come down.'" 
 
 Having thus steadfastly suffered afiiiction with the peo- 
 ple of God, well may he look forward to the recompense 
 of the reward. Having sown, in tears, the incorruptible 
 seed, he is soon to return, with rejoicing, to the Husband- 
 man, taking his sheaves with him.

 
 ie 7^^<^ 
 
 i^t^ 
 
 />0< ^ ayryp/^
 
 MICHAEL COMBS. 
 
 Prominent among the early Reformers in Indiana was 
 Elder Michael Combs. He was born in East Tennessee, 
 February ITth, 1800. His father, Job Combs, was of 
 Scotch descent, and of the Presbyterian faith. The Combses 
 were generally an intelligent, high-toned people, though 
 they moved in the humbler walks of life, and were not 
 blessed with liberal education. As a general thing their 
 predilections were not so much for the ministry as for the 
 worldly professions — especially law. 
 
 His mother's maiden name was Abigail Coons. She 
 was of German descent. The Coonses were mostly Bap- 
 tists, noted for their piety and zeal for God. Among 
 them were many preachers, one of whom, John Coons, 
 was imprisoned, in the days' of the Revolution, by the 
 English or Episcopal church. 
 
 The mother of Elder Combs died when he was quite 
 young; whereupon he and his brother Job were placed in 
 the family of a maternal uncle who was a strict Baptist 
 of the Calvinistic dye. By him the orphan boys were 
 taken exclusively to the Baptist church, where they re- 
 ceived a strong bias in favor of that faith. 
 
 Being brought up under such circumstances their educa- 
 tion was, of course, greatly neglected. They were simply 
 taught to read and write — no more. In early youth, 
 however, they were both very fond of good books ; and 
 they read with great avidity every volume upon which 
 they could lay hands. Michael especially became much 
 interested in the historical portions of the Old Testament; 
 
 139
 
 140 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 and the account of the creation, the transhxtion of Enoch, 
 the destruction of Sodom, and other important events did 
 not fail to make a deep impression on his mind and heart. 
 The earnest appeals of the Baptist preacher also affected 
 him seriously ; and so did the earthquakes that occurred 
 about the year 1811. 
 
 On account of these various causes, his soul was greatly 
 cast down and disquieted ; and had the preachers of that 
 day spoken according to the oracles of God, he would, no 
 doubt, have been a disciple before he reached his four- 
 teenth year. As it was, however, his religious impres- 
 sions soon wore away ; and he walked in the way of his 
 heart and in the sight of his eyes, unmindful of Solomon's 
 admonition, that "for all these things God would bring 
 him into judgment." Being of a very mirthful and mis- 
 chievous disposition, he was easily turned altogether out 
 of the way. 
 
 About this time, his father, who had married again, 
 determined to remove to Ouio, which was then regarded 
 by the East Tennesseeans as a land flowing with more 
 than milk and honey. Finding no location to suit him, 
 he proceeded as far west as Wayne county, Indiana, 
 where for a short time he pitched his tent. His neigh- 
 bors were nearly all Quakers, whose quiet worship and 
 solemn demeanor had but few attractions for his two sous, 
 who had accompanied him from the land of their birth. 
 
 At length their father settled in Preble county, Ohio, 
 near the line separating it from Indiana. Here Michael 
 fell among a class of Christians called Newhghts — a 
 people as different from the Quakers as the Quakers were 
 from the Baptists. It was commonly reported that they 
 denied the divinity of Christ, and the doctrine of the 
 atonement; that they were Arminians; that they held 
 faith to be merely an act of the creature ; that they had
 
 MICIIAKL COMBS. 141 
 
 no creed but the Bible ; and that as to their origin they 
 were a peoi)lo only of yesterday. 
 
 By far the most prominent preacher among them at 
 that time and place was David Purvianee. One day, 
 when he was to preach near b}", young Combs felt like 
 the Jews of Rome when they said " we desire to hear of 
 thee what thou thinkest ; for as concerning this sect, we 
 know that everywhere it is spoken against." Accord- 
 ingly he wont to the meeting, and was favorably im- 
 pressed by the fine personal appearance and the mild, 
 affectionate bearing of the speaker. The text was, 
 " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden ; 
 and I will give you rest." The sermon was the plainest, 
 the most consistent, the most affecting he had ever heard 
 — altogether different from the discourses of the Calvin- 
 istic Baptists to whom he had been wont to listen. With 
 them clearness or simplicity was no desideratum. In- 
 deed, the more incomprehensible the subject could be 
 made to appear to sinners, the more indubitable was the 
 evidence that the preacher was "sent from God:" for 
 they reasoned thus : 
 
 1. The natural man (sinner) receiveth not the things 
 of the Spirit of God ; they are foolishness to him. 
 
 2. The preaching we hear is all foolishness to us, (sin- 
 ners.) 
 
 3. Therefore the preaching we hear is " of the Spirit of 
 God." 
 
 After hearing Elder Purvianee that day. Elder Combs 
 frequently attended the meetings of the Christians. He 
 became convinced of the propriety of their plea for a 
 union of all the saints ; and was favorably impressed by 
 the fact that they themselves loved one another fervejitly, 
 and endeavored to keep the unity of the Spirit in the 
 bond of peace. Therefore, though he did not unite with
 
 142 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 them, he became a zealous defender of their cJiaracters, 
 if not of all their views. 
 
 On the first of January, 1818, he was married to Mary 
 Edwards, who had been brought up among the Quakers 
 of North Carolina. She of course inclined to that faith, 
 although, to her, it was very far from being " full of com- 
 fort." On the contrary, she was a victim of despondency, 
 having been forced to the conclusion that she was one of 
 the "vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." Her hus- 
 band, though yet a great sinner, became a preacher of 
 righteousness so far as to dispel all her fears of,reproba-. 
 tion, and induce her to attend the meetings of the Chris- 
 tians. With them she soon united, being received with- 
 out baptism, out of deference to her Quaker views. This 
 error also she subsequently corrected ; and although 
 forty-two years have since elapsed, she still lives "in 
 hope of the glory of God." 
 
 She is the mother of thirteen children, eleven of whom 
 are living ; and all of whom, save one, have become 
 obedient to the faith. 
 
 Soon after her conversion. Elder James Hughes, " an 
 eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures," but " knoiv- 
 ing only the baptism of John,'''' came to a camp-meeting 
 held in that vicinity. Among his hearers on Monday 
 morning was Job Combs, jr., who had, perhaps, spent 
 the previous day in the society of his sinful associates ; 
 and who had come there " to see that Newlight cut up" 
 — as he expressed it on leaving home. In a sad, earnest 
 tone the speaker announced his text : " Hear, heavens, 
 and give ear, O earth ; for the Lord hath spoken ; I have 
 nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled 
 against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his 
 master's crib ; but Israel doth not know ; my people doth 
 not consider." 
 
 The passage touched the heart of young Combs, to
 
 MICHAEL COMBS. 143 
 
 whom it was so beautifully applicable ; and for once bo 
 resolved to listen respectfully to the preaching of tbo 
 word. Of its effect he himself could not better tell than 
 in the touching words of the melancholy poet : 
 
 " With many an arrow deep infix'd 
 My panting side was charg'd when I withdrew 
 To seek a healing balm* in distant shades. 
 There was I found by One who had himself 
 Been hnrt by th' archers. In his side he bore, 
 And in his hands and feet, the cruel scars. ^ 
 With gentle force soliciting the darts, 
 He drew them forth, and healed, and bade me live." 
 
 The conversion of Job led his brother to consider his 
 ways, and determine to reform his life. But he was not 
 equally fortunate in obtaining speedily a satisfactory evi- 
 dence of the remission of his sins. He did indeed forsake 
 his wicked ways and his unrighteous thoughts, and he 
 did experience a great change in his feelings ; but he 
 could not give a reason for the trembling hope that was 
 in him. In short, he was converted in heart and life ; 
 but in state or relation he was unconverted. 
 
 After remaining long in this doubtful state of mind, he 
 finally resolved to attempt the cleansing of his way by 
 " taking heed thereto according to God's word." In pur- 
 suance of this resolution, he became a diligent student of 
 the Holy Scriptures, which were not long in making him 
 wise unto salvation. Through the whole course of his 
 long and eventful life, that word has been a " lamp to his 
 feet and a light to his path." 
 
 He was about twenty-one years of age when he thus 
 took the Bible as the man of his counsel, and relying 
 mainly upon the purity of his motives and the sinrerify 
 of his desires, ventured to join the church, and regard 
 himself as a Christian. Unable to designate the timf< 
 
 * " To seek a tranquil death in distant nha.des.'"— Original.
 
 144 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 and place at which "the Lord spoke peace to his soul," 
 (a thing which believers generally professed to do,) he 
 was very far from having strong consolation ; yet, cling- 
 ing to his faint hope, he groped his way, relying upon 
 the divine assurance that " the path of the just is as the 
 shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect 
 day." 
 
 About the year 1822 he and his brother Job both com- 
 menced exhorting and preaching. A short time after- 
 wards there occurred in their neighborhood a great "re- 
 vival," many of the fruits of which were of that substantial 
 kind which is "unto holiness, and the end everlasting 
 life." Several young men that were brought into the 
 church at that meeting subsequently became useful and 
 somewhat distinguished preachers of the gospel. 
 
 During that meeting many also came in who had been 
 trained up in the Quaker faith. Under the lenient rule 
 which that church (Newlight) still retains, without the 
 authority of one single apostolic precept or example, all 
 these were received into full fellowship without submit- 
 ting to the initiatory ordinance. Even Elder Combs him- 
 self, though a preacher of the gospel, had never yet 
 obeyed it ! Though his boyhood had been passed among 
 Baptists, whose views he sincerely received, and for 
 awhile firmly held, yet he had associated so long with 
 Quakers that their traditions had made the word of Gml 
 of none effect. So true is it that " evil communications 
 corrupt good manners." 
 
 Elder David Purviance, who was a man of great inde- 
 pendence of thought, seems not to have been, among 
 those w^ho (with the good intent of removing what they 
 regarded as a great obstacle in the way of Christian 
 union) were willing to concede that obedience to a posi- 
 tive commandment was a "non-essential." Certain it is 
 that he assumed the responsibility of preaching to the
 
 MICHAEL COMBS. 145 
 
 converts above named, and also to Elder Combs, a most 
 convincing sermon relative to the duty of being immersed. 
 So clearly and so powerfully did he develop the subject, 
 that Elder Combs and man}^ others tarried no longer, but 
 arose and were baptized. Such was the singular and 
 circuitous manner in which the subject of this sketch 
 entered into the kingdom. 
 
 After his immersion, he began to enlarge the field of 
 his ministerial operations ; and it therefore became neces- 
 sary for hira to be licensed. Duly recommended by the 
 congregation of which he was a member, he appeared 
 before the Conference as an applicant for license. For 
 some caase he was not regarded with much favor by that 
 body ; and it was by only a small majority that he was 
 commissioned as a preacher of the gospel. This hesita- 
 tion on the part of the Conference troubled him but little ; 
 for feeling that he had received a special call from God, it 
 made no difference whether his preaching was acceptable 
 to that body or not. 
 
 At first it was " in weakness, in fear, and in much trem- 
 bling" that he waited on his ministering. Being very 
 poor, his family were dependent on his labors for their 
 daily bread ; and his reputation as a preacher was not 
 such as to command any considerable remuneration. 
 Thus during the greater part of the time he was com- 
 pelled to labor with his hands for the maintenance of his 
 household. Yet "forgetting those things wiiich were 
 behind, and reaching forward to those things which were 
 before, he pressed toward the mark for the prize of the 
 high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Acting upon the suggestion of Paul to Timothy, he 
 determined to "study to show himself approved unto 
 God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed." Ac- 
 cordingly he addressed himself energetically to an inves- 
 tigation of the principal doctrines that agitated the minds 
 13
 
 146 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 of those within the church, and blinded the eyes of those 
 Avithout. By a faithful prosecution of this course he 
 rapidly multiplied his intellectual resources, and qualified 
 himself to act successfully the important part subsequently 
 assigned him in the Reformation. 
 
 About the year 1826 he removed to Montgomery 
 county, Indiana, having entered eighty acres of land near 
 Crawfordsville. There he found no organized church ; 
 but there were a few brethren and sisters, whose religion 
 was bitterly opposed and grossly misrepresented. 
 
 He at once volunteered his services as a preacher ; but 
 being a stranger there it was feared by the brethren that 
 he might not be able to resist the attacks which, it was 
 certain, any demonstration on their part would provoke. 
 Finally, however, they agreed to let him preach one ser- 
 mon. At the same time it was privily agreed that a cer- 
 tain old brother, the " wise man" among them, should sit 
 in the "judgment seat" on the occasion. If in his opinion 
 the discourse should indicate present ability and future 
 usefulness on the part of the preacher, they were to com- 
 mit their precarious cause to his hands. If, on the con- 
 trary, the effort should be feeble and unsatisfactory, they 
 were to give him neither encouragement nor a second 
 trial. 
 
 The day came. With anxious hearts came also the 
 persecuted few who held fast the Lord's name ; while 
 those of the world and of the orthodox churches took 
 their places in the assembly, thinking, "What will this 
 babbler say ?" Inspired liy the circumstances surround- 
 ing his critical position, he made a most happy effort, 
 which won for him, not only the favorable decision of the 
 judge, but also the love and confidence of the entire little 
 brotherhood. 
 
 That day was the beginning of active operations in a 
 new and extensive field. It was the earlv dawn of the
 
 MIC H AEL COM BS. 147 
 
 Reformation iu that section of Indiana. Many false and 
 injurious impressions were soon removed ; the views he 
 advocated found favor in the eyes of a few of his neigh- 
 bors ; and the materials were soon ready out of which to 
 organize a new church. 
 
 But before this object could be accomplished it was 
 necessary that he should be ordained. For that purpose 
 he went to the Conference, which convened that year at 
 Old Union, in Owen county. Having passed his exami- 
 nation, he was required to give his examiners a specimen 
 of his sermonizing. For this, the second time, he was 
 successful in running the gauntlet ; and it was therefoi-e 
 ordered that he should be ordained to the ministry by 
 Jesse Hughes and Jesse Frasier. 
 
 This being done he immediately organized a small 
 church near or upon his farm in Montgomery county. 
 The organization was subsequently removed to Crawfords- 
 ville ; and thus the present flourishing church at that 
 place had its origin. 
 
 From Crawfordsville he visited many points in the 
 White River Valley ; at the most, if not all of which 
 points, he was the first to oppose human creeds, and plead 
 for a union of all Christians on the Bible alone. 
 
 About this time he began to hear startling rumors con- 
 cerning a certain Alexander Campbell that was said to 
 have appeared, as a great fault-finder, at Bethany, Va. 
 To the most of Mr. Campbell's views as currently re- 
 ported, he was heartily opposed ; but he rejoiced to hear 
 that the confessedly able editor of the Christian Baptist 
 was an uncompromising opposer of all creeds and con- 
 fessions of faith not given by inspiration of God. But 
 penury and prejudice prevented him from subscribing for 
 the Christian Baptist ; and for two or three years he con- 
 tinued his ministerial labors in the manner peculiar to the 
 Old Christian Body.
 
 148 P I O N E K R P K E xV C H E R S . 
 
 In the mean time Mr. Campbell made a tour to the 
 West, and Elder Combs improved the opportunity thus 
 afforded of hearing the remarkable man that was causing 
 such commotion among the numerous " branches" of the 
 church. The preacher, who was then in the prime of life, 
 did not fail to bring certain strange things to the ears of 
 Elder Combs, who found but little fault with the views 
 presented. But then it was whispered about that " the 
 half had not been told" — that the speaker with charac- 
 teristic shrewdness had concealed his objectionable senti- 
 ments. Therefore while " some said, He is a good man," 
 others said, "Nay ; but he deceiveth the people." 
 
 These sly insinuations greatly diminished the effect 
 which the great truths to which he had listened would 
 otherwise have produced on the mind of Elder Combs. 
 As it was, however, his attention was directed to certain 
 passages of Scripture, which in due season convinced him 
 of the error of his way. 
 
 Soon after hearing Elder Campbell preach, he became 
 a reader of his magazine. In that the distinction between 
 Christianity and the traditions of men was so clearly 
 pointed out that he could not fail to be convinced of the 
 necessity of reform. Yet, fearing the people, he, for a 
 long while, kept these things in his heart. Gradually 
 adding courage to his faith, he ventured to advocate the 
 ancient gospel in the corner though he did not yet dare 
 to proclaim it upon the housetops. In this private man- 
 ner he made a few converts ; and thus prepared the way 
 for the change which was soon to follow. 
 
 Finally, the few brethren that had gladly, though pri- 
 vately, received the word, prevailed upon him to teach 
 the people, publicly, that they were required to " repent 
 and be baptized every one of them [you] in the name of 
 Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." This he did for
 
 M I C H A E L C O iM B 8 . 149 
 
 the first time at a protracted meeting held in Edgar county, 
 111., in the year 1833. 
 
 This departure from the orthodox track — made with 
 great hesitation and only at the urgent and repeated re- 
 quests of his brethren — was, as he anticipated, equivalent 
 to a declaration of war. Brethren that had stood by him 
 in many an hour of need, suddenly an'ayed themselves 
 against him ; sects that had bitterly opposed one another 
 entered tacitly into an alliance to destroy the common 
 foe ; and, in Western Indiana, the great conflict between 
 truth and error had begun. Public debates and private 
 disputatious were of frequent occurrence; the precepts of 
 the apostles and the examj^le of the first Christians were 
 the all-absorbing topics of the day ; and almost every pro- 
 fessor of religion, from the least even to the greatest, was 
 converted into a Berean, searching for himself the Scrip- 
 tures to see if certain things were so. 
 
 Into this unequal warfare Michael Combs entered with 
 great zeal, and at a great personal sacrifice. Having 
 preached several years for almost nothing he had just 
 reached a position in which his labors were beginning to 
 be appreciated and rewarded ; and in abandoning that 
 position he voluntarily deprived himself of that which 
 afforded a comfortable livelihood, and subjected himself to 
 the necessity of again preaching the gospel without money 
 and without price. 
 
 But while there were noble men to make these sacrifices 
 for truth, there were noble women also whose industry 
 replaced much of that which was lost — women who laid 
 their hands to the spindle and whose hands held the dis- 
 staff — women who rose while it was yet night and gave 
 meat to their households — women who considered fields 
 and bought them, who with the fruit of their hands planted 
 vineyards — women who looked well to the ways of their 
 households, and ate not the bread of idleness. — (Pro v.
 
 150 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 xxxi.) The efforts of these busy-fingered Christian mo- 
 thers must not be overlooked in searching out the causes 
 of the rapid extension of the Reformation in the great 
 West. 
 
 About the time the battle began to wax hot, Job Combs, 
 J. Secrets, and Lewis Comer, all valiant soldiers from 
 Ohio, appeared on the field. Secrets was a man of strong 
 mind, mighty in word and doctrine. Comer, of less ability, 
 but of a more excellent spirit, "adorned the doctrine of God 
 our Saviour in all things." Job's gift was exhortation ; and 
 in the exercise of that gift he had no superior in that day. 
 
 Encouraged by the arrival of these timely reinforce- 
 ments, Elder Combs continued the good fight of faith. 
 For a period of twelve years he was one of the very fore- 
 most in the strife. He and his coadjutors went every- 
 where in Western and Central Indiana, preaching the 
 word. "And so were the churches established in the 
 faith, and increased in number daily." These results fol- 
 lowed because the truth was mighty ; the preachers were 
 zealous ; the brethren were exemplary ; and many of the 
 people were tired of the prevailing systems, and eager to 
 be shown a more excellent way. 
 
 In the year 1833 he went into Bartholomew county on 
 some business of a secular character. Conversing, one 
 day, with an old lady and gentleman, on the subject of 
 religion, the parties differed widely and were drawn into 
 quite a spirited discussion. Finally, the old lady observed 
 to her husband, " This stranger talks just like Jo. Fassett." 
 On inquiry he learned that there was a Newlight church 
 near by (at New Hope) and that " Jo. Fassett" was a 
 leading preacher of that order. On Lord's day he went 
 to that place of worshij) ; and there made the acquaintance 
 of Elder Fassett, and of many brethren whose religious 
 views did indeed coincide with his own. He found in 
 Elder Fassett an earnest advocate of the union of all
 
 MICHAEL COMBS. 151 
 
 Christians on the Bible alone ; and they immediately 
 set about concerting measures to unite the disciples of 
 Montgomery and the adjacent counties with the Newlights 
 of Bartholomew and other counties to the north and west 
 of that. 
 
 For this purpose a union meeting was appointed at the 
 Bluffs of White River, in Morgan county. On the ap- 
 pointed day hundreds of people and a great number of 
 preachers of both parties, met together. It was agreed 
 that the preachers who had been Calvinistic Baptists and 
 those who were called " Aminian Newlights," should 
 preach a few times alternately in order that the differences 
 between the parties might be made manifest. Elder Fas- 
 sett, being the senior preacher on his side, led off on Friday 
 morning ; and the meeting was conducted as agreed upon 
 until the next Monday evening. Both parties having re- 
 nounced all human creeds, and both preaching for doctrine 
 the Scripture given by inspiration of God, there appeared 
 no material difference between them. All the speakers 
 seemed to be of the same judgment, and to all speak the 
 same thing. As early as Lord's day, it was evident that 
 there were to be no more divisions between those two 
 bodies of Christians. Hundreds sat down together that 
 day at the table of their common Lord ; and their commu- 
 nion was "as the dew that descended upon the mountains 
 of Zion — for there the Lord commanded the blessing." 
 The middle wall of partition was completely broken 
 down ; and so far as those represented in that assembly 
 were concerned, there were henceforth but one fold and 
 one Shepherd. 
 
 This meeting added greatly to the strength of the Re- 
 formation. One more subborn fact was opposed to those 
 who affected to regard the union of all Christians as a 
 thing by no means feasible. 
 
 About the same time Elder Combs was invited to at-
 
 152 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 tend a great camp-meeting to be held by the Newlights 
 near Bloomington in Monroe county. Elders Frank Pal- 
 mer, John Smith, and other distinguished preachers of 
 Kentucky were expected to be present. He was loth to 
 accept this invitation ; because the State University was 
 located at that point ; and he feared he could not preach 
 acceptably in a region in which he supposed learning did 
 greatly abound. But he finally concluded with Paul when 
 he said, " I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Bar- 
 barians; both to the wise and to the unwise. So as much 
 as in me is I am ready to preach the gospel to you that 
 are at Rome also." 
 
 It so happened that the preachers from Kentucky did 
 not come ; and but for his presence there would have been 
 a great disappointment. This circumstance inclined the 
 people to listen more patiently to the strange views he 
 presented. He soon secured the attention of the vast 
 assembly — of the learned as well as the unlearned. A 
 general and unprecedented interest was awakened in the 
 community ; and during the progress of the meeting more 
 professors than non -professors were converted to the re- 
 ligion of the Lord Jesus. This was the beginning of the 
 Reformation in Monroe county, where the Newlights were 
 very numerous. So well was the work commenced, and 
 so successfully has it been prosecuted, that now there is 
 not a single congregation — perhaps not a single member — 
 of the old Christian body in Monroe county. 
 
 Among those who gladly received the word at that 
 meeting was David Batterton, who had been for some time 
 an unbaptized member of the old Christian church, and 
 who has been for many years an elder and a strong pillar 
 in the house of the Lord at Bloomington. His wife also, 
 who had fallen into the Slough of Despond, was rescued 
 through obedience, and made an heir of the heavenly in- 
 heritance into the possession of which she soon entered.
 
 MICHAEL COMBS. 153 
 
 At another time he held a raeeting in a strong Methodist 
 community in Henry county. Among his hearers at that 
 time was Benjamin Franklin, who had then made no pro- 
 fession of religion. To him the views of Elder Combs 
 seemed both reasonable and scriptural; and he defended 
 them when attacked by those who resisted the truth. At 
 that time and place may have been partially bent the twig, 
 which subsequently took such deep root and shot forth so 
 vigorously. 
 
 These meetings are here mentioned merely as indices 
 of the manner in which the truth was propagated in the 
 former days. To mention all — to record the many re- 
 markable conversions of that day — to enumerate the 
 preachers old and young that were taught the way of God 
 more perfectly — to describe the many happy scenes that 
 were enacted at the firesides of those humble people who 
 often spent the greater part of the night in talking of the 
 law of the Lord — would require far more space than can 
 be given in a sketch like this. 
 
 For twelve or fifteen years Elder Combs gave himself 
 almost entirely to the word, leaving to his wife the care 
 of his family. During all this time he stood in the front 
 rank of Reformers, and exerted a strong influence in many 
 parts of the State. 
 
 But finally the cares of this world choked the wOrd, and 
 he became comparatively barren and unfruitful. Though 
 he did not err from the faith ; yet, in seeking to increase 
 his earthly possessions, he "pierced himself through with 
 many sorrows." 
 
 It was not for his own sake, or because of an innate 
 love of money that, to the partial neglect of the word, he 
 turned his attention to the affairs of this life. But his 
 children were growing up, and he longed for means to 
 educate them and give them a " start" in the world. 
 Impelled by this motive, he plunged into business of a
 
 154 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 secular kind ; and entered upon the dangerous experiment 
 of serving God and Mammon. At first he turned his at- 
 tention to farming. Afterwards he became a heavy con- 
 tractor in the construction of railroads ; and finally became 
 involved in politics. He was elected to the State Senate 
 about the year 1851, which marked the close of his po- 
 itical career. 
 
 The result of all his struggles for gain was by no means 
 satisfactory. What he had made at other employments 
 he lost in his railroad operations ; and it is now a source 
 of deep and lasting regret that he did not "flee those 
 things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, 
 love, meekness, temperance." 
 
 That he made this sad mistake is owing partly to his 
 own erring judgment, and partly to the illiberality of the 
 disciples, who " having this world's goods and seeing 
 their brethren have need, shut up their heart of compas- 
 sion from him," The blame will be justly distributed by 
 Him who shall "judge the world in righteousness." 
 
 About th« year 1853 he collected the remnant of his 
 means, and removed to Illinois, still in hope of securing 
 some land for his children. At a subsequent period he 
 moved to Iowa, in which State he still resides, near 
 Bellair, Appanoose county. He continues to preach and 
 do good as he has opportunity ; but he is no longer the 
 shining light that he -was in former years. 
 
 On account of his limited education. Elder Combs has 
 written but little for the press. But he is now preparing 
 for publication a work on a subject to which his attention 
 was attracted in the following manner : 
 
 When at the height of his usefulness in Indiana, there 
 fell into his hands a small work on Prophecy, by S. M. 
 McCorkle, who advocated a literal interpretation, and was 
 therefore called a Literalist. After reading the book he 
 sought an interview with its author, who lived at that
 
 MICHAEL COMBS. 155 
 
 time in an adjoining county. During the few days which 
 they passed together, each converted the other ; and since 
 that period Elder Combs has devoted much time to the 
 study of the prophets. The result of his investigations, 
 as well as the conclusions to which he has come, will, 
 no do ibt, be fully revealed in his forthcoming book, should 
 he live to complete it. It is sufficient to say, in this 
 place, that his views of the prophecies and of the end of 
 the world, were not generally received by the disciples ; 
 and that it was by his advocacy of Second- Adventism, as 
 well as by his becoming entangled in the affairs of this 
 life, that he, to a great extent, destroyed his influence as 
 a minister of the ancient gospel. Let his example deeply 
 impress upon the mind and heart of every Christian 
 preacher the solemn admonition of the great apostle : 
 " Take heed to thyself and to the doctrine.''^ 
 
 But it must not be supposed that Elder Combs, having 
 so successfully preached to others, is himself in danger of 
 becoming a castaway. Though his influence may have 
 been injured through philosophy and vain deceit, yet he 
 and thousands of others have been sanctified through the 
 truth which he has preached. Though he may have 
 erred in " believing (as he supposed) all things which are 
 written in the law and in the prophets ; yet he has ever 
 exercised himself in a hope both sure and steadfast, 
 endeavoring to preserve " a conscience void of offence 
 toward God and toward men." If he has been mistaken 
 in crying, " Behold, the Bridegroom cometh," he is on 
 that account the better prepared to meet Him at His 
 coming. 
 
 Elder Combs is a medium-sized, rather heavy set man, 
 being about five feet eight inches high, and weighing 
 about one hundred and sixty pounds. Though now en- 
 feebled by age, he was once a man of much sprightliness
 
 15(5 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 and great physical power. In early life he contributed a 
 liberal share of the labor that cleared away the western 
 forest and prepared the way before the plow — hence his 
 fine physical development. He has very pale blue eyes, 
 light or sandy hair, and a ruddy complexion. 
 
 He is a man of very fair natural ability. Though his 
 mind is less powerful than some, it is more active than 
 many. Through lack of mental discipline, he is not a 
 clear, safe, sober-minded thinker; but he is strongly 
 inclined to be visionary — prone to embrace new and 
 strange theories. In the domain of thought, he can 
 hardly be styled a " prudent man that looketh well to his 
 going." 
 
 As a speaker he used to rank high ; and nothing but 
 age has detracted from his merit in this respect. His 
 oratorical or excitable temperament always supplies him 
 with intensity of feeling, which is said to be " the leading 
 element of good speaking, for this excites feeling in others 
 and moves the masses." It was not his habit to carefully 
 prepare his sermons ; hence near the commencement of 
 his discourses he was slow — frequently tedious; but 
 toward the close his delivery was very rapid, highly 
 animated, and sometimes truly eloquent. At such times 
 it behooved the " preaching brethren" who chanced to sit 
 behind him in the stand, to look well to their toes ; for 
 he not only gesticulated earnestly with his hands, but he 
 also wore heavy boots, which frequently and incautiously 
 shifted their position. His discourses were usually of a 
 doctrinal or controversial character ; and whatever some 
 of them may have lacked in depth, was more than made 
 up in length ; for he has been known to preach for more 
 than three hours. As a general thing, however, his dis- 
 courses were deep as well as long; and, in the aggregate, 
 they made a deep and lasting impression on the public 
 mind.
 
 MICHAEL COMBS. ISt 
 
 As a husband and father he is indulgent, provident, 
 kind, and affectionate. It is doubtful whether David 
 loved his wayward son Absalom more fervently than he 
 loves his eleven sons and daughters. 
 
 Next after his family, his brethren share largely in his 
 heart's best affections. For their sakes and to increase 
 their number he has freely given, though he has not freely 
 received. He once owned a valuable little farm and other 
 property in Indiana, but it has all been sold, and the money, 
 little by little, laid at the apostles' feet — cheerfully con- 
 tributed for the support of the gospel and the extension 
 of the Redeemer's kingdom. 
 
 Nor has his generosity been exercised only toward the 
 children of God. Like the " perfect and upright man" of 
 Uz, he has " delivered the poor that cried, the fatherless, 
 and him that had none to help him." "The blessing of 
 him that was ready to perish came upon him ; and he 
 caused the widow's heart to sing for joy." In a word, 
 benevolence is the leading trait of his character ; and if 
 there is a man on earth who, as he has had opportunity, 
 has "done good unto all men, and especially unto those 
 who are of the household of faith," that man is Elder 
 Michael Combs. 
 
 In so doing he has never been weary ; and far more 
 desirable than all earthly riches, is his interest in the 
 4)romise, "With what measure ye mete it shall be meas- 
 used to you again." Well may he go down to the grave 
 rejoicing in view of that day when " the dead, small and 
 great, shall stand before God — when the books shall be 
 opened, and the dead judged out of those things written 
 in the books, according to their works."
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN 
 
 Elder Elijah Goodwin was born in Champaign county, 
 Ohio, January 16th, 1807. When three years old his 
 father, Aaron Goodwin, and his gradfather, Elijah Chap- 
 man, together with several other families, emigrated to 
 Illinois Territory and settled in the American Bottom, 
 about twelve miles from St. Louis. This locality proving 
 very unhealthful, they resolved to return to Ohio in the 
 Fall of 1813. 
 
 Matters being arranged for this purpose, they set out 
 in wagons on their return, but by the time they reached 
 Indiana Territory the winter set in with such severity that 
 they could proceed no farther. They therefore pitched 
 their tents in what is now Gibson county, some five miles 
 north of the present town of Princeton, and there awaited 
 the coming of Spring. 
 
 In the mean time his father and others of the company 
 made several excursions into the surrounding wilderness 
 to ascertain the quality of the land, which, it was found, 
 promised a rich reward to the future husbandman. There- 
 fore their purpose of journeying farther eastward, passed 
 away with the winter, and they chose for themselves 
 dwelling places between the forks of White River, in 
 Daviess county, and about twenty miles east of Vincennes, 
 or Old Post Vincent, as it was then called. 
 
 At that time there were but few settlements of whites 
 
 in that part of the Territory, and the stillness of the forest 
 
 was seldom disturbed save by the red man shouting in 
 
 the chase. They were therefore subjected to all the dan- 
 
 158
 
 .^%5^^ ^ 
 
 '^i>{yl^^ 
 
 ^''^^^ 
 
 -^^-o
 
 Of T^^.^.iNf^i^
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 159 
 
 gers and inconveniences incident to frontier life. Not 
 the least of these inconveniences was the absence of the 
 school-master. True, each neighborhood had a nominal 
 teacher, but he was usually a blind leader of the blind, 
 neither " gentle, patient, nor apt to«teach." Yet so weak 
 was the element of civilization that even such a teacher 
 could be sustained for only three months each year. 
 Moreover Elijah's parents were poor, and he was often 
 required to be absent from the school that he might be 
 present in the field or in the " clearing. " His father usually 
 signed one scholar for the terra, and the time was made 
 up by several of the family in such fractions as it often 
 puzzled the " master" himself to reckon. 
 
 Under such circumstances, however, he learned to read, 
 and, to him, this was equivalent to an education : for he 
 possessed a mind delighting "to search out the causes of 
 things," and, having acquired the ability to read, he be- 
 came his own instructor. Among his first acquisitions 
 was a« respectable knowledge of the English language. 
 This gave him a power in the pulpit which, in that day, 
 was extraordinary, and elevated him at once to a some- 
 what conspicuous rank in the ministry. He has been 
 through life an inquisitive and indefatigable student — ever 
 seeking to increase his stock of knowledge, whether in the 
 school-room, behind the counter, at home with his family, 
 or in the houses of his brethren as he has journeyed, 
 preaching. To this studious habit, mainly, he owes, under 
 God, his present honorable position, and to it society is 
 indebted for his usefulness. 
 
 Having by such means obtained a tolerable English 
 education, he learned, with the assistance of some friend, 
 the Greek alphabet. With this key he unlocked that 
 classic store-house, in which, to the mere English scholar, 
 are hid all the treasures of revealed wisdom and know- 
 ledge. He is not, to be sure, a thorough Greek scholar,
 
 IGO PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 but by means of his Lexicon he is able to arrive at the 
 meaning of the Scripture, as conveyed in the original 
 vv^ords which the Holy Spirit taught. To conclude this 
 topic, Elder Goodwin may be set down as an educated 
 man, who is worthy of double honor in that he is 
 self-educated. 
 
 His religious training was more carefully attended to, 
 though circumstances were unfavoi'able. His parents 
 and grand-parents were members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church, and, until he was thirteen years old, he 
 never heard any but Methodist preachers. The "circuits" 
 in those days being very large, the bishop usually placed, 
 on each, two itinerants, who, by making their appoint- 
 ments eight weeks apart, supplied the " societies" with 
 preaching every four weeks. As the appointment usually 
 fell on one of the " six days," it was very common — 
 indeed customary — for the men who attended to take 
 their guns and dogs with them to church. Arriving at 
 the house of worship, which was usually a squatter's cabin, 
 they would " stack arms" in the outside corner of the 
 chimney, go in, and seat themselves with powder horns 
 and shot-pouches hanging by their sides. The bene- 
 diction pronounced, they whistled up the errant dogs, 
 and set out in hope of killing a deer on their way home — 
 a hope which was frequently realized. 
 
 But it was perhaps not unfortunate that such circum- 
 stances existed. As there were then no deified preachers, 
 the believer could worship God even in their absence. 
 There being no magnificent temples in which devotion 
 could parade itself on Sundays, it took up its abode in 
 the hearts of those simple people, and manifested itself to 
 the Creator around the family altar. Such worshippers 
 were the ancestors of Elder Goodwin. In his mother 
 Mary and his grandmother Achsah, especially, dwelt the 
 unfeigned faith.
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 161 
 
 He himself was piously inclined even from a child. 
 He received the religious instructions of his parents 
 with great readiness of mind, and, at a very tender age, 
 was anxious to experience the joys of salvation. Nor did 
 he think of becoming a Christian only — even then, in his 
 childhood, he cherished the hope of being, one day, a 
 preacher of the ever -blessed gospel. Long before he 
 made a profession of religion, he used to steal away to 
 the groves and deliver extempore sermons to the trees. 
 Indeed, like the holy child Samuel, he seems to have been 
 born for the obedience and service of the Lord. 
 
 Looking forward to the ministerial profession, he did 
 all in his power to qualify himself to discharge its solemn 
 duties. His father's library contained only a Bible and a 
 Methodist hymn book, but these he made his frequent 
 study until he became very familiar with their contents. 
 
 With such a disposition, it is not surprising that he was 
 always delighted when the circuit-riders came round, and 
 greatly interested in their singing and preaching. 
 
 Those preachers taught that people could never " get 
 religion" until they should be brought to see themselves 
 as the vilest of sinners. They endeavored first of all to 
 convince them of their total depravity, and, in the second 
 place, to afford them a magnified conception of 
 
 "What eternal horrors hang 
 
 Around the second death." 
 
 Having thus brought them through the darkness of 
 despair to the very verge of the awful pit, they suddenly 
 admitted a flood of light from the Lord's blessed promises 
 of forgiveness and mercy. By this artful manoeuvre they 
 transported their hearers from the confines of " outer 
 darkness" to the bright regions of hope ; and this rapid 
 transition, this sudden elevation of greatly depressed 
 spirits, the mourners regarded as their conversion, and
 
 162 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 glorified God ! In tliis plan of pardon there is at least 
 some sound ijliilosophy, and for tins reason, possibly, it 
 is still followed by many tvithout the shadow of divine 
 authority. To young Goodwin's conversion under this 
 system, one thing stood opposed — on a faithful compari- 
 son of himself with his profane associates, he could not 
 conclude that he was the chief of sinners. Therefore he 
 remained in the kingdom of Satan, though most anxious 
 to be translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. 
 
 About the year 1819 there came into Daviess county 
 several preachers wdio called themselves Christians, but 
 were called by various names, such as Newlights, Schis- 
 matics, Heretics, etc. The love, rather than " the terror 
 of the Lord," was their favorite theme, and they appealed 
 to sinners with great earnestness and with many tears. 
 Young Goodwin soon became much attached to those 
 despised people, and began to defend their views when 
 opposed by the several orthodox sects. 
 
 At one of their meetings held in May, 1821, near "Wash- 
 ington, he made a profession of religion, and was soon 
 afterward received into the church. Under the lenient 
 rule of the Old Christian Body, he enjoyed the fellowship 
 of his brethren for several months without obeying from 
 the heart "the form of doctrine." This he did through 
 fear of wounding the feelings of his parents upon whose 
 faith he had been sprinkled in infancy. This obstacle 
 was entirely removed as soon as they were apprised of his 
 heart's desire, and, in October following, he was immersed 
 in Prairie Creek by Elder Cummins Brown. 
 
 In 1823 his father moved into the southern part of the 
 county to a point several miles from the nearest Christian 
 church. Finding in that settlement a few persons of his 
 faith, the young disciple, then in his sixteenth year, pre- 
 vailed upon them to hold evening prayer meetings from 
 house to house. At such meetings he at once became a
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 163 
 
 leader, and from that he soon began to exhort and to 
 preach. From the first he was very successful in bring- 
 ing sinners to the anxious seat to call on the name of the 
 Lord. But to those unfortunate ones who asked and re- 
 ceived not, he could only say " pray on." He was at that 
 time, like many preachers of the present day, in the con- 
 dition of those so forcibly described by Paul, "Desiring to 
 be teachers of the law ; understanding neither what they 
 say nor whereof they alBrm. " 
 
 It was in May, 1824, that he first attempted to deliver 
 a regular sermon. His text was 1 Peter, iv. 18. "If the 
 righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and 
 the sinner appear ?" The following were the divisions of 
 his subject in their order. 
 
 I. Define the character of the righteous. 
 
 II. Describe the character of the ungodly and the sinner. 
 
 III. Answer the question, — " Where shall the ungodly 
 and the sinner appear." 
 
 By observing this order he made a most favorable im- 
 pression upon the minds of his hearers. 
 
 He was followed by another preacher, by the name of 
 Abner Davis, who took for his text, " The Lord hath done 
 great things for us whereof we are glad." He made a 
 direct application of the passage to the young speaker 
 that had just taken his seat. He attempted to show that 
 preaching was all-important ; that the Lord called and 
 qualified all true preachers; that in the present case he 
 had done a great thing, and they were all very glad of it! 
 
 From this time Elder Goodwin kept up regular appoint- 
 ments in different parts of the county. As there were no 
 railway-s and as he was too poor to buy a horse, he trav- 
 elled at first on foot. In the beginning of his ministry he 
 exhibited greater boldness than most young preachers, nor 
 was he to be discouraged by any ordinary difficulty, as the 
 following incident will show.
 
 164 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 He once sent an appointment to preach at a certain 
 point in a distant part of the county. The day came, and 
 after an early breakfast the youthful evangelist set out on 
 foot. Arriving at the place, he found a few persons in 
 the house, and a few others at a preacher's stand in a grove 
 near by. Perceiving that the house would easily accom- 
 modate all present, and supposing that all would come in 
 when the exercises commenced, he took out his Testament 
 a.nd hymn book, and began to look for a suitable hymn. 
 Upon this, those in the house ai'ose and marched out to the 
 stand two and two, male and female. Nothing daunted, 
 the deserted preacher followed them, ascended the out- 
 door pulpit, and, without giving them time to retire, began 
 to read the introductory hymn. This attracted the atten- 
 tion of the company, which had by this time become quite 
 large. 
 
 After singing and prayer, he proceeded to follow out in 
 regular order the several divisions of his discourse, all 
 the while thinking it wondrous strange that none of his 
 brethren were present to aid and encourage him. When 
 on the last division of his subject, a funeral procession 
 came up, and then, for the first time, he discovered an 
 open grave near him. The hearse was driven up near 
 the stand, where the whole company took seats and lis- 
 tened respectfully to the remainder of the sermon. 
 
 An explanation followed, from which it appeared that 
 his appointment had never been published, and that he 
 had preached to people who had come out with no other 
 purpose than to attend the funeral ! 
 
 Up to this time he had obtained no authority to preach 
 the gospel. But in September, 1825, he applied for license 
 to the Indiana Christian Conference, which convened that 
 year at Blue Spring, Monroe county. Agreeably to their 
 custom they appointed a committee to examine the can-
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 165 
 
 didates as to their soundness in the faith and aptness to 
 teach. 
 
 On this occasion, as usual, the committee was composed 
 of gray-haired preachers who had been many years in the 
 service. The chairman was Lewis Byram, a man of great 
 gravity, extensive biblical knowledge, and excellent Chris- 
 tian character. 
 
 Before this venerable body the youthful candidate, then 
 in his nineteenth year, presented himself with fear and 
 trembling. But to his great surprise only two important 
 questions were propounded to him. 1st, " What think you 
 of Christ, whose Son is he?" 2ud, "What do you under- 
 stand to be the design of the death of Christ ?" To the 
 first he answered promptly, "I believe that Jesus Christ 
 is the Son of God." Thus, having been four years in the 
 church and two years in the ministry, he made the Scrip- 
 tural confession of faith in Jesus Christ. 
 
 To the other question he replied, "I believe that Christ 
 died to reconcile sinners to God, and not God to sinners." 
 A few more inquiries with reference to his impression that 
 it was his duty to preach, closed the examination, and the 
 license was granted by a unanimous vote. His name was 
 accordingly enrolled as a member of the Conference. It 
 being a camp-meeting as well as a Conference occasion, 
 the older preachers were anxious to hear the new member. 
 They therefore appointed him to preach at the afternoon 
 session. To him this was a greater task than it was for 
 Paul to preach before the Areopagus. Before him, in a 
 beautiful grove, sat an immense assembly ; behind him 
 were the Elders of Israel. Nevertheless he delivered one 
 of his systematic discourses, at the close of which he ex- 
 horted with so much feeling that quite a number of persons 
 presented themselves at the anxious seat. 
 
 Hitherto he had attracted but little attention in the 
 Conference, for in those days he wore an old white hat,
 
 166 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 whose crown, once cylindrical, had assumed a conical 
 shape. His coat, also, was " out" at the elbows, and the 
 length of his pantaloons had evidently been determined 
 upon principles of rigid economy. After this effort, how- 
 ever, they asked him many questions, and spoke, in flat- 
 tering terms, of his ability. 
 
 On returning home he reflected much on what he had 
 seen and heard at Conference. It was held that such 
 an organization was absolutely necessary to depose false 
 teachers and prevent incompetent persons from being 
 licensed. But, thought he, from such an examination as 
 that to which I was subjected, what could they learn as 
 to one's ability to preach the gospel ? Such reflections 
 on the doings and uses of that ecclesiastical body, the 
 Conference, begat in his mind a hostility to it, which soon 
 made itself manifest. 
 
 In the Summer of 1826, he received a letter from some 
 friends in Illinois, near the mouth of Illinois river, re- 
 questing him to come out and hold a few meetings in that 
 region. This he resolved to do, taking the Conference in 
 his route. This body met that year at some point in Owen 
 county. After its adjournment he set out on horseback 
 for his Illinois appointments, having just twenty-five cents 
 in his pocket. 
 
 There was at that time a flourishing church on Allison 
 Prairie, some ten miles west of Yincennes. He resolved 
 to proceed by way of this church, to spend a night with 
 the brethren there, and preach for them. He reached 
 Christian settlement before night, and called on a brother 
 Daniel Travis, to whom he made known the object of his 
 coming. The brother, who looked upon the outward ap- 
 pearance, asked him several questions as to his age, the 
 length of time he had been preaching, etc., and finally 
 agreed to circulate the appointment. Quite a congrega-
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 161 
 
 tion assembled, to whom he discoursed in a manner that 
 fully met their expectations. 
 
 Next morning he started at early dawn in hope of 
 reaching the house of a brother by noon. It was neces- 
 sary for him to keep within the brotherhood as much as 
 possible, for his purse was light and he received little or 
 nothing for his labor in the Lord. Some preached vehe- 
 mently against receiving any remuneration, but " he had 
 not so learned Christ." Moreover it seemed to him that, 
 if none were receiving more than he, there was no need 
 of warning the brethren against paying the preachers ! 
 
 Previous to starting, his friend Travis asked him how 
 far he was going. " Some hundred and fifty miles," was 
 the reply. " How much money have you for the trip ?" 
 continued the questioner. "Twenty-five ce?i/s," said the 
 preacher. The good brother then gave him an additional 
 quarter — a liberal contribution in that day — and he went 
 on his way rejoicing. 
 
 He reached the brother's by the way-side after the sun 
 had crossed the meridian. But dinner was soon prepared, 
 which proved to be the last meal he enjoyed until he 
 reached the end of his journey. Remembering that " a 
 righteous man regardeth the life of his beast," he spent 
 his money for food for his horse, while he himself fasted 
 for txoo whole days. 
 
 Resuming his journey he resolved to travel all that 
 night. In pursuance of this resolution he came, about 
 one o'clock, A. M., to where some emigrants had en- 
 camped for the night, at whose fire he stopped to warm 
 himself. He had not been long by the fire when a coarse 
 voice cried out, with a terrible allusion to Tartarus, 
 " What are you doing here ?" " Only warming myself, 
 sir," he innocently replied ; and turning round, he saw 
 the man who had so rudely accosted him standing at his 
 horse's head, the bridle over his arm, and a gun aimed
 
 168 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 directly at him. The holder of the weapon seeing him so 
 unconcerned, came up and offered an apology. He said 
 that the night before some one had stolen a horse in the 
 neighborhood ; that the thief was expected to return and 
 purloin other property; that the owner of the stolen horse 
 had requested him to watch ; and that he had mistaken 
 the innocent for the guilty. " Had you made the least 
 attempt to run," said he, " I would have shot you down 
 in your tracks." After this narrow escape the evangelist 
 pursued his lonely way, and in two days more reached 
 the place of his destination. 
 
 Having preached a week or two for his Illinois friends, 
 he set out on his return, intending to reach a camp- 
 meeting on Barney's Prairie, Wabash county, by Saturday 
 night. But at the close of that day he found himself 
 twenty miles from the camp-ground, the road to which 
 ran through a thinly settled region, and was not much 
 travelled. Nevertheless about nine o'clock, P. M. he left 
 the old Vincennes and St. Louis road and set out afresh 
 for the camp-meeting, resolved once more to travel all 
 night rather than fail in his undertaking. Of him this 
 determination to carry out his purposes is characteristic. 
 To fill his appointments he has often imperiled his life in 
 crossing swollen streams ; and in every department of his 
 business he is faithful to perform whatever he promises. 
 
 Aljout one o'clock the next morning he halted at a 
 farm-house, called the farmer up and inquired the way 
 and the distance to the place at which the meeting was 
 to be held. " It is about six miles," said the kind man, 
 " but light ; we will be going thither in the morning ; so 
 tarry with us and take a little repose. " 
 
 By the time the horse was cared for, the good lady was 
 up preparing a lunch for the weary traveller. After some 
 conversation he observed to her : " You resemble a lady 
 of my aciiuaiutance in Indiana, whose name is Da}' ;
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. IC9 
 
 perhaps you ai-e of the same name." "No," said she, 
 " as far from it as you could easily imagine — my name is 
 Knight:' 
 
 After a refreshing nap, breakfast was taken, and Mr. 
 and Mrs. Knight, together with the preacher, were soon 
 on their way to the camp-ground, where they arrived just 
 before the services commenced. A great number of per- 
 sons were seated before a rude stand in a delightful 
 grove. There were in attendance several distinguished 
 preachers, among whom was the eccentric and talented 
 William Kinkade. Goodwin was immediately invited 
 into the stand and called upon for a sermon. No excuse 
 would avail, so he arose and addressed the people from 
 Romans i. 16 : "I am not ashamed of the gospel of 
 Christ." 
 
 The following transcript of the original " skeleton" of 
 his discourse, will give the reader an idea of his method 
 of sermonizing in that day. 
 
 I. Show what the Gospel is. 
 
 II. Offer Reasons for not being ashamed of it. 
 I. It means Good News; and so it is. 
 
 1. To the sinner as one blind — it offers spiritual vision. 
 
 2. To those who sit in darkness.and the shadow of death. 
 
 3. To the morally diseased — it points, to the great 
 Physician. 
 
 4. To the guilty — offering pardon. * 
 
 5. To the poor — offering " an inheritance incorrupti- 
 ble," etc. 
 
 6. To the dead — for it offers life eternal. 
 
 II. We should not be ashamed of it, because 
 
 1. It is the Sword of the Spirit, with which we fight 
 the good fight of faith. 
 
 2. It is a Directory in the way to Heaven. 
 
 3. It is a "Will, in which fullness of joy is bequeathed 
 to them that shall be heirs of salvation. 
 
 15
 
 lYO PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 The eflPort was highly applauded even by the older 
 preachers; yet, to one well acquainted with the Christian 
 system, it is evident that none could learn, from such a 
 discourse, what the gospel of Christ is, or what is to be 
 done, on the part of man, in order to be saved by it. 
 
 At the annual meeting of the Indiana Conference in 
 the Fall of 1821, he was appointed to travel and preach 
 during six months of the ensuing year. The Wabash 
 Conference, which embraced the churches in southwestern 
 Indiana and southeastern Illinois, held its annual meeting 
 about the same time. By it also he was appointed to 
 preach half the year within the bounds of that Conference. 
 These calls he accepted ; and for the sake of giving each 
 an equal division of seasons, he threw the two districts 
 into one, which gave him a circuit of about six hundred 
 miles. He has, therefore, been a circuit-rider on a large 
 scale 1 Yermillion and White counties, Illinois; and Po- 
 sey, Crawford, Monroe and Yigo counties, Indiana, formed 
 the circumference of his circle. He arranged the appoint- 
 ments so as to make a revolution every eight weeks. To 
 do this he was kept busy every day, for the roads were in 
 a bad condition, many of the creeks were unbridged, and 
 the swamps at times almost impassable. 
 
 No definite amount was promised him for his year's 
 service. The brethren simply said, " Go preach the gospel 
 and we will see that you do not suffer." Under such a 
 contract he of coui'se received but very little compensa- 
 tion. Still he filled out the time, had many happy meet- 
 ings, and saw his labors crowned with a good degree of 
 success. 
 
 On the 6th of August, 1828, in Gibson county, Indiana 
 he was married to Miss Jane Moore Davis, who still lives 
 to share his sacrifices for the gospel, and to adorn the doc- 
 trine of God our Saviour by her meekness and " patient 
 continuance in well doiua:."
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. Ill 
 
 Shortly after his marriage he and his wife made a visit 
 to Tennessee, passing through Kentucky. While she 
 remained with a sister in Wilson county, Tennessee, he 
 made a tour through several counties of that State. His 
 preaching was well received, and greatly revived some 
 old churches that had forgotten their first love. 
 
 Up to this time he had operated on the mourning-bench 
 system, under the illusion that the Bible is full of authority 
 for proceeding in that wayT^ While en route to Tennessee 
 an aged sister, in Kentucky, at whose house he preached, 
 asked him the following question : " Brother Goodwin," 
 said she, " what is Baptism for ?" Having looked at the 
 subject no further than he had been led by his seniors in 
 the ministry, he replied, " Baptism is an emblem of the 
 burial and resurrection of Christ : therefore one is bap- 
 tised to show his faith in these facts." "Then," con- 
 tinued the old lady, " the Lord's Supper shows our faith 
 in the death of Christ, and Baptism shows our faith in his 
 burial and resurrection." " So I understand it," rejoined 
 the preacher. " JV/iy then," said she, " do we, by the 
 Supper, show forth the Lord's death often, and, by 
 Baptism, show forth his burial and resurrection oidy 
 ONCE in our whole lives?" By this inquiry he was com- 
 pletely nonplussed. The aged sister then observed that 
 she was really anxious to ascertain the true design of the 
 ordinance, for she thought there was something in it that 
 all the pi'eachers had overlooked. 
 
 Here the conversation ended, but study and reflection 
 began ; nor did he cease to reflect and inquire, until he 
 had learned from the teaching of the apostles that Baptism, 
 with its proper antecedents, is " for the remission of sins." 
 
 From this apparently trivial incident is to be dated the 
 beginning of his reformation. Here he reached his aphe- 
 lion, and began to approach the great Light of the World 
 and his satellites, the apostles. Surely God hath " chosen
 
 172 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and 
 God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound 
 the things that are mighty." 
 
 Previous to this, one thing had troubled him, but it 
 had not shaken his faith in the correctness of his practice. 
 He was always most successful in persuading people to 
 the anxious seat ; but on almost all occasions he found 
 persons — usually of the more sober and intelligent sort — 
 who called upon the Lord in vain, for He would not 
 answer. After almost every protracted meeting, he left 
 many " unconverted" mourners, some of whom sought 
 the Lord again, but others went their ways to infidelity. 
 
 Finally he mentioned to older preachers the difficulty 
 which was to him inexplicable ; and many expedients 
 were resorted to in order to account for it without calling 
 in question the correctness of the system. Of course that 
 could not be wrong, for had not many souls been joyfully 
 converted in that way ! 
 
 About this time there arose no small stir among the 
 brethren with reference to the Reformation, especially 
 in its bearings upon church polity. Elder Goodwin had 
 long been opposing the organization of the ministers into 
 an ecclesiastical body, which subject he had freely dis- 
 cussed with the ablest preachers in open Conference. 
 The Indiana Conference was soon decapitated by the 
 sword of the Spirit ; and the Wabash Conference was not 
 long in experiencing the same fate — the churches as- 
 suming an independent form of government; and the 
 preachers becoming amenable to them. 
 
 To assist in bringing about this result, was his first 
 public act in the direction of reform. But the examina- 
 tion, to which he had been led by the old lady in Ken- 
 tucky, soon convinced him that the teaching of Christ 
 and the acts of the apostles stood opposed to his teaching 
 and practice on the important subject of conversion. He
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 173 
 
 plainly saw that the apostles preached Christ crucified 
 as the " only name given under heaven among men 
 whereby they could be saved;" and that when the people 
 believed their word, and were willing to obey the gospel, 
 they commanded them to be baptized every one of them 
 " in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." 
 He saw that in this way thousands became Christians in 
 a single day without the long agonizing process through 
 which his teaching compelled men to pass. He also dis- 
 covered that in the beginning no one ever came sincerely 
 to the Lord for salvation, and went away sorrowful, as 
 many did in his day. 
 
 But how to carry into practice what he now saw to be 
 according to apostolic precept and example, was a grave 
 question. He feared that if he should attempt to substi- 
 tute the ancient gospel, which was hated, for the received 
 traditions, which were dearly loved, the people would not 
 obey it, and he would have occasion to say with Esaias, 
 " Lord, who hath believed our report." It was not until 
 the Summer of 1835 that he resolved to declare the 
 apostles' doctrine at all hazards, and exhort the people to 
 obey the gospel as believers did on the day of Pentecost. 
 " If," thought he, " I preach the same facts to be believed 
 and the same commands to be obeyed ; and if the people 
 believe and obey, surely all will be well, for the Lord is 
 faithful that promised : but if they are contentious, and 
 will not obey the truth, but persist in unrighteousness, 
 then the consequence shall be upon their own heads — 
 I shall have delivered my soul." 
 
 From that hour to the present he has never taught the 
 penitent sinner to seek pardon where God has never pro- 
 mised to bestow it. He has learned too that if persons 
 are truly convinced of their sinfulness and really desirous 
 of obtaining forgiveness — if they have " unfeigned faith"
 
 114 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 in Christ and in his gracious promises — they will gladly 
 receive the word and be baptized, both men and women. 
 
 Up to this time, except during the year he was em- 
 ployed by the Conferences, he did not "live of the gospel." 
 To support his family he sometimes taught school, some- 
 times served as salesman in a stoi'e, but always preached 
 as much as circumstances would possibly allow. 
 
 In January, 1840, he abandoned all secular business 
 and gave himself wholly to the word. He had organized 
 several new churches in Posey county — one at Mount 
 Vernon. These, with some Old Christian churches that 
 had come into the Reformation, agreed to co-operate in 
 sustaining him as an evangelist, at a salary of three hun- 
 dred dollars per annum. Under this arrangement he labored 
 for seven years, annually enlarging his field, which eventu- 
 ally embraced portions of Illinois and Kentucky. 
 
 According to a report contained in the Christian Record 
 of that date, he travelled, during the year ending October, 
 1845, three thousand four hundred and seventy-two miles 
 and preached three hundred and eighty-two sermons. In 
 1846 he lost nearly three months on account of ill health, 
 yet he travelled, during the remainder of the year, about 
 three thousand miles and delivered two hundred and 
 thirty-one public discourses. 
 
 This will serve as an index of his zeal for God, and as 
 a measure of the influence he exerted as a speaker only, 
 and not as a writer. He has always acted upon the sug- 
 gestion of King Solomon, " What thy hand findeth to do, 
 do it with thy might." 
 
 In June, 1841, he left his old residence at Mount 
 Vernon, and removed to Bloomington, where he became 
 associated with Elder J. M. Mathes in the publication of 
 the Christian Record. 
 
 In this connection he continued two years at a consi- 
 derable sacrifice. The profits arising from the publication
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. l^S 
 
 were insufiScient to support two families, and they received 
 nothing for preaching, though employed nearly everj 
 Lord's day and frequently throughout the week. The 
 brethren, with singular views of justice and Christian 
 obligation, seemed to think that the Record sustained 
 the editors, and that therefore they ought to preach for 
 nothing ! Strange that they did not see, with equal 
 clearness, that if one half of their farms supported their 
 families, they ought therefore to receive nothing for the 
 products of the other half ! 
 
 Starved out of the editorial chair, he removed to Madison 
 and became the pastor of the church in that city. During 
 two years from April, 1849, he preached for that congre- 
 gation with very general acceptance and tolerable success. 
 
 At the expiration of the second year he accepted a call 
 from the church at Bloomington. The brethren at Madi- 
 son remonstrated ; but his family was then large and his 
 children were demanding mental culture : therefore, for 
 the sake of a better support, and especially in view of the 
 educational facilities afforded by the State University, he 
 returned to Bloomington in 1851, and assumed the pas- 
 toral care of the churches at that place and Clear Creek. 
 
 In this position he remained until the Fall of 1854, 
 when he accepted an agency for the N. W. C. University. 
 As an agent he was indefatigable ; and he did much 
 toward increasing both the funds and the popularity of 
 the institution. He canvassed a large portion of the 
 State, soliciting stock and contributions, preaching the 
 gospel, and, by public lectures and private conversations, 
 awakening an educational spirit among all the people, 
 and especially among those of the household of faith. 
 
 Having become a prey to bronchitis, and being much 
 exposed in this work, he suspended operations, as agent, 
 for the Winter of 1855-6. But unwilling to be idle during 
 that time, he wrote and published the Family Companion,
 
 It6 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 " a book of sermons, on various subjects, both doctrinal 
 and practical : intended for the private edification and 
 comfort of the disciples of Christ, and to aid the honest 
 inquirer after truth in finding the true church and the law 
 of induction into the same ; etc., etc., etc." It is written 
 in a plain, simple style, in which the rigor of logic and 
 the spirit of Christ are happily blended. The popu- 
 larity of the work is attested by its having already passed 
 through five editions, and by the fact that some of the 
 sermons have been republished in Europe, and some have 
 been translated into the German language. 
 
 In the Spring of 1856 he resumed his agency, but upon 
 the urgent solicitations of the brethren in Indianapolis, 
 he abandoned that work in May ; on the 2'7th of which 
 month he became the pastor of the Christian congregation 
 in that city. The church there was, then, in a deplorable 
 condition. Through the influence of those who were con- 
 tentious, it had been rent into two parties, each of which 
 had their place of worship, and not a few things were 
 being done " through strife and vain glory." It required 
 much nerve and a firm reliance upon the strong arm of 
 the Lord, to encounter such carnality;* and, having done 
 so, he met with an opposition to his pacific measures that 
 he had not anticipated. Under such trying circumstances 
 many a man would have " withdrawn himself," leaving 
 the wranglers to " eat of the fruit of their own way and 
 be filled with their own devices." But realizing the im- 
 portance of the church located at the capital of the State, 
 and sympathizing with the righteous members that were 
 partakers of the common shame, he resolved to meet all 
 opposition with meekness and never to " give up the 
 ship." 
 
 In this position be remained three years, in the course 
 
 * 1 Cor. iii. 3.
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. ITt 
 
 of which time the conflicting elements were brought 
 together and their affinity re-established. The two folds 
 became one again under one shepherd, and the congre- 
 gation resumed a prosperous condition and a commanding 
 influence. 
 
 Having accomplished this happy result, he resigned 
 his charge, and purchased of Elder J. M. Mathes the 
 Christian Record, of which he became sole editor and 
 proprietor. This valuable religious magazine he con- 
 tinued to conduct, in Indianapolis, until the close of the 
 year 1861. In addition to his editorial labors he made 
 frequent preaching tours through this and other States of 
 the Union, and rendered important service as Treasurer 
 of the N. W. C. University. He was one of the commis- 
 sioners to organize this institution, and from the beginning 
 he has served as a member of the Business Committee and 
 also of the Board of Directors, of which he has once been 
 President. 
 
 At the commencement of the year 1862, in connection 
 with his eldest son, A. D. Goodwin, he began a new 
 volume of the Monthly, and also commenced the publica- 
 tion of the Weekly Christian Record, a family newspaper 
 devoted to the interests of primitive Christianity. Both 
 the paper and the magazine are ably and judiciously con- 
 ducted, and they exert a powerful influence upon the dis- 
 ciples in the northwest, whose liberal patronage they 
 assuredly merit. 
 
 In the course of his ministerial life he has been engaged 
 in ten public discussions, in all of which, save two held 
 prior to his entrance into the Reformation, he has suc- 
 cessfully vindicated the truth as it is in Jesus. The first, 
 which occurred in 1829, was a one-sided little affair, for 
 the reason that his opponent, a Methodist preacher by the 
 name of Richey, could not read the notes or comprehend 
 the arguments prepared for him by another.
 
 178 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 The second was with Dr. H. Holland, also a minister 
 in the M. E. Church, and a man of considerable ability. 
 It took place in the court-house at Mount Vernon, in the 
 Spring of 1832. Proposition : " Is Jesus Christ the very 
 and Eternal God ?" Affirmative — Holland ; negative — 
 Goodwin. 
 
 His third debate was held near Mount Vernon, in ISSY. 
 His opponent was the same Dr. Holland, and the subject 
 Infant Baptism. The fourth, in which he was opposed 
 by Joel Hume, a Predestinarian Baptist, occurred in 
 1843 or 4. The proposition was the following : " Is it 
 possible for all men to be saved by complying with con- 
 ditions within their power." In the affirmative, Mr. Good- 
 win ofifered twenty arguments, to ten of which his oppo- 
 nent attempted no reply. 
 
 He next discussed the Action, Subject and Design of 
 Baptism, with the Rev. F. Forbes, of the M. E. Church. 
 This transpired at Kent, Jefferson county, in February, 
 1851, and was followed by the immersion of one of the 
 moderators, his wife, and twelve others. In the Spring 
 of 1853 he debated the same propositions with the Rev. 
 James Scott (Methodist), in the chapel of the State 
 University at Bloomington. At the same place in 1854 
 or 5 he affirmed the following proposition : "A law em- 
 bracing the principles of search, seizure, confiscation, and 
 destruction of intoxicating liquors kept for illegal sale, 
 would be in accordance with the Bible and the Consti- 
 tution of the State of Indiana, and promotive of the well- 
 being of society." His opponent was Rev. Mr. Tabor 
 of the Baptist Church. 
 
 He subsequently debated with R. Hargrave (Methodist) 
 on the Action and Design of Baptism ; and, at a still later 
 period, with H. Wells (Lutheran) on the Action of Bap- 
 tism. The former took place at Oxford, Benton county, 
 the latter at Jalapa, Grant county.
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 119 
 
 Finally, in December 1861, he debated the Action of 
 Baptism at Cadiz, Henry county, with the Rev. M. 
 Mahan of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This discus- 
 sion lasted four days, and, like those preceding, converted 
 to " sound doctrine" many who, turning away their ears 
 from the truth, had been " turned unto fables." 
 
 Thus did the subject of this sketch, by the force of his 
 mind and the candor of his heart, find his way, through 
 gross darkness, to the foundation of apostles and prophets, 
 though born, baptized, and bred in a different. faith. 
 
 Thus by his own efforts, in the providence of God, has 
 he elevated himself from obscurity to his present honora- 
 ble and influential position. 
 
 Thus has he lived without reproach and labored for his 
 race almost without reward. 
 
 Only a few more years, at farthest, will he write, and 
 speak, and pray for the success of the Reformation, which 
 he verily believes to be the cause of God ; then will he 
 leave a bright example on earth, to ascend to a glorious 
 inheritance in heaven. 
 
 Elder Goodwin is a man of fine personal appearance. 
 He is about five feet nine inches high — erect, well- 
 proportioned, and weighs about one hundred and sixty 
 pounds. His complexion is fair, his hair light and inter- 
 mingled with gray. He has a well-balanced head, with 
 a fine broad forehead, clearly indicative of great intel- 
 lectual power. 
 
 His mind is clear, logical, comprehensive. He is a 
 deep, constant thinker ; and he reasons forcibly, from 
 cause to effect more than by comparison. As a dis- 
 putant, he is self-possessed, ready, convincing, and, under 
 all circumstances, courteous toward his opponent. He 
 descends to no chicanery to deceive the simple, employs 
 no vulgar wit for the sake of gaining the applause of the
 
 180 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 multitude, but, by a clear and respectful " manifestation 
 of the truth," he commends himself " to every man's 
 conscience in the sight of God." 
 
 He possesses an amiable disposition and strong and 
 lasting attachments. Except the cause of Christ, nothing 
 lies nearer his heart or receives more of his attention than 
 his family ; the remainder of which consists of the wife 
 of his youth, two sons and two daughters. The rest have 
 fallen " on sleep," among whom was Friend Chapman, a 
 promising son, who having graduated at the N. W. C. 
 University, soon " finished his course" on earth and 
 passed up into the presence of the Great Teacher. 
 
 Though he has experienced many occasions of sadness, 
 yet he is uniformly cheerful, and eminently sociable. 
 Indeed, there is not a little humor in his composition, 
 and he enjoys a good anecdote most heartily. This 
 element he sometimes turns to good account, for, sanc- 
 tified to the Master's use, he constrains all his powers to 
 work together "for good." The following incident will 
 perhaps illustrate the manner in which he is wont to em- 
 ploy his humorous faculty " unto edifying." 
 
 Once while on a preaching tour through Henderson 
 county, Kentucky, he stopped one day at a blacksmith's 
 shop to have his buggy slightly repaired. While the 
 work was being done, he inquired of the smith with 
 regard to the religious views of the people thereabout. 
 " Oh," said the smith, " we have some Methodists, some 
 Baptists, some Presbyterians and a few Campbellites." 
 " Campbellites !" said Goodwin, " why what kind of peo- 
 ple are they ?" 
 
 Smith. — A very singular people, I assure you. They 
 don't believe in repentance, in conversion, or in a change 
 of heart. They also deny the operation of the Holy 
 Spirit.
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 181 
 
 Goodwin. — They must be a singular people, indeed. 
 Thej deny repentance ? 
 
 Smith. — Yes, sir. They would ridicule the idea of a 
 sinner's repenting. 
 
 Ooodwin. — Is it possible I Do they use the Bible in 
 their meetings ? 
 
 Smith. — yes, they talk much about the Bible, and 
 " the Bible alonej" but what I tell you is true. 
 
 Goodwin. — Do they ever pray ? 
 
 Smith. — Yes, they pray, and seem quite religious them- 
 selves, but they take a sinner without any repentance, 
 baptize him 7-ight in his sins, and pronounce him a Chris- 
 tian. It i-s all water salvation with them. 
 
 Goodwin. — Did you ever hear one of them preach ? 
 
 Smith. — Yes, I have heard several of their strong men. 
 They didn't deny repentance when I was there, but 
 " they say''^ they always do. 
 
 Goodwin. — Did you ever hear a man by the name of 
 Goodwin ? 
 
 Smith. — No, but I have heard of him. They say he is 
 an able man, but he met with his match once. 
 
 Goodwin. — How did that happen ? 
 
 Srnith. — Why, he went out to Madison, in this State, 
 and kept bantering until a little Presbyterian preacher 
 took him up and demolished his system completely. 
 
 Goodivin. — They had a regular debate, had they ? 
 
 Smith. — Yes, sir, and I suppose a fellow never before 
 got such a basting. 
 
 Goodwin. — Did you hear the discussion ? 
 
 Smith. — No; but one of our preachers told me about it. 
 
 Goodioin. — Who was he ? 
 
 Sinith.— Brother F . 
 
 Goodwin. — I advise you not to repeat the story until 
 you have better authority. I know something of Mr. 
 
 F , and I have no confidence in him whatever, 
 
 16
 
 183 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Smith. — That is strange. We all liave great confidence 
 in him. 
 
 Goodwin. — Well, my good friend, I am the man he 
 told you about, and I never had a debate in any part of 
 Kentucky. The story is a sheer fabrication. 
 
 Smith. — (Much confused.) Ah, well ! I confess I never 
 had as much confidence in brother F. as I have in some 
 of our preachers. 
 
 Goodwill. — Now, sir, let me give you a word of advice. 
 Be careful hoio you make statevxents on the authority of 
 your preachers. All you have said about the vieivs of 
 those ivhom you call Campbellites are gross misrepre- 
 sentations. I have preached among them many years, 
 and I know what I say. 
 
 Here the colloquy ended, and Elder Goodwin pursued 
 his journey, leaving behind him a wiser if not a better 
 man. 
 
 In attempting to describe him in the pulpit, one cannot 
 do better than to adopt Cowper's fine description of 
 
 A preacher such, as Paul, 
 
 Were lie on eartli, would hear, approve, and own." 
 
 It expresses him precisely ; for, without exaggeration, 
 
 he is 
 
 " Simple, grave, sincere ; 
 
 In doctrine uncorrupt ; in language plain. 
 And plain in manner ; decent, solemn, chaste, 
 And natural in gesture ; much impressed 
 Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, — 
 And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds 
 May feel it too ; affectionate in look. 
 And tender in address, as well becomes 
 A messenger of grace to guilty men." 
 
 To this it may be added that he is fluent, partly by 
 nature and partly because he never speaks without pre- 
 paration. His voice, once strong, clear, and melodious,
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 183 
 
 has been somewhat impaired by disease ; and his delivery 
 is slightly monotonous. Yet the people everywhere hear 
 him gladly ; for his ideas are good and abundant ; his 
 discourses pointed, methodical, edifying. 
 
 He possesses yet one other trait, which Cowper should 
 have attributed to his model preacher — namely, boldness 
 in defence of the truth. This sometimes exhibits itself to 
 good advantage even out of the pulpit, as the following 
 incident will show : 
 
 Once when travelling on a western steamer, he observed 
 a number of passengers collected in the gentlemen's cabin 
 and engaged in earnest conversation. Approaching them, 
 he found that one of the company was enlightening the 
 others in regard to a new kind of professed Christians 
 that had appeared in his part of the country. Said he, 
 " They don't believe in any thing but baptism. They 
 will take a sinner in all his guilt, immerse him in water, 
 and pronounce him fit for heaven." 
 
 After listening awhile, Elder Goodwin asked, " Do 
 these people have churches ?" " yes, and preachers 
 too," was the reply. " And they require nothing but 
 baptism. I suppose then they never deal with their mem- 
 bers for immoral conduct." " Really, I am not sure as to 
 that, but I rather think they do," said the stranger. " Do 
 you think," continued Goodwin, " that they would retain 
 in their fellowship a thief, a blasphemer, a drunkard, or a 
 false witness against his neighbor ?" The gentleman, 
 who by this time had become much confused, replied, 
 " no. I believe they would promptly exclude all such 
 persons." "I perceive then," said the interrogator, "that 
 those people require more than baptism. From your 
 own lips I prove you guilty of bearing false witness ; and 
 now let me advise you to be more careful, in future, when 
 attempting to represent the views and practices of men 
 professing godliness.^' He. then proceeded, by request, to
 
 184 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 give the gospel plan of conversion and salvation : the 
 " false witness" was silent, and the company were both 
 pleased and edified. 
 
 His success as a speaker is, perhaps, more than balanced 
 by his influence as a writer. From his connection with 
 the Reformation until the present, he has written more or 
 less for several religious papers and magazines, the most 
 of his contributions being to the Christian Record. Since 
 his instalment in the editorial chair — which, to him, is not 
 an " easy" one — his pen has seldom been idle. Enter his 
 sanctum at almost any hour of the day, and you will find 
 him, pen in hand, surrounded by his exchanges and books 
 of reference. You would like to sit longer and enjoy his 
 agreeable conversation, but you feel that you are encroach- 
 ing upon his time. He is an indefatigable worker. The 
 cause of Godliness, the cause of Temperance, the cause 
 of Union, the cause of Missions, the cause of Education, 
 the cause of the National Government, the cause of 
 Human Liberty, without respect to races — all find, in 
 him, an unwearied and unwavering advocate. 
 
 His style is more remarkable for its perspicuity than for 
 its vigor, ornament, or conciseness. He never attempts 
 to write any thing beautiful, and his pen assumes consi- 
 derable latitude of expression, being careful only to keep 
 within the bounds of truth. Though his literary produc- 
 tions never fall below mediocrity, yet he is a useful rather 
 than an elegant writer. Extracts would be inserted in 
 this sketch, but for the fact that his writings are so nume- 
 rous and so worthy of preservation, that they will no 
 doubt be collected and given to the world in book form 
 as soon as he shall have written the last line and laid 
 aside his pen forever. To that certain event he already 
 begins to look forward with regret, but not with fear ; 
 for, having been " diligent in business" as well as " fervent
 
 ELIJAH GOODWIN. 185 
 
 in spirit," the testimony of his conscience assures him 
 
 that he 
 
 " From his Lord 
 
 Will receive the glad word, 
 ' Well and faithfully done, 
 
 Enter into my joy 
 And sit down on my throne.' "
 
 JOSEPH AVILSOX. 
 
 Elder Joseph "Wilson was born in Camden countr, 
 North Carolina, October 3d, 1796. His grandparents 
 were members of the Society of Friends ; but his father, 
 at the age of eighteen, joined the Baptists, and commenced 
 preaching. Afterwards he removed to Hawkins county, 
 Tennessee, his son Joseph being then six years old. In 
 such schools as Tennessee afforded half a centiuy ago. 
 Elder Wilson received his education. His course of study 
 comprised only spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic, 
 and even of these branches he obtained but a very im- 
 perfect knowledge. He is therefore one 
 
 "Whose soul fair Science never taught to strav 
 Far as the solar walk or milkj wav." 
 
 Hence his speech and his preaching have not been " with 
 the enticing words of man's wisdom," and his extraordi- 
 nary success as an evangelist is to be attributed, not to 
 the " wisdom of men,'' but to the " power of God" — to 
 the truth and native force of the principles for which he 
 has contended. 
 
 When not more than fifteen years old, amid the gross 
 spiritual darkness that then reigned, he began to feel after 
 God, if haply he might find him, though he is not far 
 from every one of us. For two or three years he searched 
 the Scriptures diligently, but without being able to dis- 
 cover the way of salvation — not because the way is ob- 
 scure, but because he knew not how or where to search 
 as he ought. Finally he said to himself, " Why do I con- 
 186
 
 '^6 
 
 ^^^7^, -^n />/ ^ 
 
 ^a.-f-€AA ,.^>^t^'^>-^
 
 OF THE 
 UNiVERSlTY OF ILLINOIS
 
 JOSEPH WILSON. 187 
 
 tinue to read what God never designed to be understood 
 by one like me ? The Bible is, to the sinner, a sealed 
 book, a profound mystery: let it be laid aside." Thus 
 had he been taught — thus were all the people taught in 
 that day. " Great is the mystery of godliness" was a 
 favorite text with the preachers, and often did they 
 neglect to preach Christ crucified, in order to comfort (?) 
 the people with the precious doctrine that "the natural 
 man receiveth not the things of the Spirit." 1 Cor. ii. 14. 
 When it is remembered that such preaching still obtains, 
 it is no longer strange that so many have thrown aside 
 their Bibles, as did Elder Wilson, and tui'ned their atten- 
 tion to the unauthoritative productions of men, who, it 
 would seem, write with more clearness and precision than 
 did the Holy Spirit, since their works, for the most part, 
 are intelligible ! What else is to be expected than an 
 increase of skepticism, and a corresponding decrease of 
 Bible reading, so long as the unconverted — the great 
 majority of mankind — are taught, from the sacred desk, 
 that they cannot understand the revelation of God ? 
 
 Having despaired of obtaining information from the 
 Scriptures, the young inquirer next applied to his father 
 and other popular preachers, saying, " What shall I do ?" 
 They advised him to pray and wait, assuring him that 
 God would, in his own good time, grant him faith and 
 repentance unto life. Though this direction was slightly 
 different from that given by Peter on the day of Pente- 
 cost, yet it was satisfactory to him ; and agreeably to it 
 he " waited" until he reached his twentieth year. Under 
 such teaching, alas ! how many have waited, in disobe- 
 dience, until the summer was past, the harvest was ended, 
 and they were not saved ! 
 
 While waiting for some mysterious, if not miraculous, 
 visitation from God, he examined the Baptist creed, which 
 the preachers seemed to think he could understand,
 
 188 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 although they claimed that it — like all other creeds — 
 contained only the doctrines of the unintelligible Bible, 
 arranged in a more concise and convenient form ! To 
 this creed he determined that he would never subscribe, 
 because it contained the doctrine of eternal and uncon- 
 ditional election, which, in his opinion, represented the 
 just and merciful Father as a God of matchless cruelty 
 and injustice. 
 
 Next after the creed he read a work on TJniversalism, 
 entitled " The Works of Winchester." This book taught 
 that a man dying in sin would descend into hell, and 
 there remain until he paid " the uttermost farthing," after 
 which he would ascend into heaven. This doctrine he 
 received and tremblingly adhered to for about four years ; 
 but he continually weighed it in the balance of the Scrip- 
 tures, until at last it was found wanting and abandoned. 
 
 About this time he first heard of B. W. Stone, Dany 
 Travis, and others, who had taken their position on the 
 Bible alone ; but they were so misrepresented, so de- 
 nounced as heretics, that he was afraid to let his soul into 
 their secret. 
 
 He next applied to the Methodists for advice. They 
 told him that he must repent, come to the mourner's 
 bench, and pray for faith ! This doctrine of repentance 
 before faith was then quite common, though it could not 
 justly claim to be either apostolic or reasonable : for how 
 can a man repent of having sinned against a Being in 
 whose existence he does not believe ? How can he ob- 
 tain faith by prayer, when he cannot pray acceptably 
 without faith ? Jas. i. 6, 1. These most obvious absurd- 
 ities Elder Wilson had not then perceived ; so he attended 
 a camp-meeting, and obeyed to the letter all the command- 
 ments of men. But it was all in vain ; for, although he 
 asked, he received not ; though he sought, he found not ; 
 though he mourned, he was not comforted.
 
 JOSEPH WILSON. 189 
 
 Being sent empty away, lie returned home, through 
 the Slough of Despond, and again resolved to await God's 
 time. Yet he often prayed for a heart of flesh, and for 
 some satisfactory evidence of his pardon ; and if pardon 
 had been dispensed simply in answer to prayer, he cer- 
 tainly would have obtained it, for never was a man more 
 sincere, more humble, or more willing to perform whatso- 
 ever the Lord might require at his hands. 
 
 After some months, he again applied the Methodi.st 
 machinery. At the close of a season of prayer they asked 
 him how he felt. He replied that he had neither seen any 
 " great light," nor experienced any unusual feeling. They 
 then inquired if he loved the Saviour ; and being answered 
 affirmatively, they decided that he had religion, and that 
 it was necessary for him only to join the church, and go 
 forward in the discharge of his Christian duties. Thus 
 did they dispose of this rather difficult case. He won- 
 dered that his conversion should differ so much from that 
 of many others, but then he was reminded that, " without 
 controversy, great is the mystery of godliness^' / This 
 being a satisfactory explanation of the anomaly, he at- 
 tached himself to the M. E. Church, and was immersed 
 
 on the day of March, 1821. The same day he was 
 
 promoted to the office of class-leader — an office not often 
 mentioned or clearly defined in the constitution of the 
 primitive church ! 
 
 In May, 1821, he was married to Miss Anna Goad, 
 daughter of Steven Goad, of White county, Tennessee ; 
 and in Autumn of the same year he removed to Greene 
 county, Indiana, in which no gospel was known to the 
 few inhabitants, save that of repentance and prayer before 
 faith. 
 
 By this time, through diligent study of the Scriptures, 
 he had arrived at two important conclusions : first, that 
 the Bible is an intelligible book ; and, second, that divi-
 
 190 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 sions in tlie church of Christ are contrary to the will of 
 God, and detrimental to the spiritual interests of man. It 
 was not long after he came to these conclusions, from his 
 own reading of the word, until several Newlight preach- 
 ers moved into Monroe county, and commenced pleading 
 for the Bible alone as a basis on which all Christians 
 should unite. One of these preachers, John Storms, 
 made an appointment to preach in Green county. Elder 
 Wilson attended the meeting ; but, as the Newlights were 
 everywhere spoken against, he took a seat in the farthest 
 corner of the house. The great controversy between the 
 adherents to the commonly -received doctrine of the 
 " Trinity" and the advocates of a species of Unitarianism, 
 was then rife in this State. The speaker therefore took 
 for his text the words, " Whose So7i is he ?" upon which 
 he discoursed in such a manner as to make a favorable 
 impression upon the man in the corner. The preacher 
 left another appointment ; then others came and plead for 
 union among the children of God, until finally Elder 
 Wilson determined to step upon the platform of apostles 
 and prophets, even at the peril of being decried as a 
 Newlight, a Stoneite, a Heretic, or an Apostate. 
 
 In March, 1822, he voluntarily withdrew from the M. 
 E. Church ; and a new congregation was organized, con- 
 sisting of himself and nine others. Thus were taken two 
 steps in the right direction — they adopted the right creed, 
 the Bible, and the right name, Christian. Still they re- 
 tained many errors. They continued to talk of " getting 
 religion," and to teach that it was to be found at the 
 mourner's bench ; while the disciplinary power was vested 
 in the Annual Conference instead of the several churches. 
 At one of these Conferences, held in Monroe county, on 
 the 16th of September, 1825, Elder Wilson was licensed 
 to preach the gospel ; and in September, 1828, he was 
 formally ordained as an evangelist by John Storms, and
 
 JOSEPH WILSON. 191 
 
 Judge David McDonald, then a travelling preacher, now 
 a distinguished member of the Indianapolis bar. 
 
 After his ordination, he began to travel and preach on 
 a more extensive scale — to travel, not in a comfortable 
 car drawn by the iron Pegasus, but on horseback, through 
 mud and dust, through wet and dry, through heat and 
 cold; by night and by day. In all of his journeyings, he 
 at first paid his own expenses, and would accept no re- 
 muneration for his services ; for he, also, lived in the age 
 in which preachers often expounded the tenth chapter of 
 John, each being unwilling to be the " hireling" spoken 
 of in that connection. 
 
 This doctrine — that the gospel should be preached 
 without money and without price — was but too cordially 
 received by their brethren. Hence many of the pioneers 
 have known how to be in want ; while but few have, like 
 Paul, known also how to abound. Hence many indi- 
 viduals have been destitute of " fruit that might otherwise 
 have abounded to their account," and many congregations 
 have failed to exhibit that liberality which is "an odor 
 of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to 
 God." Hence, also, the progress of the gospel has been 
 retarded, because those, whose sole business would have 
 been to preach it, have been compelled to leave the word 
 of God, in order to supply the wants of their families. 
 
 The consequences of this false teaching bore heavily 
 upon Elder Wilson. During the first seventeen years of 
 his ministry he received from the churches only about five 
 dollars ; and he was often greatly embarrassed for want 
 of money to defray his travelling expenses. When he 
 first began to extend his circuit, he visited once a month 
 a congregation on Black creek, in Daviess county. To 
 reach this he had to cross' White river ; and not being 
 able, at all times, to command even so small a sum as 
 twenty-five cents, he stipulated with the ferryman to pay
 
 192 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 him annually, hut not in advance. At the end of the 
 fourth year he was informed by the ferryman that his ac- 
 count, for that year, was in the hands of an officer for 
 collection. He paid the debt without further legal pro- 
 cess ; but he was compelled to abandon the work at 
 Black creek, because, as in the vision of Ezekiel, there 
 was a "river^^ that he " could not pass over.'" 
 
 Some years aftei', he had an appointment in Illinois. 
 Having to cross both the Wabash and White river, going 
 and returning, he required for this purpose four " bits," 
 in the currency of those times ; but at the hour of start- 
 ing the total amount of specie on hand was only thi-ee 
 "bits." However, he set out, trusting that the place of 
 meeting would be a " Jehovah-jireh" — "the Lord will 
 provide." The meeting being over, his mind was greatly 
 exercised to discover the means of returning home. 
 There lay the impassable rivers between him and his 
 family, as between the lost souls and the elysian fields 
 lay the fabulous Styx. At last he concluded that his 
 remaining " bit" would secure his passage of the Wabash, 
 and that he would, on reaching White river, prevail upon 
 his old friend, the ferryman, to trust him once more. 
 When he began to put on his leggins, he discovered 
 several knots tied in one of them. He set about untying 
 these, with Christian patience, thinking that the thought- 
 less children had placed them there ; when lo ! in the 
 last one a solitary " bit" met his astonished and delighted 
 vision. This secret contribution of some good brother 
 or sister seemed to him a very God- send, and he went on 
 his way rejoicing. 
 
 The following anecdote will still further exhibit his 
 straitened circumstances in those days. Once upon a 
 time he and Elder Jos. Wolfe had been on a preaching 
 tour to Illinois. Having crossed the Wabash on their 
 return, they stayed all night with a brother who lived in
 
 JOSEPH WILSON. 193 
 
 Mesopotanvia — between the rivers. AVhen about to re- 
 tire, Elder Wilson said, "Now, brotlier Wolfe, don't steal 
 my money to-night." " No danger," said he, " that would 
 be breaking a commandment for a very small considera- 
 tion." " Perhaps not," replied Wilson, " you do not know 
 how much I have." " Yes, I do," said Wolfe, " you have 
 just one 'bit.' You had four, no doubt, when you left 
 home ; you paid two for ferriage as we went, one to cross 
 the Wabash on our return ; and you have one left to pay 
 your fare across White river to-morrow." He acknow- 
 ledged the correctness of the reckoning, they enjoyed a 
 hearty laugh, and spent a large portion of the night in 
 talking over their trials, and contrasting their present 
 poverty with the unsearchable riches they hoped to 
 inherit. 
 
 The hardships of his family were not less than his own 
 His children were growing up without the means of 
 acquiring an education ; and, indeed, they were often but 
 ill protected against the wintry storms. His wife, a most 
 zealous and self-denying Christian, was often in want of 
 suitable clothing to appear even in the plain society of 
 that day. In the absence of her husband she carried on 
 the secular business, and when he was unexpectedly 
 detained, she provided with her own hands, in rain and 
 snow, the wood that warmed her household. At one 
 time he owned a saw-mill on a small stream which would 
 often rise in his absence, and he would thus lose many 
 opportunities for sawing. To prevent this loss, his wife 
 used to run the mill ; and, at such times, she has saved 
 thousands of feet of lumber. No wonder that she occa- 
 sionally felt discouraged. No wonder that, sometimes, 
 when the little ones had retired to their humble couches, 
 the parents sat by the fire, talked of their trials, and 
 applied to themselves the Scripture which saith, " If in 
 this life only we have hope, we are of nil men most 
 17
 
 194 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 miserable." But soon they reckoned " that the sufferings 
 of this present time are not worthy to be compared with 
 the glory that shall be revealed in us ;" and on the mor- 
 row the wife laid hold of the distaff, and the husband 
 went forth to preach the gospel. 
 
 But to resume the account of his labors. After aban- 
 doning the work at Black creek, he preached with good 
 success in several counties which could be reached with- 
 out crossing any river. 
 
 In May, 1 833, he made a visit to Mill Creek, Illinois — 
 preaching by the way at Black Creek, Antioch, Farmer's 
 Prairie, and Little York. At the close of the meeting at 
 Mill Creek several Methodists of that vicinity, being almost 
 persuaded to call themselves Christians, requested him to 
 leave another appointment. He promised to return in 
 August. Arriving at the appointed time he found no 
 small stir among the people. The Methodists were en- 
 gaged in a revival, and they proposed that Elder Wilson 
 should add his strength to theirs, and that they should 
 have a Union meeting. For this end an extra Methodist 
 preacher had been imported, and a stand erected in a 
 beautiful grove for the joint use of the said preacher and 
 Elder Wilson. They used it jointly for several days, 
 Union being the main subject — and the Baptists and 
 Presbyterians of the neighborhood taking an active part 
 in the meeting. All prayed so fervently for a union of 
 all Christians, that Elder Wilson half suspected, and deter- 
 mined to test, their sincerity. So on the next day he 
 arranged it for the Methodist to speak first and himself to 
 follow. After having spoken about an hour and a half he 
 said, " Well, brethren, we have been together a long time, 
 and no reason seems to have been developed why we 
 should not dwell together in unity. By our hymns, ex- 
 hortations and prayers, we have professed great faith in 
 the possibility and propriety of a permanent union of all
 
 JOSEPH WILSON. 195 
 
 the followers of Jesus; and I now desire to see how many 
 are willing to show their faith by their works." He then 
 placed a Bible on the stand, and requested all who were 
 willing to lay aside their Disciplines and Confessions of 
 Faith and take the Bible as their only creed — to make it 
 known by coming forward and placing their hands on the 
 sacred book. When the congregation arose to sing, there 
 was a general movement toward the pulpit. Sixty were 
 counted — when they came so fast that it was impossible 
 to count them. In the midst of the excitement, search 
 was made for the Methodist preacher. He was found 
 sitting in the pulpit, still faithful, as Casablanca, to his 
 dogmas and his Discipline, all his union sermons to the 
 contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 " From such apostles, ye mitred heads, 
 
 Preserve the church ! and lay not careless hands 
 On skulls that cannot teach, and ivill not learn. ^' 
 
 Elder Wilson does not know how many he immersed 
 on that occasion ; but in September following he held 
 another meeting, and organized a church, for which he 
 preached quarterly for many years. In his care the 
 church grew so rapidly that it has since been peaceably 
 divided into three flourishing congregations. Is there 
 not reason to believe that churches everywhere would 
 thus increase, if the divine creed were everywhere 
 adopted, and if Christians would all " stand fast in one 
 spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the 
 gospeV ? 
 
 About the year 1833 the doctrine of the Reformation 
 began to prevail in Green county to an extent somewhat 
 alarming to those most zealous for the traditions of the 
 fathers. Elder Wilson and his brethren, though they 
 called themselves Christians and professed to take the 
 word of God as the man of their counsel, still held many
 
 196 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 of these traditions. Hence his brethren were generally in 
 favor of closing the doors of their churches against the 
 so-called Cauipbellites. But he said, " Not so — these 
 people call themselves Christians and claim to be governed 
 by the word of God. We have long proposed to receive 
 any or all good men on that platform ; and although they 
 oppose our views we must give them a hearing. It may 
 be that we have not learned as much as we ought, and 
 that they are wise above what is written. Possibly they 
 may prove of service to us, and we to them." 
 
 By pursuing this course with his brethren, he perhaps 
 did more to advance the cause of the Reformation than if 
 he had been positively advocating it ; for it easily triumphs 
 wherever it obtains a hearing. Stephen might have saved 
 himself from martyrdom, if his enemies had not stopped 
 their ears when they ran upon him ; and the advocates 
 of the faith once delivered to the saints, can easily silence 
 all opposition to it, if only the ears of the people are not 
 dull of hearing. 
 
 Among the most uncompromising advocates of reform, 
 at that time, was Morris R. Trimble. He was making 
 great havoc in the sectarian folds throughout Sullivan, 
 Daviess, Knox, and Greene counties. To preserve the 
 peace and harmony of the churches Elder Wilson and his 
 brother John appointed a union meeting on Prairie creek, 
 in Daviess county. Having preached one night and 
 invited mourners to the altar, a Christian preacher, who 
 happened to he present, remonstrated with him, a Bible 
 man, for preaching doctrine and adhering to a practice 
 for which the Bible furnished neither authority nor pre- 
 cedent. On being thus accosted — to his praise be it 
 written — he did not become angry ; he did not say that 
 the brother was " uncharitable," or that he thought there 
 were "good Christians in all churches," or that he "hated 
 controversy." But he replied that he thought the Bible
 
 JOSEPH WILSON. 19Y 
 
 taught as he taught ; that he might be iu error ; that he 
 would investigate the matter, and if his doctrine was not 
 contained in the Scriptures, he would never preach it 
 again. 
 
 He returns home and begins the search. In Matthew v. 
 4, he reads, " Blessed are they that mourn; and in chap- 
 ter vii. 7, " Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall 
 find." But by reference to chapter v. 1, he ascertains 
 that Jesus addressed these words to his discij^les, and not 
 to aliens. He comes to Luke iii. 10, where the publicans 
 and soldiers go to John, saying, " What shall we do ?" 
 But to his surprise John tells none of them to pray, and 
 by that means to endeavor to get religion. He reads of 
 the young man that ran to Jesus, saying, " What shall I 
 do to inherit eternal life ?" Here he hopes to find the 
 authority from Jesus' own lips, but no mention is made 
 of "the anxious seat." When the heart-stricken Jews, 
 on the day of Pentecost, propounded the same question 
 to Peter, he thinks he will surely find it, but it is not 
 there. At last he finds Paul, prostrate upon the ground, 
 crying, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" but 
 Jesus only says, " Go unto Damascus and there it shall 
 be told thee." He follows Paul to Damascus, and almost 
 claims the victory, as he sees him kneel in prayer. As 
 Ananias approaches, he expects to see him bow down 
 beside the blind penitent and wrestle with God for him in 
 prayer; but to his astonishment Ananias only says, 
 " Why tarriest thou ? arise and be baptized and wash 
 away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord." Thus he 
 continued bis fruitless search until he came to the last of 
 Revelations ; and having learned that, in every place, the 
 promise is to " those that do his commandments," he 
 abandoned tradition forever. This reading convinced him 
 that there are so many divisions among the followers of 
 Christ because there are so many things preached which
 
 198 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 are not found in the Bible. He therefore resolved that in 
 the future, he, for one, would teach nothing save what is 
 expressly taught by the Lord and by his apostles. Thus 
 at last he entered fully into the Reformation, where for 
 many years he has remained " steadfast, immovable, 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord." 
 
 Not long after this event, distrusting his education and 
 being oppressed by poverty, he determined to quit preach- 
 ing ; to labor henceforth with his hands, and give one- 
 fourth of all the proceeds toward sustaining Elder Trimble 
 in the Lord's vineyard. But he soon became dissatisfied 
 with this species of well-doing ; and, concluding that, 
 with his limited education, he could tell the simple story 
 of the cross and repeat the language of the apostles, he 
 again entered the field and preached with his usual success 
 for several years. 
 
 About the year 1839 he, at the suggestion of his wife, 
 disposed of the mill property, bought some uncleared land 
 in Daviess county, removed thither, and spent two years 
 in opening a small farm. By means of this farm his four 
 sons were able to maintain the family ; therefore, at the 
 close of the two years, he began to give himself wholly 
 to the word. For the next thirteen years he preached 
 constantly in Daviess and the adjacent counties— and 
 wherever a door of utterance was opened to hira. 
 
 At one time he was invited to attend three protracted 
 meetings in southern Indiana. Having attended the first, 
 he set out for the second in company with two or three 
 other preachers. There was an appointment for night 
 meeting at a private house, or cabin, by the way. When 
 they reached the spot it was raining, yet the house was 
 well filled. Elder Wilson preached, and concluded his 
 discourse with some remarks on Christian union. At the 
 close of the meeting — the rain still falling so that the 
 people could not leave — a large man walked up to him
 
 JOSEPH WILSON. 199 
 
 andsaid, in an excited tone : " A part of your discourse, 
 sir, was uncalled for and entirely out of place." "What 
 part?" inquired the preacher. " That part about union," 
 said the man. " The Lord never intended that we should 
 all believe alike." Ascertaining that his opponent was a 
 Baptist preacher, Elder Wilson proposed that they should 
 seat themselves, talk the matter over, and, if possible, 
 come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of 
 the Son of God. The other stoutly objected, declaring 
 that they never could believe alike with respect to Jesus 
 Christ, the operation of the Holy Spirit, Baptism, and 
 many other things. Finally his objections were over- 
 ruled ; the two preachers sat down together ; and the 
 following dialogue took place in the hearing of all 
 present : 
 
 Wilso)i. — Do you believe what the Bible says about 
 Jesus Christ ? 
 
 Baptist. — I do. 
 
 Wilson. — Do you believe any thing more concerning 
 Jesus than what the Bible says ? 
 
 Baptist. — No, sir ; I do not. 
 
 Wilson. — Very well : now, do you believe there is one 
 living and true God, of whom are all things and we in 
 him ? 
 
 Baptist. — Most assuredly, I do. 
 
 Wilson. — Do you believe there is one Lord, Jesus 
 Christ, by whom are all things and we by him, and that 
 this Jesus is the Son of God ? 
 
 Baptist. — Yes, I believe he is, and that he is the Eter- 
 nal Son of God. 
 
 Wilson. — Hold, my dear sir; you must take that back. 
 The Bible does not say he is the " Eternal" Son. 
 
 Baptist. — Well, I will take it back. But I believe he 
 is co-equal, co-essential, and co-eternal with the Father.
 
 200 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Wihon. — Hold, my friend ; you must take that back 
 also. 
 
 Baptist. — No, sir; I will not take back every thing I 
 say. 
 
 Wilson. — The congregation will bear witness that you 
 said you believe all the Bible says of Christ, and no 
 more; and the Bible nowhere says he is co-equal, co- 
 essential, or co-eternal with the Father. 
 
 Baptist. — Well, then, I will take it back. 
 
 Thus he proceeded until they agreed as to Christ. He 
 then questioned the candid preacher, in the same manner, 
 relative to the operation of the Holy Spirit, and the de- 
 sign of baptism. When they had agreed upon these sub- 
 jects also. Elder Wilson, having obtained from the preacher 
 his Confession of Faith, turned to the passage which 
 affirms that nojie but General Baptists have a right to the 
 Lord's table. " Here," said he, " is one thing which is 
 not in my book ;" and turning on through, he said, " Here 
 is another thing, and here another." The astonished 
 preacher looked at all the passages, and solemnly declared 
 that he would no longer be governed by such a Confes- 
 sion. By this time the clouds, as well as some theologi- 
 cal fog, had disappeared ; the company separated in per- 
 fect good feeling ; and in a short time the Baptist preacher 
 and all his flock exchanged their human for the divine 
 creed. 
 
 Since 1852 he has preached for various churches in 
 Warrick, Pike, Knox, Sullivan, Vigo, Clay, Owen, Greene, 
 Lawrence, Martin, and Daviess counties, Indiana ; and 
 Lawrence and Clarke counties, Illinois. All these coun- 
 ties he has visited annually ; his plan having been to hold 
 a protracted meeting each year in every congregation. 
 These meetings are often appointed a year in advance, 
 and are anxiously expected. When the " good time com- 
 ing" arrives, the brethren flock in from great distances.
 
 JOSEPH WILSON. 201 
 
 They enjoy a pleasant reunion ; and have emphatically a 
 " big" meeting, which not unfrequently closes with from 
 twenty-five to fifty additions to "the saved." 
 
 Thus he continues to this day ; throughout south-west- 
 ern Indiana " witnessing both to small and great, saying 
 none other things than those which Moses and the pro- 
 phets did say should come." 
 
 It is now thirty-seven years since he began to turn men 
 to righteousness. During this time he has organized some 
 forty churches, and introduced about two thousand per- 
 sons into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Nor has he 
 only introduced them — he has also, like " a good minister 
 of Jesus Christ," put the brethren in remembrance of their 
 religious duties, and nourished them up in the words of 
 faith and sound doctrine. 
 
 If, in point of that intellectual power which is acquired 
 by education, he has received only one talent, this one 
 he has not " digged in the earth" and hid, like many who 
 employ the most splendid endowments in groveling and 
 covetous pursuits. To him will the Master say, when he 
 comes to reckon, " Well done, good and faithful servant ; 
 thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee 
 ruler over many things." 
 
 Such, briefly, is the history of Elder Joseph Wilson ; 
 the following is, still more briefly, the man himself. He 
 is about five feet ten inches high, and weighs about one 
 hundred and sixty pounds. He was blessed by nature 
 with such an excellent constitution that, despite the ex- 
 posure to which his profession has subjected him, he has 
 enjoyed through life almost uninterrupted health. 
 
 His head forces, especially memory, are very good ; 
 but the heart forces predominate. It is by his goodness, 
 rather than his greatness, that he influences the people. 
 His example is more potent than his precepts. 
 
 At home he is kind, provident, hospitable — ardently
 
 202 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 attached to his family and to his friends. To the reli- 
 gious training of his children — of whom he has ten — he 
 was very attentive ; and he has lived to see them all 
 become obedient to the gospel. 
 
 In the social circle, he is agreeable, but rather disposed 
 to be grave ; seldom, if ever, indulging in " foolish jesting, 
 which is not convenient." He knows but little of the 
 requirements of polite society ; but his pure heart is 
 deeply imbued with that charity which " doth not behave 
 itself unseemly," 
 
 In the pulpit, his manner is direct, unpretending, and 
 somewhat peculiar. When he rises to preach he spreads 
 the open Bible tenderly before him ; elevates his open 
 hands, with palms down, until each arm forms a right 
 angle at the elbow,- and says, " Let us read a portion of 
 the word of the Lord." He then repeats from memory 
 one, two, or three chapters, as may suit his purpose, and 
 proceeds in a cursory manner to expatiate upon the more 
 important portions of his text. His language is neither 
 elegant nor chaste ; his words being often in the wrong 
 mood and tense, but always from the heart. His delivery 
 is slow at first, but toward the close quite animated. In 
 argument he is not weak ; in exhortation he is decidedly 
 strong. His favorite theme is Union, and his greatest 
 conquests have been in that direction. 
 
 In the church he has always been beloved as a brother. 
 He is now looked upon as a father in Israel, in whom 
 there is no guile ; and whenever, in his annual round, he 
 departs from a congregation, there is no little sorrowing 
 lest they may see his face no more. 
 
 It will not be long until these fears are realized. Hav- 
 ing well nigh completed his sixty-sixth year, the time of 
 his departure cannot be far distant ; but he is ready to 
 be offered up, knowing that there is "laid up for him a 
 crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous 
 Judge, will give him in that day."
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 ^^ THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 r "^ 

 
 F. W. EMMONS. 
 
 Francis Whitefield, the eldest son of Horatio and 
 Abigail Emmons, was born February 24th, 1802, at 
 Clarendon, Vt., which was also the birthplace of his 
 mother. His father was born at Cornwall, Conn. His 
 grandfather, Solomon, was also a native of Connecticut, 
 and a son of Woodruff Emmons, who was born on the 
 Atlantic ocean while his parents were making the passage 
 from England to America, about the year n20. Wood- 
 ruff was a son — perhaps the second — of William Emmons, 
 a native of Great Britain, and the eldest son of Carolus 
 Emmons, who, according to tradition and a coat of arms, 
 (a fac-simile of which is now in the possession of Francis 
 W.,) was a general under William and Mary, by whom 
 he was knighted about the year 1690 for "five victorious 
 battles in the field of blood." 
 
 Solomon Emmons was an oSicer in the Revolution of 
 "76 ; and Horatio served from near the beginning to the 
 close of the war of 1812. From time immemorial the 
 family seem to have been a warlike and long-lived people. 
 
 Abigail, the mother of Francis W., was the youngest 
 daughter of Whitefield Foster, who was the son of Benja- 
 min Foster, a native of England. In religion the Fosters 
 were Universalists ; in politics they were Federalists. 
 
 When his father entered the army, Francis W., then a 
 wild youth of eleven summers, went to reside with an 
 uncle, Daniel Smith, at Sheldon, Yt. There he was 
 measurably tamed by being subjected to hard labor on a 
 
 farm. 
 
 203
 
 204 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 His uncle Daniel was a staunch Federalist, and bitterly 
 opposed to the war ; so also was his father, Elihu Smith. 
 Daniel gave aid and comfort to the enemy by smuggling 
 cattle into Canada, in which business Francis W. assisted 
 most reluctantly ; and when the roar of the battle of 
 Plattsburg (in which Francis' father was engaged) was 
 heard at Sheldon, old Elihu, a devout (?) Presbyterian, 
 prayed most fervently for the success of the British. But 
 notwithstanding these evil associations, young Emmons 
 remained a firm Democrat, or Republican, as were his 
 father and grandfather before him. 
 
 Returning to Swanton in 1815, he spent a portion of 
 his time in school, and a portion in laboring for the sup- 
 port of his mother and her family, who resided at that 
 place. 
 
 On the Yth of April, 1816, he and his mother made a 
 public profession of faith in Christ, were immersed, and 
 united with the Baptist church at Swanton. 
 
 The next year he became a clerk in the store of A. & 
 C. Harmon, Burlington, Vt., in which position he re- 
 mained a year and a half. Feeling that it was his duty 
 to preach the gospel, he, at the expiration of that time, 
 returned to Swanton to make arrangements for qualifying 
 himself for his high calling by a further improvement of 
 his education. 
 
 In the prosecution of this design, he had to struggle 
 against strong opposition both at home and in the church. 
 His brethren were free to declare that they did not believe 
 he ever could preach ; while his mother's advice was, 
 "Be any thing but a poo?-" Baptist preacher.''^ Finally, 
 however, she consented that he might follow his own 
 convictions of duty, and bestowed upon him, departing, 
 her choicest blessing. 
 
 His first remove was to Georgia, Vt., where he at- 
 tended a good school during the Summer of 1819. The
 
 F. W. EMMONS. 205 
 
 ensuing Winter — being then eighteen years of age — he 
 taught school for four months near Plattsburg, N. Y., 
 after which he again returned to Swanton. 
 
 In the Spring of 1821, with only twenty-five cents in 
 his pocket, he once more bade adieu to the loved ones at 
 home ; and, with a staff in one hand and a little bundle 
 of clothes in the other, started off to go — he knew not 
 whither. His first thought was to direct his steps to 
 Phillips Academy, at Andover, Mass. ; but, with the 
 advice of some well-informed friends, he changed his 
 purpose, and entered the Baptist Literary and Theologi- 
 cal Seminary, at Hamilton, N. Y. 
 
 There he united with the Second Baptist church, by 
 which he. was licensed to preach. There he also went 
 through the regular course of studies, requiring three 
 years, defraying his expenses by serving as librarian, or 
 at whatever else his hand could find to do. Among his 
 classmates were Jacob Knapp and Pharcellus Church ; 
 the latter of whom was his bosom friend and chum; and 
 both of whom have become distinguished Baptist minis- 
 ters. At the same time Jonathan Wade and Eugenio 
 Kincaid, now missionaries to Burmah, and John Newton 
 Brown, D. D., the compiler of the "Encyclopedia of 
 Religious Knowledge," were also students of that insti- 
 tution. 
 
 Having completed the course at Hamilton, which it 
 seems was chiefly theological, he repaired, in 1824, to 
 Columbian College, D. C, and there devoted himself to 
 studies more purely literary in their character. Entering 
 the Preparatory, he passed regularly through the Fresh- 
 man, Sophomore, and part of the Junior years, paying 
 his way by ringing the bell, acting as college postmaster, 
 and, in a word, by consenting to be a kind of academic 
 factotum. 
 
 While a Sophomore, he edited, for a short time, "The 
 18
 
 206 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Columbian Star," to which paper he made frequent con- 
 tributions during his connection with that institution. 
 
 During the Summer of 1826 he served as a missionary 
 under the direction of a Female Missionary Society at 
 Richmond, Ya. Furnished by them with an old horse, 
 very like Don Quixote's " Rosinante," and also with a 
 letter of commendation from their Secretary, (Mrs. Jane 
 Keeling), he set out to preach the way of life and salva- 
 tion — first in the vicinity of Richmond, then in the regions 
 beyond the Blue Ridge. 
 
 On account of certain financial embarrassments Colum- 
 bian College was closed in the Spring of 1827; at which 
 time Mr. Emmons entered Brown University, at Provi- 
 dence, R. I. He was graduated at this institution in 
 September, 1828. 
 
 Soon after his graduation he accepted a pressing call 
 to supply, for a few weeks, the pulpit of the first Baptist 
 church at Eastport, Maine. Before the period of his 
 first engagement expired he was again employed for six 
 months ; and before the expiration of this time, he was 
 permanently settled as their pastor, being ordained as 
 such in the first Baptist church at Providence, R. I., in 
 May, 1829. 
 
 On the 31st of August following he was married to 
 Mary Ann H., eldest daughter of Rev. Zenas L. Leonard, 
 of Sturbridge, Mass. 
 
 A year or two prior to this event, he became a reader 
 of the " Christian Baptist." Its searching expositions, en- 
 forced by the unsatisfactory fruits of his own ministry, 
 greatly weakened his faith in the gospel he was then 
 preaching. On this account he became much dejected. 
 He fasted, prayed, and spent much of his time in solitude. 
 His health finally failing, he resigned his pastoral charge 
 on the 31st of December, 1829, and soon after returned 
 with his wife to her paternal home in Massachusetts.
 
 F. W. EMMONS. 207 
 
 In the Spring of 1830, having partially recovered his 
 health, he opened a school in the old Academy at Killing- 
 worth, Conn. On Lord's days a little congregation of 
 Baptists met together in the Academy, for whom he 
 preached gratuitously as long as they were disposed to 
 hear. This, however, was not very long ; for as he 
 received and read the Millennial Harbinger, it was soon 
 whispered about that he was a " Campbellite," and that 
 his influence in both the pulpit and the school-room was 
 extremely dangerous. Therefore the ears of the Baptists 
 grew "dull of hearing;" and both they and the Congre- 
 gationalists withdrew their support from his school. By 
 this means the number of his pupils was reduced to four 
 or five, and these were the children of Universalists or 
 Infidels. 
 
 In the Summer of this year, leaving his school in charge 
 of Mrs. Emmons, he made a tour to Bethany, Va., where 
 he formed the personal acquaintance of Alexander Camp- 
 bell, with whom he spent several days most pleasantly 
 and profitably. 
 
 Leaving Bethany, he returned by way of New Lisbon, 
 Ohio ; to which place he removed with his family in the 
 Spring of 183L Here he opened a school, which was 
 well patronized — the doctrine of the Reformation being 
 more popular than at Killingworth. Indeed, the Baptist 
 church at this place claimed to be reformed ; but it was 
 still so far from the ancient order that neither he nor any 
 of his family united with it. 
 
 While residing at New Lisbon, and at the request of 
 Elder A. Campbell, he carefully examined his (Campbell's) 
 second edition of the New Testament, comparing it with 
 the common version and with the original Greek ; and 
 communicated to him many valuable notes, emendations, 
 and suggestions for an improved version. His services 
 in this particular were acknowledged by Mr. Campbell in
 
 208 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 the preface to the fourth edition, and also in the preface 
 to the Family Testament. 
 
 In the Spring of 1832 he removed to Wellsburg, Va., 
 where he took charge of Brooke Academy. There he 
 found a genuine Christian church, with which he united, 
 and in which he became a shining light, holding forth the 
 word of life. There too his health again failed, and it was 
 feared that Consumption had marked him for his victim. 
 But it pleased God that he should not then die; and after 
 a brief season of rest he was again ready for the Master's 
 service. 
 
 In December 1833 he and his family came to Madison, 
 Indiana, on a visit to Mr. George Leonard, an uncle of 
 Mrs. Emmons. Soon after their arrival Mrs. Leonard 
 died ; and Mrs. Emmons, at the request, of her uncle, en- 
 tered into the mother's place, and for nearly a year took 
 the oversight of his children with her own. During this 
 period Mr. Emmons visited many portions of Indiana, 
 having then no other occupation than the preaching of 
 the word. 
 
 In the Spring of 1834 his brother William A. came 
 also to Madison, and they two went off together into the 
 interior of the State, in search of a suitable place to which 
 to remove their families. They finally fixed upon Nobles- 
 ville, in Hamilton county, twenty miles north of Indian- 
 apolis. Thither they removed in the Fall of that year, 
 arriving there on the 30th of November. 
 
 Elder Emmons immediately secured a District school, 
 which he taught during the winter of 1834-5, in the old 
 log school-house at Noblesville. He labored also " in 
 word and doctrine ;" and through his influence two little 
 churches, a Baptist and a Christian, became one, being 
 united on the Bible alone. 
 
 In ministering to this church while it remained weak 
 and persecuted, he passed some of the happiest days of his
 
 F. W. EMMONS. 209 
 
 life. But in process of time false brethren were brought 
 in unawares ; roots of bitterness sprang up among them ; 
 and the spirit of strife and contention supplanted the 
 spirit of love and forbearance. There was " that woman 
 Jezebel;" and there too were " Hymeneus and Alexan- 
 der." On account of these " debates, envjings, wraths, 
 strifes, backbitings," etc., all of which grew out of some 
 difference of opinion relative to the organization, order, 
 and discipline of the churches. Elder Emmons asked and 
 obtained a letter of dismission from that congregation, 
 which action placed him, religiously, precisely where he 
 stood on coming West. 
 
 " After this amicable separation from the church at 
 Noblesville," writes one who knew him in that day, " he 
 remained several years a resident there, travelling pretty 
 extensively through the State and the northwest, including 
 Kentucky, Though a member of no particular congre- 
 gation he still ranked and passed as a brother and preacher 
 among us: attended all our State and most of our District 
 and County Co-operation meetings, of which he was fre- 
 quently secretary." 
 
 During all this period his mind remained uncorrupted 
 " from the simplicity that is in Christ. " He discarded all 
 human appliances for the conversion of sinners ; and 
 taught the people to observe all and only those things 
 which the Lord has commanded. 
 
 In the Winter of 1836 he was appointed by the Senate 
 of the Indiana Legislature to report the proceedings of 
 that body, for publication in the newspapers. By his pen 
 the public were kept thoroughly posted with regard to 
 the great system of internal improvements, which was, 
 that Winter, discussed and adopted. 
 
 At Cincinnati, in the Winter of 1837, he was associ- 
 ated with E. P. Cranch, Esq., in taking down and writing
 
 ^10 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 out for publication the Debate between Campbell and 
 Purcell, on the Roman Catholic Religion. 
 
 In the same year he published " The Voice, or An 
 Essay to Extend the Reformation" — a little 18mo volume 
 of 252 pages. 
 
 In the Winter of 1838 he had a spirited little contro- 
 versy with a young Methodist itinerant, by the name of 
 Berry — subsequently the " Rev. Lucien W. Berry, D. D., 
 President of the Indiana Asbury University." Some 
 letters passed between them, which were published by 
 Mr. Emmons in a pamphlet of thirty-six pages, with 
 "Marks and Remarks." This elicited from Mr. Berry a 
 pamphlet of forty pages, titled, " The Deformer Reformed, 
 or Corruption Exposed." This was responded to in 
 another little pamphlet of sixty pages, titled, " The After- 
 clap — Showing the Origin of the Corruption," etc., etc. 
 No reply was elicited ; so here the warfare ended. 
 
 In the Fall of 1842, Elder Emmons returned to New 
 England ; and in the absence of a Christian congrega- 
 tion, and at the urgent solicitation of some of his early 
 friends, he soon after united with the First Baptist church 
 in Boston, which church was then under the pastoral 
 charge of Dr. R. H. Neale, his old friend and fellow- 
 student at Columbian College. 
 
 On account of this return to the Baptists, after " having 
 tasted the good word of God," he has been regarded by 
 many as vacillating — as a double-minded man, unstable 
 in all his religious ways. But the facts, when properly 
 understood, hardly justify such a conclusion. It is 
 perhaps nearer the truth to say that his unfortunate diffi- 
 culties with the brethren at Noblesville ; his strong at- 
 tachment to those Baptists who were the friends and 
 companions of his youth ; and the fact that on his return 
 to the East, he found no congregation of Disciples with 
 whom he could conveniently woiship ; — induced him to
 
 F. W. EMMONS. 211 
 
 renew his connection with a church to which (though 
 containing many pious and devoted people) the Lord 
 cannot say, as to the church at Pergamos, " Thou holdest 
 fast my name, and hast not denied my faith." 
 
 The last fact — that there was no congregation of Dis- 
 ciples convenient — will have little weight with those who 
 remember the words of the indomitable Roman who said, 
 Viam aut veniam aui faciam — " I will either Jiiid a way, 
 or viake a way." These will think that Elder Emmons 
 ought to have found a Christian church or built up one; 
 but they must not charge him too hastily with unfaithful- 
 ness. His fault seems to have been, chiefly, lack of 
 energy — "the very head and front of his offending hath 
 this extent, no more." That he has not denied the faith 
 is clearly established by indubitable testimony. 
 
 In a letter to J. M. Mathes, he himself says, " In unit- 
 ing as I did with the First Baptist church in Boston, in 
 1843, I renounced no Reformation, priiiciple that I ever 
 held.^^ The pastor of that church, Dr. Neale, says of him : 
 " His reception into my church was owing to my know- 
 ledge of his character as a Christian, and not to any sym- 
 pathy with the peculiar speculative notions in which it 
 was somewhat natural for him to indulge." "For these 
 'peculiar notions,' and 'theological speculations'" — says 
 Elder E. in his letter to Elder Mathes — " or for the faith 
 and teaching contained in them, has my name been cast 
 out as evil. I have been looked upon as a speckled bird, 
 having had no call, and no pastoral charge in any Baptist 
 church since 1830. * * * So, for my Reformation princi- 
 ples — nicknamed ' Campbellism' — for their avowal and 
 advocacy, I have been, still am, and expect to be a living 
 martyr. " 
 
 He acknowledges no creed but the Bible ; preaches no 
 baptism but that "for the remission of sins;" employs 
 his pen in support of no faith but that " once delivered
 
 212 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 to the saints ;" and wherever in his travels he meets with 
 a congregation of Disciples, with them he fraternizes, 
 advocating their cause. He is still to be regarded, there- 
 fore, as a Reformation preacher ; and as such his history 
 is continued. 
 
 For a short time after, his return to New England, he 
 supplied the pulpit of the Baptist church at Sturbridge, 
 Massachusetts ; preaching also elsewhere as he had oppor- 
 tunity. He sought a permanent location as pastor of 
 some Baptist congregation ; but, (as already intimated,) 
 owing to his connection with the Disciples out West, he 
 sought in vain — for no call was given him. 
 
 Having, while residing at Noblesville, indorsed for his 
 brothers to a considerable amount, he found himself much 
 involved in their debts. To extricate himself from these 
 financial difficulties, he made several visits to Indiana, 
 where he again preached the " ancient gospel," as in 
 former years. 
 
 The Winter of 1845-6 he spent in Washington city, 
 letter writing, office seeking, etc. In the following Spring 
 he purchased a small farm near Globe Village, Mass., to 
 which he removed with his wife and four daughters, and 
 upon which he has resided ever since. 
 
 Having studied medicine more or less, and practiced it 
 in his family since 1832, he, in the Winter of 1846-7, 
 attended a course of lectures at the Worcester Medical 
 College, at Worcester, Mass. In 1856 the Metropolitan 
 Medical College of New York city bestowed upon him a 
 diploma and the honorary degree of M. D. 
 
 In the Fall of 184T, he was brought out on the morn- 
 ing of election day, in opposition to the two regular nomi- 
 nees, and elected as the Representative of the town of 
 Sturbridge in the next General Court. He was elected 
 as a Democrat ; and so far as he had taken any part in 
 politics, hitherto, he had acted with the Democratic party.
 
 F. W. EMMONS. 213 
 
 But soon after taking his seat in the Legislature, some 
 resolutions relative to the Mexican war were brought 
 before the House. Before casting his vote he defined his 
 position on the war and on slavery, in a speech which 
 was published and mainly endorsed in the Boston " True 
 Whig." Since that time (1848) he has been identified 
 with the Free Soil party. 
 
 In the Legislature he distinguished himself by his zeal- 
 ous and able advocacy of a more stringent liquor law. 
 He was chairman of a committee of fourteen members — 
 one from each county in the State — which committee 
 reported a bill corresponding in its main features with 
 the Maine Liquor Law. In the discussion on this bill, 
 Mr. Emmons advocated its passage in two telling speeches, 
 which were printed in pamphlet form. 
 
 The measure was at that time defeated ; but at a sub- 
 sequent session it was revived and finally passed. Though 
 at the time of its passage Mr. E. was not a member of the 
 I-iegislature, yet his printed speeches were freely circu- 
 lated in the House, and no doubt exerted a strong influ- 
 ence in favor of the proposed law. 
 
 In the Summer of this same year he attended the 
 Commencement of his alma mater, Brown University ; 
 and was then and there declared to be a Master of Arts. 
 
 In the Fall of 1849 some forty members of the Emmons 
 family, residents of New York, Connecticut, and Massa- 
 chusetts, met in Convention at Canaan, Conn., to take 
 into consideration an advertisement of a large Emmons 
 estate in England for heirs in America ; which advertise- 
 ment is said to have appeared in some English paper. 
 By this Convention F. W. Emmons was appointed to go 
 to England to look after the said estate. 
 
 Accordingly, on the 1st of January, 1850, he embarked 
 at Boston in a packet ship for Liverpool. The result of 
 his efforts in quest of a fortune has not been made public;
 
 214 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 but it is known that he had the pleasure of visiting, at 
 little expense to himself, many of the principal cities and 
 important towns of England — among which were Man- 
 chester, Birmingham, the old walled town of Chester, and 
 the great metropolis, London. 
 
 From the period of his return from England (May 1850) 
 until 1855, he devoted the most of his time to cultivating 
 and improving his little farm in Massachusetts. 
 
 At the date last mentioned he was employed as a 
 recorder in the office of Thomas Spooner, Esq., Clerk of 
 the Courts of Hamilton County, Ohio. During the last 
 few years he has, perhaps, spent moi'e time and performed 
 more labor in that office than in the sacred desk. 
 
 Ever since his return to the East he has preached less 
 than in former years ; and during the whole of his minis- 
 try it has been more by his pen than by his tongue that 
 he has exerted a considerable influence and made himself 
 widely known. In addition to the publications already 
 mentioned, he has been a contributor to the Millennial 
 Harbinger from its commencement until the present. 
 For it he has furnished a great variety of articles — 
 Journals, Essays, Letters, Sermons, Reviews, etc., etc., 
 over the signatures of " F.," "Francis," " Adolphus," 
 "Philologus," "F. W. E.," and his name in full. Articles 
 from his pen have also appeared from time to time in 
 other reformation periodicals — " The Evangelist," " Chris- 
 tian Preacher," "Heretic Detecter," "Journal of Chris- 
 tianity," Christian Record," " American Christian Re- 
 view" — and in several Baptist and other papers — reli- 
 gious, literary, medical, and phrenological. 
 
 For the most part his articles have been of a critical, 
 exegetical, or reformatory character ; and, although at 
 times a little speculative, his has been in the main " a 
 most wholesome doctrine and very full of comfort." 
 
 His pen still active ; his mind yet sound in a sound
 
 F. W. EMMONS. 215 
 
 body ; his treasures of wisdom and knowledge increased 
 rather than diminished by the liberality with which he has 
 given to the world ; there is good reason to hope that, 
 for years to come, he will remain " a strong pillar in the 
 house of his God." 
 
 Francis W. Emmons is five feet ten inches high. His 
 weight, never over one hundred and forty pounds, is now 
 less than one hundred and thirty. His dark-brown hair 
 is straight and very fine ; his eyes light blue, or gray ; 
 his complexion rather dark. His teeth — all sound at 
 three-score — testify, by their presence and by their color, 
 that he neither chews nor smokes tobacco ; while his 
 keen eye and healthy glow indicate that he is "temperate 
 in all things." 
 
 His mental organism, physical resources, leading traits 
 of character, etc., are thus described by the celebrated 
 phrenologist, L. N. Fowler — with the omission of a few 
 particulars which are unimportant, or known to be incor- 
 rect. He says : 
 
 " You have a very marked temperament. The nervous 
 system predominates; but you have a high degree of the 
 muscular organization, which gives you an unusual amount 
 of activity, restlessness, and the desire to be constantly 
 employed. 
 
 " Your constitution is naturally tough, exceedingly so; 
 and you have endured more than one in thousands. But 
 the ability to manufacture vitality is not so great as the 
 desire to exhaust what you have ; so that you will find it 
 necessary to strictly obey the laws of life in order to 
 avoid premature decay. You cannot do half you wish — 
 for your spirit is ahead of your physical ability to 
 perform. 
 
 "You arecharactei'ized phrenologically for having a very 
 positive and almost eccentric cast of mind. Your head
 
 216 PIONEER PREACHERa. 
 
 is uneven, and the large organs are very sharply devel- 
 oped, so that the mind acts with more than ordinary 
 intensity. 
 
 " You have an unconquerable will, and are very inde- 
 pendent and self-relying. 
 
 " You are noted for cautiousness, forethought, and for 
 the desire to avoid difficulties and dangers. Whatever 
 you engage in is accomplished, as though there was much 
 at stake ; you never do any thing carelessly. 
 
 " Love of children constitutes your leading social pecu- 
 liarity. You are not inclined to seek company as a 
 source of enjoyment. 
 
 " You are noted for your intellectual abilities. You can 
 attend to business that requires observation, knowledge 
 of the qualities of things, and the condition of circum- 
 stances ; or you can think originally and investigate new 
 principles successfully. 
 
 " You are remarkably orderly and systematic. You 
 plan out all your work, do it according to rule, and as 
 well as you possibly can, the first time trying. 
 
 " You have a very keen appreciation of wit; and enjoy 
 a joke very highly — are much amused by your own mirth- 
 ful emotions. 
 
 " Your intuitive impressions of character are very cor- 
 rect. Few men decide so quickly on results as you; and 
 you seldom have occasion to change your first impression. 
 
 " You are kind-hearted and generous in your feelings ; 
 are respectful in your general intercourse with society ; 
 are sanguine, enthusiastic, cheerful, buoyant, and always 
 encouraged by prospects ahead. 
 
 " You are not a marvellous man ; but are governed by 
 judgment. You do not imitate others — are a perfect 
 original. 
 
 " You are a direct, plain, free-spoken man, and abomi 
 nate hypocrisy. You can keep things to yourself by saying
 
 F. W. EMMONS. 217 
 
 nothing, but if you begin to talk you are compelled to 
 develop your real sentiments. You are not cruel, and are 
 opposed to capital punishment, or any kind of chastise- 
 ment for the purpose of gratifying a revengeful feeling. 
 
 " You are hungry, mentally and physically ; have an 
 eager, unsatisfied mind ; and the more knowledge you 
 acquire the more anxious you are to increase your store. 
 
 " Although money slips through your fingers easily, and 
 you are not necessarily a good financier, still you have a 
 strong desire to accumulate and do as much business as 
 you can. 
 
 " You are particularly fond of the grand -and sublime in 
 nature ; are quite punctual in your engagements, and 
 have an excellent memory of places. 
 
 "You are distinguished, then, for intensity, activity, dis- 
 tinctness, and positiveness; for independence, will-power, 
 humanity of feeling, intuition of mind, originality of 
 thought, power of criticism, and love of order; for me- 
 chanical judgment, fondness for children, and love of 
 home. But you need more sociability, more affability of 
 manner and control over your feelings in speech, more 
 executive power in the form of destructiveness, more 
 spirituality and belief in the supernatural, more versatility 
 of manner, freedom of speech, memory of statistics, and 
 general musical ability. Yau will wear yourself out and 
 use up your entire machinery before you get through with 
 life.'' 
 
 In the above description the main features of his cha- 
 racter are presented ; but some do not appear with suffi- 
 cient distinctness. His love of order, for instance, deserves 
 more prominence. On this point the following testimony 
 was borne by A. Campbell, in the Millennial Harbinger : 
 " Our beloved brother Emmons is a great lover of good 
 order, and precise on all points to a scruple ; and there- 
 fore an effort for a perfect system of order comes as 
 19
 
 218 P I O N E E U I' H E A C H E R S . 
 
 naturally from him as light from the sun." On account 
 of this remark Mr. Emmons wrote for a while over the 
 signature, " A Precise Brother." 
 
 Closely allied to this and also too much in the back- 
 ground is his punctuality. He is always "in time ;" and 
 in filling his preaching appointments, if permitted to fol- 
 low his own inclinations, he speaks at the appointed hour 
 whether the congregation is present or absent. This dis- 
 position he once gratified in a remarkable manner, while 
 on his missionary tour through " the hill country" of the 
 Old Dominion. 
 
 The attendance upon his ministrations was often very 
 meagre ; but one day he arrived at a little dilapidated 
 church in advance of every one else. The appointment 
 was for twelve, M. ; and when the hour came — though 
 not a soul was present save himself — he sang a hymn, 
 prayed, and proceeded to preach from Heb. ii. 3 : " How 
 shall loe escape if we neglect so great salvation P^ When 
 about half through his discourse two women entered, 
 looked round in amazement, sat down for a few moments, 
 then arose and departed. The preacher continued to the 
 final amen; and having penciled upon the pulpit the day, 
 the month, the year, and the text, he and his bony steed, 
 
 " Witli wandering steps and slow, 
 
 Througli Eden took their solitary way." 
 
 " Your language is not sufiicient for the fluent expres- 
 sion of your ideas," says the phrenologist; and the 
 remark might be verified by a number of witnesses. 
 Dr. Neale of Boston says of him : " He is not a popular 
 preacher. He has not the gift of extemporaneous utter- 
 ance. The pen is obviously his forte. He is fond of 
 essays and theological disquisitions ; and his written 
 compositions are usually clear, vigorous, and to the 
 |>oint."
 
 F. W. EMMONS. 219 
 
 He himself understands that he is, like Moses, " slow 
 of speech and of a slow tongue." Therefore it has been 
 his habit to read his discourses ; and when he appears 
 before a strange audience he pleasantly introduces his 
 manuscript as his " brother Aaron." 
 
 Take him all in all, he is an amiable Christian gentle- 
 man ; " tender and well beloved in the sight of all his 
 brethren." His early friend, Dr. oSTeale, but spoke the 
 sentiments of many in the following words, with which 
 we close this biography. He says : 
 
 " I love to think of him — not as a theologian, preacher, 
 or writer, but as 'brother Emmons' of Columbian College 
 days. I see him now, taking his walk with cane and 
 umbrella, in rain or sunshine, his hat over on the back 
 side of his head. He generally preferred to walk alone ; 
 but if a friend was with him the conversation would be 
 on some religious or literary topic — the lesson of the day 
 or the meaning of a difficult passage of Scripture. He 
 never indulged in petty scandal. 
 
 " I could say much more in praise of my friend Emmons , 
 but he is — I rejoice to know. — still living; and I trust the 
 day is far distant when it will be proper to speak with 
 the freedom usually indulged in reference to departed 
 worth. "
 
 SAMUEL K. HOSHOUK. 
 
 Very many persons are under the impression that the 
 subject of this sketch is a native of Germany. This im- 
 pression is incorrect. He was born in York county, Penn- 
 sylvania, on the 9th of December, 1803; and has never 
 so much as stood upon transatlantic soil. His American 
 ancestors, nearly a century before his birth, came from 
 the vicinity of Strasburg on the Rhine ; and their ances- 
 try had in them more of the French than of the German 
 element. The immigrants to America, having settled in 
 a community totally German, in time lost the French 
 characteristics, as also the language ; and at the time of 
 his birth they spoke only American German. 
 
 Samuel K. was the oldest of six children ; and in his 
 fourteenth year he lost his kind father, who was in prin- 
 ciple a Mennonite, though a member of no church. His 
 mother was a Lutheran after " the straitest sect," con- 
 scientious in what she believed to be the will of God. 
 Though a firm believer in Infant Rantism, she did not 
 insist upon the sprinkling of her children, in opposition 
 to the views of her husband, who regarded it as a relic 
 of Popery. The neglect of this rite, however, did not 
 prevent her from imparting to her first-born early religious 
 instruction. On the contrary, whenever she had an op- 
 portunity, she would relate to him gospel facts, and teach 
 him short, impressive prayers. On all proper occasions 
 she took him to the house of God, and never failed to put 
 into his pocket a copj)er for the congregational treasury — 
 220
 
 9' '»'iE 
 
 "'"''o^>ryo^,um,s
 
 SAMUEL K. HOSHOUR. 221 
 
 tbus teaching liiui to practice Ciiristiau liberality, a lesson 
 he has never forgotten. 
 
 At the death of his father, who left considerable pro- 
 perty, he was placed under the control of a guardian — in 
 this, as in many other instances, a palpable misnomer. 
 By this high-minded (?) guardian he was, for several 
 years, hired out on a farm at very low wages ; for, owing 
 to the density of the population, and the consequent 
 slight demand for laborers, he, at the age of sixteen, could 
 obtain only four dollars a month for his services. 
 
 His residence among strangers as a hireling was not 
 by any means favorable to the development of either his 
 moral or intellectual endowments. He went to school 
 but little, and as he had greater fondness for extracting 
 the finny tribes from their element and opossums from 
 their retreats, than for extracting ideas from books, he 
 spent the most of his time in the first-named employments ; 
 nor did his views of the sanctity of the Sabbath at all 
 interfere with such pursuits even on that day. Under 
 such circumstances, his progress was so slow that at the 
 close of his sixteenth year he had not quite reached the 
 " rule of three," which, in that day, was generally regarded 
 as the ultima thule — the last island — in the ocean of 
 scientific truth. 
 
 About this time his guardian and relatives concluded 
 that he ought to learn a trade ; and he was required to 
 make choice of his pursuit. To him the county in which 
 he lived was the world ; so with his limited vision he 
 surveyed hastily the several employments of his neigh- 
 bors, and decided in favor of the tanning business/ It 
 was accordingly arranged that he should be indentured to 
 learn the trade of his choice, at the beginning of the year 
 1820. But what a trifling incident often changes the 
 direction of human life, and conducts to a difierent destiny 
 the immortal soul !
 
 I 
 
 222 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 During the summer of 1819, he was hired to the owner 
 of a large grist mill, in which he was usually employed 
 on such days as were unfavorable for outdoor pursuits. 
 The proprietor of this establishment was a better miller 
 than bookkeeper ; and, as his employee could write a 
 legible hand and repeat the table for dry measure, he set 
 him to posting his accounts, which work was satisfac- 
 torily performed. 
 
 In the Fall of that year the citizens expressed great 
 apprehensions that they should be without a school the 
 ensuing Winter ; for the old Swiss gentleman, who, for 
 years, had been wont to teach in the Winter, and in the 
 Summer go into parts unknown, mending old clocks and 
 soldering leaky tinware, had not returned at his usual 
 period — 
 
 "One morn they miss'd him on the accustom'd hill, 
 Along the heath and near his favorite tree." 
 
 As the mill was the rendezvous of the leading minds of 
 the community, their apprehensions were often expressed 
 in tt|#« hearing of the miller, who one day found means to 
 quiet their fears : said he, " Here is Sammy Hoshour, 
 who can write a pretty good hand, can multiply and 
 divide, and reduce pints to bushels : he can control the 
 small ones, and if larger ones will not obey let them be 
 kept at home. This proposition pleased many, but some 
 doubted. However, necessity and the miller's influence 
 invested him with the birch, the symbol of school-room 
 authority in that day. He was then seventeen years 
 old ; the community was purely German ; and he knew 
 no English save a few sentences gathered from Yankee 
 tin-peddlers. Contrary to his own expectations and those 
 of the doubting ones, his didactic administration was a 
 success, and gave general satisfaction. 
 
 It was expected that, at the close of the term, he would
 
 SAMUEL K. HOSHOUR. 223 
 
 relinquish the birch and enter upon his apprenticeship ; 
 but when the time arrived he had forty dollars in his 
 pocket, a spirit of inquiry had been awakened in his 
 mind, and he had caught the scent of something more 
 agreeable than a tannery. He therefore changed his for- 
 mer purpose, with the consent of his guardian, and deter- 
 mined to procure, with the proceeds of his school, some 
 further scholastic attainments. 
 
 This resolution, though he knew it not, was an import- 
 ant step in his life — it was the beginning of his literary 
 career, He soon after entered, for the first time, an 
 English school, being then a stalwart, awkward, and ver- 
 dant rustic. His first recitation was so unique and so 
 germanic that it subverted the gravity of both teacher 
 and pupils. Yet, submitting with stoical indifference to 
 these slight discourtesies, he remained in the school until 
 he obtained a fair knowledge of arithmetic, and a slight 
 acquaintance with the nonsense, as he supposed, of English 
 grammar. His money being exhausted, he returned for 
 awhile to the plow ; and on the approach of winter he 
 entered upon his second administration as teacher. 
 
 In his eighteenth year he united with the Lutheran 
 church. Soon after this event, a copy of Pilgrim's Pro- 
 gress fell into his hands, which was the first book he ever 
 read through. Besides the religious influence it exerted 
 upon him, it stimulated his desire of knowledge. Believ- 
 ing that sacred knowledge was best of all, and that the 
 Christian ministry was the repository of it, he greatly 
 desired the requisite qualifications for entering into that 
 vocation. 
 
 His guardian, being a Mennonite, and opposed to a 
 learned ministry, refused to furnish him with the means 
 of further educating himself; but a wealthy maternal 
 uncle, who was a staunch Lutheran, consented to supply 
 him with money until he should possess his patrimony.
 
 224 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 He then entered an English classical school of high repute 
 at York, Pa. His highest aspiration at that time was to 
 become a good German preacher. The idea of ever ad- 
 dressing English audiences had not yet entered his head. 
 
 But English declamations were required in the school, 
 and when his day came all the pupils were eager to hear 
 the "Dutchman." Having determined to make up in 
 i^pirit and sound what he lacked in orthoc.jyij and inflec- 
 tion, his speech was well received ; and as he passed out 
 the Professor encouragingly predicted that, by projier 
 effort, he would become a good English speaker. From 
 that moment he sought to become English, and with such 
 success that one cannot now detect the slightest German 
 accent in his pronunciation. 
 
 In this Institution he completed about an equivalent to 
 the regular college course to the close of the sophomore 
 year. Here, too, by excessive study, he so seriously im- 
 paired his health, that his advisers urged him to change 
 his location. Accordingly he repaii-ed to the Theological 
 Institute at New Market, Yirginia, then under the control 
 of Prof. S. S. Schmucker. By more temperate study, 
 by frequent exercise in the rugged sections of that coun- 
 try, and by a free use of the minoi'al waters of that I'egion, 
 he partially recuperated his overtaxed powers, and was 
 enabled to complete the course of study there pursued, 
 which course embraced the collegiate studies of the junior 
 and senior years, in connection with theology — theology, 
 not according to the Bible, but according to the standards 
 of the Lutheran church. 
 
 At this time the Principal, Prof. Schmucker, was 
 elected Professor of Theology in the Theological Semi- 
 nary at Gettysburg, Pa. Besides his duties in the Insti- 
 tute at New Market, the Professor had served three small 
 congregations as their pastor. His flocks were so much 
 attached to him that they refused to let him go, unless he
 
 SAMUEL K. HOSIIOUK. 225 
 
 would first provide an acceptable substitute. As it was 
 necessary, in this pastorate, to officiate in both English 
 and German, and as no other of the many students could 
 do this so well as Elder Hoshour, he was nominated and 
 received as the successor of Professor Schmucker. 
 
 In the same year, 1826, he was married to Miss Lucinda 
 Savage, daughter of Jacob Savage, Esq., of New Market, 
 Ya. 
 
 Tenacious of the traditions of his theological fathers, 
 fully impressed with the greatness of the Lutheran church, 
 and not a little inflated by the fact that he had been 
 counted worthy to wear the mantle of his preceptor, he 
 entered upon his clerical duties with great zeal for God, 
 though with very little knowledge of His word. In the 
 pulpit he was not always mindful of Paul's admonition 
 "to speak the things that become sound doctrine." Like 
 too many young preachers he estimated the value of his 
 preaching, not by the number of correct and lasting im- 
 pressions made on the minds and hearts of his hearers, 
 but rather by the excitement they manifested, and the 
 quantity of tears they shed. Hence, in the preparation 
 of his sermons, he collected all that was terrible in the 
 domain of fear, and all that was touching in the realms 
 of love and suffering. Then, as now, this style of preach- 
 ing was popular ; and, like Ezekiel, he was to the people 
 " as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, 
 and can play well on an instrument." 
 
 His fame soon extended eastward ; and, in 1828, he 
 received and accepted a call from a congregation in Wash- 
 ington county, Maryland In this place, also, he was 
 popular among all sorts and classes. Such, indeed, be- 
 came his reputation, that in about two years he was 
 invited to follow his old preceptor, and take charge of the 
 congregation at Gettysburg, Pa., the seat of Pennsylvania 
 College, and also of the Theological Seminary of the
 
 226 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 General Syuod of the Lutheran Church. But his Mary- 
 land charge so heartily remonstrated against his removal 
 that he consented to stay with them. 
 
 His pastorate was about eight miles from Hagerstowu, 
 the county seat, in which there were at that time about 
 five thousand inhabitants, among whom Lutheranism was 
 the pi'edominant religion. Among others was a large and 
 influential congregation which had been for years under 
 the pastoral care of Dr. B. Kurtz. Owing to his prox- 
 imity to this place, Elder Hoshour frequently occupied 
 the Doctor's splendid pulpit, and so acceptable were his 
 ministrations that, in 1831, he became their pastor, Dr 
 Kurtz having been called to another field of labor. 
 
 In his stipulations with the " Council" relative to his 
 pastoral duties, there was one feature that^greatly assisted 
 him to become a heretic — if indeed he is one. It was 
 made a part of his duty to lecture each Wednesday even- 
 ing on the Holy Scriptures; and, in order to fulfill this 
 part of his engagement, he was compelled to study the 
 Scriptures in their proper connection. This he had never 
 done before, though he had been preaching for five years ; 
 for, in the theological seminary, he had taken the regular 
 course prescribed in such institutions — that is, to study 
 human dissertations upon theology, chui'ch historyj the 
 art of sermonizing, etc., and to examine the Bible only as 
 referred to by the standards of the particular sect ! But 
 in performing this new duty, he entered into the school 
 of Apostles and Prophets. He began lecturing ahernately 
 on Matthew and the Acts of the Apostles, expounding 
 the doctrine in the light of the context, and giving copious 
 geographical delineations, accompanied b}^ the history of 
 places and events. Proceeding in this way, it was not 
 long till he entertained the opinion that the religion of 
 the Bible was very diff"erent from that in popular repute. 
 He perceived that the former was so])or. .solid, a matter
 
 SAMUEL K. UObHuLK. 22*? 
 
 of principle; while the latter was full of excitement, 
 vapory, and not a little unscrupulous. He became daily 
 more enamored of the ancient gospel, and less confident 
 in the popular theology ; more desirous of the sincere 
 milk of the word, and less concerned about the tenets of 
 his church. Ilis preaching grew more and more evan- 
 gelical, and soon the light of the great Luther was almost 
 lost in the brighter effulgence of the Apostle Paul. 
 
 In preparing the last class of catechumens for " con- 
 firmation," he used the catechism very sparingly, but 
 required them to commit to memory large portions of the 
 JSew Testament. On the day of confirmation he did not 
 use the liturgical form, but confined the ceremony to the 
 24th verse of the 16th chapter of Matthew, the import of 
 which he had previously explained to the candidates. 
 This departure from the usages of the Lutheran fathers 
 met no opposition, such confidence had the congregation 
 in the knowledge and integrity of their pastor. 
 
 In his further investigations of the Scriptures he began 
 to call in question of the consequences ascril)ed to the fall 
 of Adam, and especially did he become intolerant of the 
 Calvinistic view of that subject. The ability or inability 
 of the sinner was a subject upon which he bestowed much 
 thought. 
 
 While reflecting upon this subject he made a visit to 
 his father-in-law's, at New Market, Va., where there came 
 into his hands, one day, three numbers of the Christian 
 Baptist. Of the editor, Alexander Campbell, he at that 
 time knew but little, nor was he by any means favorable 
 to the views of the Baptists. Yet he glanced at some of 
 the articles, and was better pleased than he anticipated 
 with both the style and the matter. One article especially, 
 on The Natural Man, (I. Cor. 2,) he read with no com- 
 mon interest, for the thoughts therein expressed were very 
 similar to some that had flitted through his own mind.
 
 228 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 In a few weeks he returned to Hagerstown, and resumed 
 the regular routine of his pastoral duties, but still that 
 article on the Natural Man, like the ghost of murdered 
 Banquo, continually confronted him. 
 
 Thus matters went on till the Spring of 1834, when an 
 event took place which wrought a change in his views of 
 Baptism and in the aspects of his whole future life. About 
 six miles from Hagerstown was a densely populated re- 
 gion called Beaver Creek, rich in things material, but poor 
 in things spiritual. A large school-house was the usual 
 place of preaching, and prior appointments took the lead 
 in its accommodations. Most of the different sects had 
 a few adherents in that region, who occasionally pro- 
 cured the services of their respective ministers. Elder 
 Hoshour frequently preached to them the Lutheran gospel ; 
 Methodists, Episcopalians, United Brethren, and Tunkers 
 also visited them ; but none were successful in making 
 proselytes. 
 
 In the Spring of 1834, an unexpected religious commotion 
 occurred in the Beaver Creek region. A new preacher 
 made his appearance, dauntlessly advocating views that 
 negatived a great amount of the previous preaching at 
 that point. He called himself a disciple of Christ, but as 
 he distributed copies of the Millennial Harbinger, the sects 
 called him a Campbellite. He soon made an impression 
 upon some minds that had hitherto been regarded as im- 
 pregnable. His very success created great opposition, yet 
 with Peter's boldness he continued to proclaim the ancient 
 gospel without much deference to the religious leaders 
 of the day, whom he hesitated not to challenge to the 
 defense of their tottering systems. " The common people 
 heard him gladly," and he was not long in making prose- 
 lytes to " the ancient order. " Persons of superior standing 
 in the community, who, the clergy supposed, never would 
 consent to be "dipped," did submit to immersion, evincing
 
 SAMUEL K. HOSHOUR. 229 
 
 unraistakable sincerity in their profes^sion of the Christian 
 faith. In a few months over forty persons were iramersed, 
 and an active church established at Beaver Creek, on the 
 foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. 
 
 The fame of this preacher spread far and wide, but as 
 he was regarded by the orthodox as an arch heretic, Elder 
 Hoshour in his clerical dignity would not honor "such a 
 fellow" with a bearing. But he listened to the accounts 
 given of him by others, and when informed that the 
 preacher taught that all spiritual influence, in order to 
 conversion, is exerted through the word, he would pleas- 
 antly observe : " He is for all word, the Methodists for 
 all Spirit — both extremists — but we Lutherans occupy the 
 middle and true ground, contending for both word and 
 Spirit" 
 
 There was at this time a Lutheran brother with whom 
 Elder Hoshour had lived in fraternal intimacy for several 
 years. He had been " converted" at a great Lutheran 
 revival, and had spent considerable time in preparing 
 himself for the ministry ; but being, like Moses, " slow 
 of speech," he devoted himself to teaching. While the 
 revival was progressing at Beaver Creek he became the 
 teacher in the spacious school-house in which the meeting 
 was held. He therefore almost necessarily became a 
 hearer of the new heresy. Having formerly been a 
 boarder in the house of Elder Hoshour, and being much 
 attached to him, he often visited him at his parsonage 
 in Hagerstown. In the course of one of their interviews 
 the pastor asked him how the Campbellites were pro- 
 gressing. He replied that they were still immersing 
 some ; " and," said he, " I tell you there is more truth 
 than poetry about those people after all. I have learned 
 more from them about the order in which the Scriptures 
 should be read ; more about their proper divisions and 
 the special object of each division, than our ministers of 
 20
 
 230 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 systematic theology ever taught us. I say this," con- 
 tinued he, " with all deference to you. I have enjoyed 
 your ministrations ; but the theory to which you are wed 
 will not permit you to represent matters as those people 
 do." "Ah!" said the Reverend Mr. Hoshour, "I fear 
 you are almost persuaded to be a Campbellite." " No 
 matter," replied the other, " I intend to honor and obey 
 the Saviour as I understand him in his word." 
 
 Thus ended their interview, and ere long the pastor 
 heard that his friend had been immersed, and had become 
 an ardent advocate of the ancient gospel. In a short 
 time the apostate — for so he was regarded by the ortho- 
 dox — made a second visit to his friend Hoshour, who 
 asked him his reasons for leaving the Lutheran Church. 
 Among other reasons assigned he said that during his 
 membership in that church he had never been taught the 
 connection between Luke xxiv. 46, 47, and Acts ii. 38 — 
 that when anxiously seeking the pardon of his sins he had 
 never been directed to Peter's answer to the question, 
 "What shall we do?" — in a word, that Christian Baptism 
 had a significance, a design^ which the Lutheran pulpit 
 entirely ignored. This was a startling revelation to the 
 questioner, for, although he had been for nine years a 
 preacher in the oldest Protestant church, the connection 
 between the passages above referred to had never engaged 
 his attention. 
 
 We must conclude that very many prominent preachers 
 of the different denominations are equally ignorant to this 
 day, else we cannot charitably regard them ; for they do 
 not teach this connection, and if they understand it and 
 yet preach it not, they are guilty of " handling the word 
 of God deceitfully. " 
 
 This statement of reasons naturally led them into a 
 discussion of Baptism. On the design — for the remission 
 of sins^they had no controversy, for that is a cardinal
 
 SAMUEL K. HOSHOUR. 231 
 
 doctrine in Luther's catechism and in other formularies 
 of the church he founded. Though the doctrine was 
 believed by Luther, it was entirely overshadowed by the 
 unwarranted prominence given to faith. This was some- 
 what pardonable in him, for human nature is prone to 
 extremes, and in avoiding the formalisms and penances 
 of the Pope he overleaped the commandments of Jesus 
 Christ. His errors may be overlooked, but his successors 
 are without excuse. 
 
 But, to return. The subject and the " mode" of bap- 
 tism were not so easily disposed of by the two friends. 
 On these they joined issue, but the discussion closed with- 
 out any immediate results of importance. 
 
 During the interview, however. Elder Hoshour ob- 
 tained some facts relative to the teachings and practices 
 of the Christians that seemed rather significant. Yet 
 with respect to the " mode" of baptism he regarded them 
 as ultra. The Theological Institute, though it had failed 
 to acquaint him with the Scriptures, had not neglected to 
 furnish him with the stereotyped objections to the uni- 
 versal prevalence of immersion. The varieties of climate ; 
 the scarcity of water in certain localities ; the incon- 
 venience and indecency of the practice ; its incompati- 
 bility with the easiness of Christ's yoke — all forbade the 
 conclusion that immersion is the only Scriptural bap- 
 tism ! But he was soon to be dispossessed of all this 
 opposition to the truth. 
 
 Early in the Summer of 1834 his ministerial duties led 
 him a few miles beyond Beaver Creek, where the trouble- 
 some meeting was still in progress. On the way he met 
 a Methodist friend who at once beset him with a repre- 
 sentation of the ruinous influence of the " Campbellite" 
 preacher. He stated that the class-leader had encoun- 
 tered the preacher in debate ; that he had been van- 
 quished ; that he had gone over to the enemy ; that their
 
 232 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 class was about broken up ; and that the preacher was 
 more defiant than ever. " Now," continued the speaker, 
 " he must be withstood, and you are the man to oppose 
 liim successfully, for I once heard you preach on the con- 
 version of the eunuch, and I think you showed plainly 
 that it is not certain that he was immersed." This flat- 
 tering invitation he did not then accept, but promised to 
 consider the matter. 
 
 Having joined two loving hearts in the bonds of matri- 
 mony, he set out for home. As he rode along he meditated 
 upon what had been told him until the fire of contro- 
 versy burned within him. But prudence whispered to 
 jiim that, before he consented to meet this Goliath of the 
 " Campbellites," he had better examine his sling and be 
 assured that he had a sufficient number of missiles to pros- 
 trate the giant. In obedience to this timely suggestion 
 he resolved to examine the whole subject of Baptism, and 
 to supply himself with all the arguments pro and con. O 
 that every preacher in Christendom would do likewise, 
 with regard to that and every other point of material dif- 
 ference ! Then would the truth have free course and run 
 and be glorified ! Then would God also be glorified in 
 the salvation of souls ! Then would the followers of Jesus 
 be joined together in one mind, speaking the same thing ! 
 Then would infidelity perish and the world would believe 
 that God had sent his Son to be their Saviour I But alas ! 
 "this people's heart has waxed gross, their ears are dull 
 of hearing, and their eyes have they closed." 
 
 In his investigation, he resolved to begin with the 
 fathers and standard authors of his own church. He first 
 consulted the voluminous works of Luther, in the original 
 German ; and, on the two thousand five hundred and 
 ninety-third page of the tenth volume, he found Luther's 
 sermon on Baptism, preached in June 1520. The very 
 first })age of this sermon put him in possession of a fact
 
 S A M U E 1, K. H O S H O U R . 233 
 
 hitherto unknown to him, viz., the meaning which Luther 
 attached to the German word "taufe." The foHowing is 
 a literal translation of the passage : 
 
 " In the first place, Baptism in the Greek language is 
 called Baptismos (^artfiafioi) and, in the Latin, Mersio — 
 that is, as when a person dips something entirely into the 
 water, the water will cover it; and although in many 
 places, it is no more the custom to push the children into 
 the font and dip them, but only to bepour them with the 
 hand out of the font, yet it ought to be — and would be 
 right — that a person should, according to the signification 
 of the word 'taufe,'' wholly sink the child or candidate 
 into the water, and baptize and draw it out again ; as the 
 word "taufe" comes from tiefen, as when a person sinks 
 one DEEP into the ivater and dips.'" 
 
 After reading this passage, penned by no other hand 
 than the great and authoritative Luther's, he wisely con- 
 cluded that if it should happen to be in the possession of 
 his opponent it would prove a formidable weapon. 
 
 The next standard author consulted was Dr. Mosheim, 
 a Lutheran also, and a historian of high repute. On the 
 108th page of his Church History he found the following 
 vexatious passage : 
 
 " The sacrament of Baptism was administered, in this 
 (the first) century, without the public assemblies, in places 
 appointed and prepared for that purpose, and was per- 
 formed by an immersion of the whole person in the bap- 
 tismal font." 
 
 The next author was Michaelis, one of the most learned 
 men of the Lutheran church, who, on the 506th page of 
 his " Dogmatic" expresses himself as follows : 
 
 " The external act of Baptism is dipping under water. 
 This the Greek word fiann^io signifies, as every one ac- 
 quainted with the Greek language must admit. The bap- 
 tism of the Jews was performed by immersion ; so also
 
 234 I'lONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 was that of John the Baptist, and of the first Christians. 
 Of this we have a proof in the fact that baptism without 
 immersion and only by pouring was allowed in case of the 
 sick, in the third century, and it met contradiction as an 
 innovation. * * * Immersion was practiced till the thir- 
 teenth century, and it is desirable that the Latin church 
 had never allmved a deviation from this. But it (the 
 deviation) did occur, and at the Reformation it was not 
 altered- — that is, changed to its primitive form.'''' 
 
 Weighed down by these stubl:)orn facts from the writings 
 of the fathers, he abandoned the idea of meeting the de- 
 fiant Goliath. Like David encumbered by the armor of 
 Saul, he said, '^ I cannot go with these.'''' 
 
 The result of his investigation was a firm conviction 
 that immersion in water is the only Christian Baptism. 
 In the mean time a better understanding of the New Tes- 
 tament and of the Constitution of the Church of which 
 the Saviour said, " I will build it," had exhibited to him 
 the futility of infant membership. 
 
 Here he found himself surrounded by circumstances that 
 could not but severely test his piety and his moral courage. 
 The beloved pastor of a large and influential congregation, 
 living in fine style and receiving a good salary, a splendid 
 prospect spread out before him and his children, yet no 
 longer a believer in the doctrines he was expected to 
 preach — dissatisfied with his own baptism, his conscience 
 pleading for adherence to the right and fidelity to the word 
 of God, he was in a condition to be fully realized only by 
 those who have passed through a similar pi'ocess. 
 
 Finally, like Moses, he chose to suffer affliction with 
 the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of 
 sin for a season. He resigned his charge without, at 
 that time, revealing the special reason ; and, in Septem- 
 ber, 1834, officiated for the last time in the splendid pul- 
 pit of his beloved congregation. These were to him
 
 SAMUEL K. HOSHOUtt. 235 
 
 dark days, and at times his spirits were greatly depressed ; 
 but he leaned on the word of the Great Shepherd — His 
 rod and His staff, they comforted him. 
 
 Though he could no longer preach, conscientiously, 
 the Lutheran gospel, yet he did not immediately obey the 
 gospel of Christ. His faith in the former system having 
 been destroyed, his mind was reduced to a kind of chaos, 
 and it required a little while for apostolic order to appear. 
 It was not till the last Lord's day in March, 1835, that, 
 without the knowledge of his family, he was immersed 
 in the vicinity of Hagerstown, Md. On reaching home 
 his wife was greatly distressed, both because she was yet 
 much attached to the Lutheran church, and because, with 
 a mother's solicitude, she saw in the future nothing but 
 penury and " the cold world's proud scorn" for herself 
 and her little ones. 
 
 In the town he was the principal theme of conversation. 
 Many denounced, some pitied, and a few commended him. 
 As he walked up the street on Monday morning, none of 
 his former brethren appeared to recognize him. Like 
 Ciesar, 
 
 '■ But yesterday he might have stood against the world — 
 Now, none so poor as to do him reverence." 
 
 The Presbyterians passed him coldly, all because he had 
 demonstrated his genuine piety by forsaking all for Christ's 
 sake and the gospel's. None but the Episcopal minister 
 gave him so much as a gentlemanly salutation. Nor 
 were these the only chilling influences that he had to 
 encountei". A pious mother that had taught him the first 
 lessons in religion, maternal uncles who had taken a lively 
 interest in his education, and were proud of his pulpit 
 performances, brothers and sisters who were strongly 
 attached to him as a champion of the Lutheran faith, 
 were all in their turn to be confounded. In his inter-
 
 236 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 views with them he made good use of the word, and ex- 
 pounded matters in such a manner that, although they 
 would not obey the gospel, they could not severely chide 
 him for having obeyed it. 
 
 Soon after his immersion, he left Hagerstown, and re- 
 sided temporarily with his father-in-law at New Market, 
 intending to emigrate to the West the ensuing Fall. 
 During his sojourn at New Market, where he bad been 
 installed as pastor nine years before, he often met the 
 sheep of his first flock. To them, also, he had become a 
 stranger, whose voice they were no longer willing to 
 hear. The doors of his old church were closed against 
 him ; but the Baptists, out of personal respect, opened to 
 him their house. When he preached on the action of 
 baptism they were delighted ; but when he pressed upon 
 them the design, they manifested a spirit closely akin to 
 that of the Athenians, when Paul declared to them the 
 resurrection of the dead, (Acts xvii. 32.) 
 
 During the three months that he remained in that 
 vicinity, he preached every Lord's day, wherever he could 
 obtain a hearing. At the close of the last sermon at New 
 Market, a highly respectable lady — a member of the 
 Lutheran church — came forward and made the required 
 confession. It was announced that she would be im- 
 mersed on the next morning. Returning home, his father- 
 in-law met him on the pavement, and informed him that 
 his wife, Mrs. Savage, intended to be immersed at the 
 same time. On the banks of the stream, at the appointed 
 hour, she made the confession which is "unto salvation," 
 and, with the other woman, was buried with the Lord in 
 baptism. 
 
 Some time before this, as he was returning home from 
 an appointment, his wife met him in the hall, saying, that 
 she had been studying the New Testament, that she was 
 satisfied that he had done right, and that she intended ere
 
 SAMUEL K. H OS HOUR. 231 
 
 long to follow his example. Accordingly, on the next 
 day after the baptism of her mothei', she and three others, 
 one of whom was also a Lutheran, were immersed in the 
 same stream. Nor were these only immersed — they all 
 arose to walk in newness of life. 
 
 Prior to his departure for the West, he spent three 
 weeks preaching in the vicinity of Hagerstown, among 
 his former acquaintances. In this time he immer.sed 
 eleven persons, of whom five were Lutherans, two Meth- 
 odists, and four " from the world." At sunrise of the last 
 morning that he remained, he immersed the two Method- 
 ists, who both came up out of the water shouting and 
 praising God. Yet this was heresy ! 
 
 Finally, on the 16th of September, 1835, he set out for 
 the West. While he was on the way, the Synod of Mary- 
 laud met ; and although he had consented, at the request 
 of the Secretary, to withdraw privately, yet that august 
 body formally and solemnly excluded him as a dangerous 
 errorist. The following is a transcript of the original bull 
 of excommunication, taken from the " Minutes of the 
 Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Maryland, held at Woods- 
 borough, Frederick county, in October, 1835 :" 
 
 " The committee on paper No. 1 now reported, and, 
 after some discussion, it was 
 
 " Resolved, That the Rev. Mr. Hoshour, having changed 
 his i-eligious creed in some of the essential and funda- 
 mental articles of religion, as held and taught among us, 
 has thereby voluntarily separated himself from all connec- 
 tion with the Lutheran Church, and cannot longer be con- 
 sidered a member. 
 
 " Resolved, also. That the Synod, for the above reason, 
 expunge the name of S. K. Hoshour from the list of 
 its ministers ; that it no longer considers him a member 
 of the Lutheran Church, and that he may live to see, feel.
 
 238 P I O N E E R P K E A C II E R S 
 
 and acknowledge his errors, is the prayer of all ihose to 
 whom he was once ardently attached." 
 
 Such was the last step in his final exodus from the 
 " Evangelical Lutheran Church." 
 
 On the 16th of October, 1835, he arrived, with his little 
 family and less means, at Centreville, the county-seat of 
 Wayne county, Indiana. His object in coming West was 
 to procure a small farm, and, " in the sweat of his face," 
 make an independent though humble living. But he soon 
 found that his literary pursuits and sedentary habits had 
 greatly disqualified him for the business of a farmer. He 
 no longer enjoyed it as he did, when an unlettered swain 
 in Pennsylvania. Therefore he soon abandoned the plough, 
 and commenced teaching a district school near Centreville 
 at twenty dollars per month — an unprecedented salary in 
 that day. Such was his success that, in a short time, he 
 was elected Principal of the Wayne County Seminary, in 
 which he taught four years to the entire satisfaction of the 
 community. 
 
 During all this time, he employed his Lord's days in 
 disseminating the simple gospel as he had learned it and 
 most devoutly cherished it. In Centreville, the court-house 
 was his sanctuary, in which he officiated as both preacher 
 and sexton ! On Saturdays he prepared the wood, and on 
 Sundays made the fires and preached. His audiences were 
 mostly composed of the more intelligent non-professors, 
 and the more liberal adherents to the several sects, who 
 were generally attentive, and disposed to approbate his 
 preaching. 
 
 The Reformation was then in its infancy at that place. 
 There was only one family — a man and his wife — that 
 openly adhered to the cause for which Elder Hoshour 
 plead. These, himself and his wife, at that time consti- 
 tuted the Church of Christ at Centreville. He acted as 
 bishop, the lone brother as deacon, and the two wives as
 
 SAMUEL K. HOSHOUR. 239 
 
 deaconesses ! There was, therefore, little cause of strife 
 and division in that church, /"o?* each member had an office ! 
 
 Though there were no contentions within, it was not 
 long until he felt from without the sharp points of secta- 
 rian bigotry and intolerance. Low chicanery and tact 
 were resorted to in order to counteract his influence in 
 the pulpit. But he occasionally made a proselyte, and by 
 the help of others succeeded in building up a good and 
 substantial church at that place. 
 
 After he had been there one year, the Baptists, many 
 of whom sanctioned his preaching, insisted upon his uniting 
 with them. He consented to do so, provided they would 
 allow him to urge upon all " seekers," Peter's answer to 
 the question, "What shall we do ?" Acts ii. 37. To this 
 there was some objection, and the union did not take place. 
 
 In the process of time, the majority uf ihe Baptists 
 united with the Christians, to whom they delivered over 
 tlieir commodious house of worship. 
 
 In 1836, the Legislature of Indiana appointed him a 
 member of the Board of Trustees of the State University, 
 at Bloomington, in which capacity he served very effi- 
 ciently for three years. 
 
 At the Annual Commencement of 1839, the Faculty 
 and Trustees of that Institution conferred on him the 
 honorary degree of A. M. 
 
 With Dr. Wylie, the late distinguished President of the 
 State University, he enjoyed an intimate and most agree- 
 able friendship. They communed freely on the subject 
 of religion, and the doctor interposed but few objections 
 to the views of his friend. He afterwards published a small 
 work entitled : "Sectarianism is Heresy,^' which, possibly, 
 was suggested by what occurred in some of their inter- 
 views. At any rate he was not a man who closed his 
 ears against the truth, as the following incident will show. 
 
 On one occasion, in Commencement Aveek, the chosen
 
 240 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 speaker for a certain evening did not arrive. The college 
 chapel being crowded to overflowing, President Wylie 
 invited Elder Hoshour to supply with a sermon the place 
 of the anticipated speech, at the same time giving him 
 liberty to choose his own theme and speak his mind freely. 
 He accepted the invitation ; took, as his subject, Man''s 
 Duty, Ecc. xii. 13, and proceeded to preach the ancient 
 gospel to perhaps the largest and most intelligent audience 
 he ever addressed. There were seated around him, on the 
 rostrum, President, Professors, the Board of Trustees, the 
 Executive of the State, and several literati from abroad ; 
 while before him were the elite of Bloomington and many 
 visitors from various parts of the Commonwealth. He 
 was then in the vigor of his manhood, and the discourse 
 is said to have been one of great power. It was doubt- 
 less the masterpiece of his whole life. 
 
 In the Fall of 1839 he removed to Cambridge City, where 
 he became the principal of a large and tastefully-con- 
 structed seminary. There he taught for seven consecutive 
 yeai's, and always had a large number of pupils, manv of 
 whom were from abroad. Several of Indiana's distin- 
 guished sons were educated in his school, among whom 
 were Major General Lewis Wallace, and the present effi- 
 cient Executive, Governor Oliver P. Morton. 
 
 During his residence at Cambridge City he preached on 
 Lord's days either in the village, or at points from which 
 he could return in time for school on Monday morning. 
 Himself, his wife, and one brother in Christ then com- 
 posed the church at that place. Thus it ha})pened a 
 second time that his flock were all officers ! But the}^ 
 relied on the promise, "Where two or three are met 
 together in my vame, there am I in the midst of them." 
 
 With this weak force be had to combat strong opposi- 
 tion to what was stigmatized as Camphellii<m. As a 
 teacher the several sects esteemed him highly, but upon
 
 SAMUEL K. HO S HOUR. 241 
 
 his preaching they looked with suspicion, if not with con- 
 tempt. Under all these discouragements he continued 
 to preach plainly, scripturally, and sometimes polemic- 
 ally ; but being afraid of building, on the apostolic founda- 
 tion, "wood, hay, or stubble," he refrained for a long 
 while from any attempt to proselyte. Still he immersed 
 the first year some half-a-dozen substantial members, and 
 the second year about as many. In 1842 he procured 
 the assistance of Elder John B. New, and held a pro- 
 tracted meeting, which resulted in twenty-five additions, 
 most of whom were persons of means, intelligence, and 
 moral worth. Built up in that way, the church at Cam- 
 bridge City has not yet fallen down ; on the contrary, it 
 has been enlarged from time to time, and is at the present 
 writing in a prosperous condition. 
 
 During the eleven years that Elder Hoshour taught at 
 Centreville and Cambridge, he preached every Lord's day 
 except ten ; often riding long distances after night-fall, 
 through mud, and rain, and cold. During the greater 
 part of this time he preached twice each Sunday ; and for 
 all these faithful labors, which shattered his constitution 
 and destroyed his physical comfort for life, he received 
 less than five hundred dollars — not fifty dollars per 
 annum. 
 
 About the year 1846 declining health compelled him to 
 abandon the school-room, with limited means and a family 
 of seven children. For the support of his family he after- 
 wards resorted to teaching the German language in the 
 various Institutions and larger tow^ns of the State ; but, 
 for the benefit of his race, he continued to preach the 
 gospel almost "without money and without price," as he 
 had done for a score of years. Though but few men 
 gave unto Jam, he desired to share with all men the un- 
 searchable riches of Christ. Tliougli he himself met with 
 few real sympathizers, his own heart swelled with sym- 
 21
 
 ■■•?-'> 
 
 242 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 pathy for all wliose errant feet he found in tlie way of 
 death. 
 
 In 1852 he purchased a small farm near Cambridge 
 City, where he expected to pitch his tent for the remain- 
 der of his life, and give himself more fully to the work of 
 the ministry. But being strongly importuned to aid in 
 the construction of the Richmond and Indianapolis Kail- 
 road, he invested largely in this, to him, unprofitable 
 enterprise. On account of this investment he became 
 involved in debts, to extricate himself from which he was 
 compelled to sacrifice the rural home which he had pro- 
 vided for his old age. 
 
 In June, 1858, he was elected President of the North- 
 western Christian University, located at Indianapolis, 
 Indiana. In this capacity he served three years, at the 
 expiration of which time the Institution was re-organized, 
 and he became Professor of Modern Languages- — the 
 position which he desired, because it was far less labo- 
 rious, and more suitable to his taste and genius. The 
 functions of that office he still discharges to the credit 
 both of himself and of that department of the University. 
 In vacation he goes about proclaiming the word, and 
 during the session he occasionally preaches in the city — 
 sometimes for the congregation with whom he worships, 
 more frequently for the German Methodists, in their own 
 language, and not unfrequently — so amiable a heretic is 
 he — for his first love, the Lutherans. 
 
 But, ere long, he must rest from his labors. Already 
 the almond-tree begins to floui'ish, and the grasshopper 
 to be a burden. Already the strong men begin to bow 
 themselves, and those that look out of the windows to be 
 darkened. Soon shall the silver cord be loosed, the 
 golden bowl be broken. Soon shall he go to his long 
 home, and the mourners go about the streets. No man 
 is more ready to be offered up, for without once having
 
 SAMUEL K . H U S H O U R . 243 
 
 put off the armor of God, he has fought a good fight. 
 Though nearly all else has been sacrificed, he has kept 
 the faith, and strong in that faith he will descend to tht 
 tomb, 
 
 " Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
 About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 
 
 Elder Hoshour is a frail, homely man, of an air de- 
 cidedly German. His stature is five feet nine or ten 
 inches, and his weight about one hundred and forty-five 
 pounds. He has a sallow complexion, a highly bilious 
 temperament, raven black hair, and dark hazel eyes, full 
 of subdued fire. His is a singularly shaped head, which, 
 upon the whole, is an unfair index of his intellectual 
 ability. His mind is of the reflective caste, active, logi- 
 cal, comprehensive, and still vigorous, though impaired 
 by the infirmities of the flesh. If its power be estimated, 
 philosophically, by the resistance it will overcome, or the 
 height to which it will elevate a given body, it will be 
 found to be greatly above the average. In its escape 
 from theological darkness to biblical light, it overcame 
 early prejudices, clerical pride, family and church afiini- 
 ties, and all sectarian restraints in the form of liturgies 
 and creeds ; and despite the ibrce of that gravity which, 
 in this unscrupulous age, drags down the conscientious 
 man, it has elevated its possessor from the obscurity of a 
 German orphan boy to a conspicuous rank among the 
 ministers and educators of the age. 
 
 As a scholar he deserves honorable mention. The 
 principal events of the world's history, and a general 
 knowledge of the several sciences, are carefully stowed 
 away in his retentive memory ; and one will not easily 
 approach him with any subject on which he may not con- 
 verse intelligently. He reads five difl"erent languages and 
 fluently speaks thi'ee — the English, the German, and the
 
 244 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 French. He is not fond of speculative theories, but 
 drinks oftenest and deepest at the sacred fountain : hence 
 his knowledge of the Scriptures is deep and extensive. 
 
 Since his entrance into the Reformation he has never 
 been a sensation preacher. His fo7-te has been to edify 
 the church; to " enlighten the eyes of their understand- 
 ing," that they might know " what is the hope of his 
 calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance 
 in the saints." He has, however, proselyted a goodly 
 number to the faith of the gospel ; but very few, if any, 
 of whom have returned to the beggarly elements of the 
 world. Those whose hands he puts to the plow seldom 
 look back. 
 
 In the pulpit his style is somewhat peculiar. " Teaching 
 and preaching" is his motto ; hence, after singing and 
 prayer, he usually expounds a chapter ; after which 
 another hymn is sung and he rises to preach. To the 
 eyes of strangers this habit sometimes presents him in a 
 false light, as the following anecdote will show : On 
 a certain occasion an ex-member of the Indiana Legis- 
 lature, who was also a disciple, was giving his opinion of 
 President Hoshour. Said he, " I went, one day, to hear 
 bim preach, and he made a complete failure. He talked 
 a few minutes — and talked very well too — then suddenly 
 stopped and took his seat. The brethren sang another 
 hymn, at the conclusion of which he took a new text, 
 tried it over again, and did pretty well !" The Honorable 
 had really taken the first performance for a failure, though, 
 in fact the programme was carried out to the letter. 
 
 In his palmy days he was a good speaker, but his elo- 
 cution is now much impaired by age and bodily infirmi- 
 ties. Yet he still commands the attention of his audience 
 by the number and quality of his ideas and the copious- 
 ness of his diction. But few men can make a more tho-
 
 SAMUEL K. HOSHOUR. 245 
 
 rough analysis of a passage, draw from it more practical 
 lessons, or discourse upon it in more elegant terms. 
 
 Sometimes he has contended earnestly with those " of 
 the contrary part," but, in the main, he is a servant of the 
 Lord that " doth not strive," but is " gentle unto all men, 
 apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that 
 oppose themselves." 
 
 " By him, in strains as sweet 
 
 As angels use, the gospel whispers peace. 
 
 He 'stablishes the strong, restores the weak, 
 
 Reclaims the wanderer, binds the broken heart, 
 
 And, armed himself in panoply complete, 
 
 Of heavenly temper, furnishes with arms 
 
 Bright as his own, and trains by every rule 
 
 Of holy discipline, to glorious war, 
 
 The sacramental host of God's elect : 
 
 Are all such teachers ? Would to Heaven all were !" 
 
 It is but a slight exaggeration to say of him that as a 
 man — a Christian — he is an embodiment of that charity 
 which " suffereth long and is kind, which envieth not, 
 vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave 
 itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily pro- 
 voked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity but 
 rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all 
 things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." Wherever 
 you meet him — at home, in the social circle, or in the 
 house of his God — you meet 
 
 " The man whose heart is warm. 
 
 Whose hands are pure, whose doctrine and whose life, 
 
 Coincident, exhibit lucid proof 
 
 That he is honest in the sacred cause." 
 
 Possessing but little' worldly ambition, he has aspired, 
 through life, to the kingdom of God and His righteous- 
 ness, taking but little thought of what he should eat,
 
 246 PIONEER PREACH KRS. 
 
 what he should drink, or wherewithal he should be 
 clothed. Hence he is one of the " poor of this world 
 whom God hath chosen heirs of the kingdom." And 
 now, at the age of nearly threescore, with no means of 
 support save his hands and his head, and racked with 
 pains superinduced by exposure and excessive mental 
 labor, he is compelled to toil unremittingly for his daily 
 bread. Having devoted his best days to the interests of 
 Zion, he has reason to feel that his declining years are 
 neglected by the brotherhood whom he loves and has 
 faithfully served. On account of this neglect, present and 
 past, gloom settles down upon his earthly future ; but his 
 pathway to the life to come " shineth more and more." 
 
 It is said that, to one journeying to the far North, the 
 mysterious Aurora increases in splendor as the sunlight 
 fades away, and that to one arrived at the open sea that 
 surrounds the pole, the hidden sun would appear again, 
 sweep round the horizon, and never set. Such to Elder 
 Hoshour is the journey of life. Having crossed the 
 bright regions within the tropics, and passed through the 
 checkered scenes of the temperate zone, he is now plod- 
 ding on through the Arctic circle, where the shadows of 
 a long night are falling around him. But as his sun de- 
 clines, shutting out from his vision the glories of this 
 world, the light from Heaven shines with increasing 
 splendor, revealing the brighter glories of the world to 
 come. Soon will he reach the great Open Sea — Eternity 
 — where his sun of life will re-appear, and run round in a 
 circle of never-ending felicity.

 
 ta^ "CSK^***,^*^ •- ^•^—'3 
 
 ZA^^. U^^<^-€r^ 
 
 ^^
 
 WILLIAM WILSON. 
 
 Elder William Wilson, the blind preacher, was bom 
 in Fleming county, Kentucky, September 23d, 1808. His 
 father, Thomas Wilson, was a man of more than ordinary 
 intelligence, concerning whose ancestors nothing is known. 
 His mother's maiden name was Jane Hughes. She is of 
 Irish descent, and still survives. 
 
 Both his parents were for years zealous members of the 
 Presbyterian Church ; but soon after the great revival at 
 Cane Ridge, in 1801, they both embraced the views of B. 
 W. Stone, and took upon themselves the name given first 
 in Antioch. 
 
 Elder Wilson has been blind from his birth. In child- 
 hood he could, with great difficulty, distinguish bright ob- 
 jects when near him in a clear light ; and it was hoped 
 that surgical skill might secure for him a more perfect 
 vision. Accordingly, when in his fourteenth year, he was 
 taken to Lexington' to be operated upon by Dr. Dudley, 
 who thought a cure iuight be effected. While on his way 
 to that city, he was in ecstacy at the prospect of having 
 the veil lifted and the glories of the external world ex- 
 posed to his view. When asleep bright visions came and 
 went, and in his wakeful hours still brighter day-dreams 
 floated before his mind. But all these pleasing anticipa- 
 tions soon vanished away, and gave place to a gloom 
 deeper than ever before. The operation performed, and 
 the pain, which for several days rendered him delirious, 
 having subsided, the bandages were removed, and he was 
 informed that he was hopelessly blind. 
 
 247
 
 248 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 No words can express his deep disappointment on receiv- 
 ing this sad intelligence. His sightless eyes became each a 
 fountain of tears, and his soul shuddered at the presence 
 of the thick darkness which was to encompass it forever. 
 
 But haply, in human experience as in nature, the sunshine 
 succeeds the shadow. Hope soon shed its cheerful beams 
 upon his drooping spirit ; he resigned himself to his sad 
 fate, and resolved to be through life as happy and agreeable 
 as possible. In this effort he has been strangely successful. 
 The morning of his life has been far from wretched, and 
 the feeling of his old age is well expressed in the follow- 
 ing beautiful lines, which are attributed to Milton : 
 
 " I am weak, yet strong ; 
 I murmur not that I no longer see. 
 Poor, old, and helpless, I the more belong, 
 Father Supreme, to Thee. 
 
 merciful One, 
 When men are farthest then Thou art most near; 
 When men pass by my weaknesses to shun, 
 
 Thy chariot I hear. 
 
 Thy glorious face 
 Is leaning toward me, and its holy light 
 Shines in upon my lonely dwelling place, 
 
 And there is no more night. 
 
 On my bended knee 
 I recognize thy purpose clearly shown ; 
 My vision Thou hast dimm'd, that I may see 
 
 Thyself, Thyself alone. 
 
 I have naught to fear; 
 This darkness is the shadow of thy wing ; 
 Beneath it I am almost sacred — here 
 
 Can come no evil thing. 
 
 ! I seem to stand. 
 Trembling, where foot of mortal ne'er hath been, 
 Wrapt in the radiance from that sinless land. 
 
 Which eye hath never seen.
 
 WILLIAM WILSON. 249 
 
 Visions come and go ; 
 Shapes of resplendent beauty round me throng ; 
 From angel lips I seem to hear the flow 
 
 Of soft and holy song. 
 
 'Tis nothing now — 
 When heaven is opening on my sightless eyes — 
 When airs of Paradise refresh my brow — 
 
 That earth in darkness lies." 
 
 But to return to the facts and incidents connected with 
 his history. 
 
 In the year 1826 his father emigrated from Kentucky, 
 and settled in Putnam county, Indiana. To remove the 
 dense forest that covered all their land, required much 
 labor, a portion of which was cheerfully performed by the 
 afflicted son. By means of his other senses he could 
 burn brush, pile logs, and even fell trees, though this was 
 attended with great danger to himself. It was only by 
 putting his hand on the trunk that he could ascertain 
 which way the tree was falling and this procedure left 
 him but little time to make good his retreat. Sometimes, 
 too, the limbs stripped from neighboring trees fell around 
 and near him ; but he escaped unharmed from all these 
 "perils of the wilderness." 
 
 As soon as his father had built a cabin he converted it 
 into a house of prayer. In it he brought together his few 
 neighbors, as often as he could secure the services of a 
 preacher ; and in a short time there was organized therein 
 a small church. Of him, therefore, as of Moses, it may be 
 written, "this is he that was with the church in the wil- 
 derness." 
 
 Elder Wilson inherited from his father a strong desire 
 of knowledge — so strong that he would at any time for- 
 sake his playmates to hear any one read. The Bible 
 was read oftenest ; and from it, therefore, he received the 
 most of his instruction. He never went to school — never
 
 250 PIONEER PEEACHERS. 
 
 enjoyed the advantages of the system which has been 
 devised for the education of the blind. To him Ivnowledge, 
 as well as- "faith," came "by hearing, and hearing by the 
 word of God." 
 
 If others of his day experienced difficulties in entering 
 in at the straight gate, he experienced more; for while 
 they could search the Scriptures for themselves, he was 
 compelled to content himself with such portions as his 
 friends chose to read. Under such circumstances he made 
 but little progress toward the kingdom. For several long 
 years darkness rested upon things eternal as well as upon 
 things temporal ; and the spiritual soon proved a greater 
 affliction than the natural blindness, which he had learned 
 to regard as " but for a moment." 
 
 Finally in the winter of 1828 his uncle, James Hughes, 
 who had come to the knowledge of the truth, came over 
 from Kentucky to Putnam county, preaching the "ancient 
 gospel," and convincing the churches (Old Christian) that 
 Baptism, in connection with faith and repentance, was 
 divinely appointed for the remission of sins. This doc- 
 trine produced no small stir among the people ; but was 
 nevertheless very generally received. 
 
 In the light of this teaching Elder Wilson saw at once, 
 and clearly, what he must do to be saved ; and what had 
 been the difficulty with all the " mourners," whom he had 
 seen vainly seeking the forgiveness of their sins. With 
 joyful haste he fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set 
 before him ; confessed the Saviour before men ; and was 
 straightway "buried with him by baptism into death." 
 From that time to the present his peace has been as a 
 river. 
 
 Thus it appears that his first religious step was in the 
 right direction — that from the Ijeginning of his new life 
 he has been identified with the current Reformation. 
 
 Eighteen persons were added with him to the little
 
 W I L L I A M W I L S O N . 251 
 
 church established at his father's ; and, in the Summer 
 following, Elder Hughes returned and baptized about forty 
 others. Among these were several young men, nearly 
 all of whom began at once to pray in public, and some 
 of them to exhort. Indeed, but few of the disciples of 
 that early day were "ashamed of the gospel of Christ." 
 In the absence of preachers, of whom there were but few, 
 they considered "one another to provoke unto love and 
 good works, not forsaking the assembling of themselves 
 together, as the vianner of some is." 
 
 Foremost among the young disciples was William 
 Wilson, who entered upon his public ministry soon after 
 his immersion in 1828. At first his efforts were feeble, 
 owing to his lack of education and his inability to read 
 the word; but his heart's desire and prayer to God was, 
 that he might become an able minister of the New Testa- 
 ment. Stimulated by this desire, he ceased not to teach 
 and to preach according to the grace given him from on 
 high. 
 
 For a year or two his labors were confined to his own 
 county; but in the Summer of 1830 he began to travel, 
 and within the next few years he visited various portions 
 of the State, being very successful wherever he went. 
 In 1834 he visited Kentucky. * The subject of religion 
 being then greatly agitated in that State, he was every- 
 where favored with large audiences, and therefore sowed 
 bountifully the "incorruptible seed." He returned home 
 by way of Hamilton, Ohio ; from which place he was 
 compelled to complete his journey without the assistance 
 of a guide. In so doing, he experienced many difiBculties 
 and escaped many unseen dangers. Not the least of these 
 was the crossing of streams ; for it was only by the rip- 
 pling of the shoal water that he could distinguish the 
 fords, and when this expedient failed, he depended entirely 
 upon the guidance of his horse.
 
 252 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 During the two years following he travelled exten- 
 sively in Western Indiana, occasionally passing over into 
 Illinois. He devoted his whole time to the work of the 
 ministry, receiving for his services what was barely suffi- 
 cient to defray his travelling expenses. 
 
 On the 15th of August, 1837, he was married to Miss 
 Susannah Goflf, w^ho, as the mother of four sons and three 
 daughters, still lives to share his toils, and sympathize 
 with him in his aflBiction. 
 
 In 1838 he made another visit to Kentucky, passing 
 through Cincinnati, and preaching almost daily lo large 
 congregations along the route. During the interval be- 
 tween April and August, he preached through the upper 
 counties of that State, adding quite a number to the 
 churches of that region. 
 
 On his way home the following incident occurred : On 
 the morning of his departure from Cynthiana he had a 
 presentiment that some evil would befall him that day ; 
 and the farther he rode the more gloomy became his 
 thoughts, though he strove to turn them into a brighter 
 channel. Late in the evening a rustling was heard in 
 the dry leaves b}^ the road-side, and, turning her eyes in 
 that direction, his wife (who was accompanying hinj) saw 
 a ruffian-like man raise his gun to his face, and aim it at 
 her husband. On being hastily apprised of the fact. 
 Elder Wilson calmly inquired of the supposed highway- 
 man how far it was to the next inn, adding that he was 
 blind and a stranger in those parts. The man lowered 
 his gun, muttering some unintelligible reply; and the 
 frightened travellers laid whip to their horses until as- 
 sured that they were entirely out of danger. 
 
 The following Spring he again went to Kentucky, and 
 preached several months in company with Elder John G. 
 Ellis, of Covington. Thej immersed nearly two hundred
 
 WILLIAM WILSON. 253 
 
 persons, the majority of them in Kenton and Boone 
 counties. 
 
 Returning home, he spent the Fall and Winter, as for- 
 merly, in edifying the churches in various parts of 
 Indiana ; in introducing the ancient gospel into destitute 
 places ; and, especially, in assisting his fellow preachers 
 at protracted meetings, which were his chief delight, and 
 the places, above all others, in which he could render 
 efficient service. 
 
 In the Spring of 1840 he once more crossed the Ohio 
 to preach the glad tidings of salvation in the land of his 
 nativity. This tour was confined, mainly, to the counties 
 of Bath, Montgomery, and Fleming, in which he made 
 many proselytes to primitive Christianity. He could have 
 made many more, but for the want of some one to do the 
 immersing — a work which he could not perform. On this 
 account he often left large congregations in tears, without 
 giving an invitation to lay hold of the hope set before 
 them. 
 
 In the year 1843 he attended a great meeting held at 
 Louisville by Elder Benjamin Hall. Wishing to continue 
 that meeting, Elder Hall dispatched him to Newcastle, to 
 fill his (Hall's) appointment at that place. The brethren 
 at Newcastle were greatly disappointed on hearing that 
 the expected preacher would not be there. They were 
 not well pleased with the dress and general appearance 
 of the strange substitute ; and there was a disposition on 
 the part of the church not to let him preach. None sup- 
 posed that he was "a workman approved unto God ;" and 
 some feared that he would say things of which they would 
 all need to be ashamed. 
 
 However, as there was no other preacher present when 
 
 the people came together on Saturday morning, it was 
 
 agreed that he should officiate. He therefore took the 
 
 stand, and delivered a discourse which moved many of his 
 
 22
 
 254 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 suspicious hearers to tears. At night, and on the next 
 day, other preachers that had arrived discoursed to the 
 people, but with no visible effect. On Sunday evening 
 Elder Wilson again occupied the pulpit ; and in response 
 to his invitation, several came forward to make the good 
 confession. From that time he was the chief speaker; 
 and before the close of the meeting, twenty-two persons 
 were received into the heavenly family, and made heirs 
 of the heavenly inheritance. 
 
 At that meeting he met with an old friend by the name 
 of Fitzgerald. This kind gentleman, one day, entered the 
 room where he was sitting, saying : " Brother Wilson, 
 take off your coat." The preacher obeyed without asking 
 any questions. Mr. F. then had him to put on a new 
 one, worth thirty dollars, observing, after a moment's in- 
 spection : " It fits you nicely ; accept it as a present from 
 your unworthy friend, and remember me often in your 
 prayers." In more respects than one, therefore, he was 
 never better rewarded than at Newcastle, Kentucky. 
 
 On another occasion, his raiment experienced a change 
 of a less agreeable character. During one of his long 
 preaching tours, his coat faded to such an unsightly color, 
 that it would have made him quite unhappy, had he pos- 
 sessed seeing eyes, or the modishness of some later divines. 
 But, as it was, he knew nothing of his misfortune until 
 his return home. Thus he demonstrated that, 
 
 " When ignorance is bliss, 
 'Tis folly to be wise." 
 
 Once more returned to Indiana, he continued to preach 
 wherever there was opened to him a door of utterance. 
 Among the many interesting meetings held by him, was 
 one at Marcellus, in Rush county. It was on a beautiful 
 Sunday ; and hundreds of orthodox Christians — many of 
 them from Rushville — came out to hear the Blind Preacher.
 
 WILLIAM WILSON. 255 
 
 Knowing their views and feelings, he determined to make 
 a special effort to present the truth in such a manner as 
 to allay their prejudices, if not to convince them of their 
 errors. In this attempt he was not wholly unsuccessful. 
 Many of those of "the contrary part" declared that he 
 had "said the truth ;" and some were ready to say : " Al- 
 most thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Indeed at 
 another meeting held near by he did lead some of them, 
 through obedience, into " the glorious liberty of the chil- 
 dren of God." 
 
 About the same time he preached, on a certain Monday, 
 at Hanover church, near Morristown, in Shelby county. 
 His subject that day was Matt. vii. 21 : " Not every one 
 that saith unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king- 
 dom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father 
 who is in heaven." The congregation was deeply affected ; 
 and at the close of the discourse several persons made the 
 confession which is unto salvation. He preached again 
 in the afternoon with similar results. Eighteen, in all, 
 were added that day to the saved. Among the number 
 was an old revolutionary soldier, with all his house. 
 
 It has already been seen that Elder Wilson has been 
 " in journeyings often," " in perils in the wilderness," " in 
 perils of waters," and " in perils of robbers." It is 
 equally true that he has been " in perils in the city," and 
 in " perils among false brethren," as the following facts 
 will show. 
 
 Being once at Versailles, Ky., and intending to go from 
 there into Clarke county, he was advised to proceed by 
 way of Lexington, and preach to the congregation in that 
 city. Having received a letter of introduction to one 
 brother F., the proprietor of a hotel in that place, he set 
 out for Lexington. He delivered the letter to the godly (?) 
 landlord, who, after glancing at its contents, said, "Bro- 
 ther Wilson, I cannot entertain you." Proceeding to
 
 256 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 another place to which he was directed, he was again in- 
 formed that he could not be accommodated. He then 
 returned to the hotel, in front of which he sat a long 
 while before his brother, the landlord, (who had been 
 summoned,) made his appearance. When he did appear, 
 it was only to say to him, emphatically, " You can't get 
 to stay here." The poor preacher, who had dismissed his 
 guide, requested that he might be conducted to the resi- 
 dence of Dr. Dudley, who, he hoped, had not forgotten 
 him. This request, also, was gruflBiy refused. Out of 
 sheer necessity, therefore, he alighted from his horse, and 
 entered, uninvited, into the bar-room, hoping that he might 
 meet with some one who would conduct him out of the 
 inhospitable city. Ever and anon, as he sat waiting, the 
 fearful proprietor came in to assure him that he could not 
 be entertained. 
 
 Finally a deliverer came, from whom he learned, as 
 they rode to the country, that the landlord was entertain- 
 ing a large number of sporting gentry, that had come to 
 the city to attend the races, and seek their fortunes in 
 games of chance. It was for theAr accommodation that 
 the door had been closed against the unprofitable servant 
 of the Most High God. 
 
 After this experience in a fashionable city, he proceeded 
 to Clarke and Montgomery counties, where his preaching 
 was well received, and crowned with his usual success. 
 
 For the last ten or twelve years, his labors have been 
 confined for the most part to Indiana; and, within the 
 limits of the State, there is scarcely a county which he 
 has not visited. He has been most successful in prose- 
 Ij'ting sinners, many hundreds of whom have, through 
 his instrumentality, been made partakers of the inherit- 
 ance of the saints in light. He has also accomplished 
 something in the great work of persuading the obedient 
 among the sects to be called only by the name Christian,
 
 WILLIAM WILSON. 257 
 
 and be governed only by the word of God. Though him- 
 self uneducated, he moreover contributed his portion for 
 the establishment of the N. W. C. University, which is 
 now exerting a powerful influence in favor of primitive 
 Christianity. 
 
 For his abundant labors he has received but little " of 
 corruptible things, such as silver and gold;" yet, on re- 
 viewing the past, he rejoices and is exceeding glad, know- 
 ing that great is his reward in heaven. 
 
 Though it has pleased the Lord to afflict him by dark- 
 ening forever the windows of his earthly tabernacle, and 
 though he has otherwise suffered much for his name's 
 sake, yet, while he looks not at the things which are seen, 
 but at the things which are not seen, he feels that his light 
 affliction is but for a moment ; and that it worketh for 
 him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 
 
 His days of darkness are now almost ended. Soon the 
 vail shall be lifted, and those things " which God hath 
 prepared for them that love him," be revealed to bis 
 enraptured vision. 
 
 Elder Wilson is a small, thin man, not exceeding one 
 hundred and thirty-five pounds in weight. Having been 
 enveloped all his days in thick darkness, he has been un- 
 able to take that free, out-door exercise so essential to 
 physical development. On this account he looks wan 
 and haggard, like a prisoner in a damp dungeon. 
 
 He has a fine head, especially in the frontal region, and 
 one sees at a glance that nature bestowed on him an un- 
 common endowment of intellect. But the mind, sitting 
 ever in its dark chambers, and often famishing for food, 
 has been dwarfed like his body — a misfortune which 
 seems to distress him more than all other afflictions. He 
 never murmurs, because to him returns not
 
 258 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 " Day, or the sweet approach of ev'n or morn, 
 Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, 
 Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine ;" 
 
 but ever and anon the shadow of despair settles for a 
 moment on his furrowed face, and his conversation is 
 interrupted by the sad exclamation, "Ah ! if I hadn't been 
 shut out from the light of education.'''' 
 
 Like a poor beggar at the gate, his mind sits all the 
 day long at the tympanum of the ear, receiving pittances 
 of knowledge from the passing sounds. In this way he 
 has acquired an amount of information that would seem 
 almost incredible. With the Bible especially, he is re- 
 markably familiar. He quotes it freely and with tolera- 
 ble accuracy in his preaching, always giving chapter and 
 verse. 
 
 In the pulpit he appears pretty much as a blind man 
 appears everywhere. He is a good singer, and while the 
 congregation is assembling he usually sings, by himself, 
 some plaintive air, which softens all hearts, and swells to 
 the very brim the fountains of tears. On rising to preach 
 — if it be in a strange place — he first makes a brief recon- 
 noisance of his position ; then repeats a chapter from 
 memory, and addresses a short prayer to the throne of 
 the heavenly grace. After another song, and without 
 resuming his seat, he announces his text and begins his 
 discourse. With a clear, sharp voice, he speaks slowly at 
 first, but becomes more animated as he progresses. He 
 stands quite still, save a slight rocking motion, and makes 
 scarcely a gesture — for he is a stranger to the grace that 
 is seen in motions. He is a good natural logician, and 
 is inclined to be argumentative. In adducing the proof 
 of his propositions, he brings together texts widely sepa- 
 rated in Holy Writ, weaving them into his discourse with 
 remarkable force, precision, and beauty. In his better 
 days he was a very effective speaker, excelled by few in
 
 % 
 
 WILLIAM WILSON. 259 
 
 pathetic and stirring exliortation ; but latterly his powers, 
 both reasoning and persuasive, are on the wane. 
 
 In religion, where all must walk by faith, he keeps pace 
 with the foremost of his brethren. He is noted for god- 
 liness, brotherly kindness, and charity — for his disposition 
 to "weep with them that weep," and his readiness to 
 " deliver the poor that cry, the fatherless, and him that 
 hath none to help him." 
 
 Revelation lights up every step of his dark way, not 
 only dispelling despondency, but also supplying him with 
 habitual cheerfulness. If you are at leisure, he enters 
 freely into conversation, smiles at the reception of every 
 new idea, and laughs outright at the relation of a good 
 anecdote. When your business calls you away he paces 
 the floor, feeling the way with his ever-present cane ; or 
 sits for hours in silent communion with his Maker and 
 his own busy thoughts. Occasionally, at such times, his 
 low plaintive voice is heard, as he sings to himself some 
 consoling stanza like the following : 
 
 "Precious Bible 1 how I love it, 
 How it doth my bosom cheer, 
 What hath earth than this to covet 1 
 what stores of wealth are here I" 
 
 He is himself something of a poet, and many of the songs 
 he sings are of his own composition. The following is 
 one with which he often breaks the " solemn stillness" 
 which pervades the house of God just previous to the 
 commencement of divine service. 
 
 "Take warning, take warning, poor sinners, I pray, 
 You now hear the gospel, come and obey, 
 Lest your sun, it should set, and you can't find the way, 
 For darkness will hinder — in it you must stay. 
 
 Take warning, old people, while it's called to-day ; 
 While Jesus invites you, come and obey,
 
 260 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Lest Death it should call and you too have to go, 
 And alas ! like the stubble, have no fruit to show. 
 
 Take warning, young people — the youth have to die ; 
 The messenger, Death, it will not pass you by ; 
 In the cold arms of Death you soon may Me low, 
 And alas ! like the chaflf, have no fruit then to show. 
 
 Here, parents and children — they surely must part, 
 All ties must be broken that bind heart to heart. 
 Oh ! think of the friends that are called from time, 
 To the hand of cold death they have had to resign. 
 
 Their pains and their groans can ne'er change their state^ 
 Oh ! the sorrow of mortals what tongue can relate ! 
 Though they're silent in death, weWe still moving along, 
 But we'll all have to die, and before very long. 
 
 To yonder dark prison, poor man, you must go ; 
 While fettered by Death yoa must in it lie low. 
 It is solemn but true, sinner don't wait, 
 You had better prepare before it's too late. 
 
 Swift hours will pass, which gold cannot restore — 
 When favors are gone you'll be wishing for more ; 
 But the harvest is past, the summer is gone, 
 And the poor disobedient forever undone." 
 
 One other specimen, in which he has embodied thoughts 
 and hopes that were ever present with him, must termi- 
 nate this personal description. To fully appreciate it, one 
 must hear him sing it as he sits all alone in an adjoining 
 room: 
 
 "There is a kingdom I do view. 
 And to this place let us pursue : 
 No poisonous breath shall enter there — 
 may I in that kingdoip share. 
 
 It is a kingdom of delight. 
 
 Its subjects all are dressed in white, 
 
 Their uniforms shine like the sun — 
 
 let us to that kingdom run. "^
 
 WILLIAiM WILSON. 261 
 
 There parents, children, all shall meet, 
 Their joys shall ever be complete. 
 From pain and sickness ever free — 
 let us to that kingdom flee. 
 
 So let us run that we may gain, 
 And ever in that kingdom reign, 
 Where peace and joy forever flow, 
 And e'en the blind no darkness know. 
 
 That glorious day is rolling on, 
 When I shall see the heavenly throng. 
 And with the blood-washed millions stand. 
 Rejoicing in that sun-bright land. 
 
 Come, angels, strike your loudest strain, 
 The saints with you forever reign ; 
 There shall our tears be wiped away. 
 My night be turned to endless day."
 
 LOYE H. JAMESON. 
 
 This distinguished pioneer was born May lYtli, 1811, in 
 Jefferson county, Indiana Territory. His parents were 
 both natives of Virginia, whence they emigrated to Ken- 
 tucky — his father in 1795 and his mother in 1803. Soon 
 after their marriage they again turned their faces toward 
 the Northwest, and in the Fall of 1810 settled for life on 
 a creek called Indian Kentucky, in the county and Terri- 
 tory aforesaid. 
 
 His father, Thomas Jameson, was born of parents who 
 were members of the Kirk of Scotland, consequently he 
 was sprinkled in infancy and trained up a Calvinist in the 
 strictest sense of that term. His mother's parents held 
 the views of the Church of England, but for some cause 
 she was not christened according to the usages of that 
 church. By some means she had imbibed the doctrine 
 of Arminius, and was, therefore, directly opposed to her 
 husband on the subject of religion. 
 
 But united in heart and fortune, they soon came also to 
 "the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of 
 God." In the year 1816, by the hand of John McClung, 
 a young coadjutor of B. W. Stone, they were immersed 
 into the Lord Jesus and became members of the old Chris- 
 tian Church. 
 
 In the Spring of 1818 the father of Love H. chanced to 
 form the acquaintance of Mr. Joseph Bryant, a brother-in- 
 law of Alexander Campbell. From Mr. Bryant he heard 
 for the first time of Mr. Campbell, and of the changes he 
 262
 
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 LOVE H. JAMESON. 263 
 
 recommended in the return to the " ancient order." Soon 
 after he received a pamphlet published by Thomas and 
 Alexander Campbell, in which was presented at length 
 "The Basis of Christian Union." This pamphlet was 
 published in 1809, three years before its authors withdrew 
 from the Presbyterian Church. With its contents Mr. 
 Jameson was well pleased, and would gladly have read 
 more from the same source ; but from that time he heard 
 no more of the Campbells, or of the Reformation, until the 
 year 1826. 
 
 Among the first religious impressions made upon the 
 mind of Elder Jameson was a profound respect for the 
 Holy Scriptures. Many portions of them he committed 
 to memory at a very tender age, and their declarations he 
 was taught to regard as an end of all controversy. In a 
 word, he was carefully trained up " in the way he should 
 go," and now that he is old he has not departed from it. 
 
 His education was attended with all the difficulties in- 
 cident to frontier life. There were but few schools, and 
 they were conducted by incompetent "masters." His 
 first teacher, especially, still holds a place in his memory 
 as an inexorable tyrant. It was, perhaps, a blessing that 
 the sessions were short and at Jong intervals; for had he 
 been kept long under such instructors, he might have been 
 characterized in after life by a hatred rather than a love of 
 literary pursuits. 
 
 It was a happy necessity that kept him the greater part 
 of his time under the tuition of his kind parents, who used 
 due diligence in the education of their children, especially 
 their first Love. Before he was three years old they pur- 
 chased for him a primer, and by the help of its pictures he 
 soon became familiar with the names of the letters. This 
 done, the advance to spelling and reading was easy and 
 rapid. 
 
 In penmanship he certainly enjoyed the disadvantages
 
 264 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 of a "new system." With a rude pencil of hi.s own 
 manufacture, he executed the characters on linden slabs; 
 nor were these implements displaced by pen, ink, and 
 paper, until he had learned to write a legible hand. 
 This he soon accomplished; and by the time he was 
 seven years old he was so good a scribe, that when 
 his first teacher came round with the "Article," he had 
 the honor of signing his father's name to that instru- 
 ment. 
 
 From 1818 to 1828 he attended school each Winter; 
 and each Summer assisted his father on the farm. His 
 principal study, during that time, was Arithmetic ; no 
 attention being paid to English Grammar, because it was 
 the prevailing opinion that it was calculated only " to 
 make fools of the children." The teachers readily en- 
 couraged the popular prejudice against a subject of which 
 they themselves were grossly ignorant. Geography was 
 then an " untaught question ;" and as for Algebra — had 
 its name been mentioned, those simple pioneers might 
 have mistaken it for that of the striped horse (Zebra), or 
 some more terrible "varmint." Still, what little was 
 taught he learned ; and, in addition to that, he spent his 
 leisure hours at home in reading every book and paper 
 upon which he could lay hands. " Weems' Lives of 
 Washington and Marion," " The History of the Twelve 
 Caesars," an old " History of London," and a stray copy 
 of " Morse's Geography," containing numerous historical 
 accounts, were read and re-read until he could repeat 
 many portions of them from memory. The historical 
 portions of the Old Testament, also — especially those 
 relating to the deliverance and subsequent wars of the 
 Israelites, were made as familiar as the tales of the 
 nursery. 
 
 Aside from his progress in other matters, he, at an 
 early age, displayed a remarkable talent for music ; and,
 
 LOVE H. JAMESON. 265 
 
 in the former days of his ministry, he was prominent 
 among the sweet singers of the Reformed Israel. 
 
 In 1826 his father commenced taking the " Christian 
 Baptist." This opened to him a new field; and, with 
 respect to the whole family, this was the beginning of a 
 new era. He longed for the coming of every number ; 
 and when it came, it was his happy privilege to read it 
 through in the hearing of his parents and any friends that 
 might happen to be present. 
 
 The information received from this source, together 
 with the knowledge derived from his early reading of the 
 Scriptures, made him quite a formidable disputant in the 
 private discussions of those times. These were of fre- 
 quent occurrence; for Beverly Vawter was already pre 
 senting, with clearness and boldness, the distinctive 
 features of the Reformation, while all his fellow-preachers, 
 and many of the common people, were bitterly opposing 
 him. 
 
 Thus things went on until the Fall of 1829. In Sep- 
 tember of that year a protracted meeting was held on 
 Indian Kentucky, near the residence of Thomas Jameson, 
 at which place it had been customary to hold a meeting 
 each Fall, for the last ten years. There being no houses 
 of worship, the people assembled by day in the groves, 
 and, at night, there was usually preaching at several 
 different cabins in the neighborhood. On Monday of the 
 present meeting it was noised abroad that on the night 
 before several persons had " got religion" at the house 
 of an old brother Eccles. This intelligence threw the 
 whole community into an uproar. 
 
 For some time previous to that the Reformers had 
 rather outnumbered those who held fast the traditions of 
 the fathers ; but, the event of the preceding night being 
 known, a great many rallied under the orthodox banner, 
 and, for a single day, restored that party to the ascend- 
 23
 
 266 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 ancy. They controlled the meeting ; they preached ; 
 they invited mourners to the altar ; and had the satisfac- 
 tion of seeing many " converted." About noon the great 
 assembly repaired to the water, songs being sung all the 
 way. On the bank of the stream Elder Jameson con- 
 fessed the Saviour, and was straightway immersed by one 
 who understood, as M^ell as himself, the design of the 
 ordinance. 
 
 From this time forth there was great religious excite- 
 ment in that region. But the way which they called 
 heresy, gradually gained ground despite the most obsti- 
 nate resistance. Elder Jameson took a prominent part 
 in every social meeting ; and it was soon insinuated that 
 he had a talent for preaching, and that the command was 
 to "occupy." Especially did Elder Vawter, and an aged 
 brother McMillan, urge him to do the work of an evange- 
 list. Yielding to their importunities, he consented ; and 
 on the evening of December 25th, 1829, he preached bis 
 first discourse. From that time to the present, a period 
 of thirty years, he has been constantly before the public. 
 
 During the greater part of the year 1830 he was engaged in 
 teaching, principally for the benefit of his younger brothers 
 and sisters. While thus employed he prosecuted diligently 
 the work of self-instruction ; and having acquired a pretty 
 good knowledge of his mother tongue, he began the study 
 of Greek. In this, his first text-book was Ironside's Gram- 
 mar, which, in his judgment, was most appropriately 
 named. It was written in Latin, and to acquire a knowl- 
 edge of either language lie had to first understand the other. 
 He was, therefore, in much the same predicament as those 
 who are taught that they cannot obtain faith until they 
 pray for it, while at the same time they cannot pray ac- 
 ceptably without faith ! Yet by the aid of lexicons and 
 of his teacher, he penetrated, in places, even Ironside ;
 
 LOVE H. JAMESON. 267 
 
 and was soon able to read the New Testament in the 
 original Greek. 
 
 In the mean time he and Elder Vawter continued to 
 hold meetings at various points in Jefferson and the adja- 
 cent counties, baptizing not a few. 
 
 In the Fall of 1832 he visited New Castle, Georgetown, 
 Clintonville, and other points in Kentucky. On this tour 
 he made the acquaintance of Elders F. R. Palmer, John 
 Smith, John Rogers, J. T. Johnson, and other distin- 
 guished pioneers of that State, from whom he received 
 many valuable suggestions relative to the work of the 
 ministry. Returning home, he again engaged in teaching, 
 still preaching regularly, however, and immersing many, 
 among whom were several of his pupils. 
 
 In the Spring of 1833 he visited Rising Sun, where he 
 made arrangements with D. D. Pratt, the Principal, to 
 spend the Summer and Fall in the seminary at that place. 
 This he did, studying chiefly English Grammar, Algebra, 
 Rhetoric, and Greek. During his connection with this 
 institution he defrayed his expenses by instructing the 
 preparatory classes. He also preached regularly for a 
 congregation some distance in the country ; and under 
 his labors quite a number were added to the little church. 
 From the very first he seems to have cast the net on the 
 right side of the ship. 
 
 This was the last school he ever attended ; but he has 
 been, through life, a diligent self-instructor, and has worked 
 his way up to an honorable rank among the educated men 
 of the church. In the natural sciences, especially, he is 
 quite proficient; and notwithstanding the difficulties under 
 which he began the study of Greek, he has, by perseverance, 
 acquired a critical knowledge of that language. His lite- 
 rary character was such, in general, that, in 1859, the Board 
 of Directors of the N. W. C. University, on the recom-
 
 2613 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 mendation of the Faculty, conferred on liim the honorary 
 degree of A. M. 
 
 Leaving the seminary in November he returned to his 
 father's, and once more engaged to teach during the Winter. 
 This, his last school, closed in March, 1834, and he imme- 
 diately began to make preparations for devoting himself 
 entirely to the ministry as a life work. His father fully 
 set before him the difficulties and privations he would have 
 to encounter as a preacher of the gospel ; but he still 
 adhered to his purpose, while he looked not at the things 
 which are seen and temporal, but at the things which are 
 not seen and eternal. 
 
 On the first day of April, 1834, he bade adieu to home 
 and friends, and set out for Ohio. His first appointment 
 was at Rising Sun, from which place he proceeded to 
 Cincinnati by way of Burlington, Ky. Late in the evening 
 he crossed the river at Covington, and found himself alone 
 in the busy throng of the young Queen of the West. He 
 soon found his way to the house of a brother T. Murdock, 
 who extended to him Christian hospitality. Having tarried 
 here a few days, he proceeded to Carthage, where he 
 renewed an acquaintance, previously formed, with Walter 
 Scott. Together they held several interesting meetings, 
 and finally went to Harrison, on the State line, to fill an 
 appointment for John O'Kane. There they met with Elder 
 Carey Smith of Indianapolis, from whom they learned that 
 all the churches of the town were closed against them, and 
 that they would be under the necessity of holding the pro- 
 posed meeting in a barn some two miles up White Water. 
 After a hasty meal the trio set out for the said barn, 
 where they found only about thirty persons assembled. 
 AValter Scott was greatly discouraged, and without cere- 
 mony rolled himself up in his great cloak, stowed himself 
 away in a hay mow, and went to sleep. The burden of 
 theday. therefore, devolved on the two wakeful preachers.
 
 LOVE H. JAMESON. 269 
 
 Smith delivered an able discourse ; Jameson followed with 
 a fervent exhortation ; and several persons came forward 
 to make the good confession. At this juncture Elder Scott 
 came hurriedly out of his snug retreat, and, without stop- 
 ping to remove the bits of hay from his raven locks, joined 
 in the exercises w^ith hearty good will. 
 
 As the sun was going down they returned to the village, 
 and repaired to the river to attend to the ordinance of 
 baptism. A great concourse of people were present, and 
 among them a local preacher by the name of Lincoln, who 
 fearing an invasion of the Methodist Zion, determined to 
 offer battle at the water. Elder Scott immediately took 
 his position on a large boulder, and commenced replying 
 to Mr. Lincoln's questions. His faithful co-laborers took 
 their positions around him, Testament in hand ; and as 
 soon as Mr. Lincoln would put a question they would turn 
 to the passage containing the proper answer, and hand it 
 up to Elder Scott, who would read it aloud, making such 
 comments as he deemed pertinent. This done, all were 
 ready for another question and another reply. Thus, until 
 the enemy was silenced, raged the Battle of White Water, 
 fought with weapons " not carnal but mighty through 
 God to the pulling down of strong holds." By the sin- 
 gular contest an intense religious interest w^as awakened 
 in the whole community. From that time till the close 
 of the meeting the " bai'n" was filled to overflowing ; and 
 before they left the town a goodly number had been added 
 to the saved. 
 
 This was the beginning of the Harrison church, which 
 was organized in July following with over forty members. 
 
 In the mean time Elder Jameson had engaged to preach 
 for the churches at Carthage, Cumminsville, and White 
 Oak. His labors at each of these points were attended 
 with great success. 
 
 In the month of June he assisted Elders Walter Scott,
 
 210 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 J. G. Mitchell, and Guerdon Gates of Kentucky, in a pro- 
 tracted meeting at Dayton, Ohio. This proved to be a 
 kind of city of Samaria ; the gospel met with a cordial 
 reception ; and many were brought to the knowledge of 
 the truth and the obedience of the faith. 
 
 From Dayton, Elder Jameson visited Harrison, Rising 
 Sun, Yevay, and other points in Dearborn, Ohio, and 
 Switzerland counties. At Yevay he engaged in his first 
 and last public discussion. His opponent was the Rev. 
 John Pavy of the Regular Baptist church. 
 
 During the Fall and Winter of 1834 he continued to 
 preach at various points in Hamilton county, making oc- 
 casional visits to Dayton, and one to Wilmington, where 
 he became acquainted with Dr. Matthias Winans, a dis- 
 tinguished correspondent of the Evangelist and Millennial 
 Harbinger. 
 
 Early in the Spring of 1835 he revisited Kentucky, in 
 company with Walter Scott. They preached at George- 
 town, and at several places in Scott and Woodford coun- 
 ties, including Versailles, Paris, and Lexington. Of course 
 they did not fail to visit Ashland, where they spent several 
 hours with Mr. Clay under his old-fashioned but hospitable 
 roof. 
 
 On returning to Ohio he found letters urging him to 
 assume the pastoral care of the church at Dayton. This 
 call he accepted, and in June, 1835, removed to that city. 
 Soon afterward he visited Conuersville, Indiana, where he 
 assisted John O'Kane in a protracted meeting. Together 
 they then went to Rushville, and thence to Indianapolis, 
 then an insignificant town of a few hundred inhabitants, 
 having not a single railroad, and consequently as little 
 communication with the rest of the world as Jerusalem 
 had with Samaria. Bespattered with mud, and wet as a 
 drenching rain could make them, they entered the court- 
 house where a few persons had assembled ; and soon forgot
 
 LOVE H. JAMESON. 2T1 
 
 the sufiferings of this present time in contemplating the 
 glory that shall be revealed hereafter. At this meeting 
 Elder Jameson met, for the first time, John L. Jones, 
 P. M. Blankenship, Butler K. Smith, and other pioneer 
 evangelists. 
 
 Returning to Dayton, he continued his pastoral labors 
 with the most encouraging results. The church at that 
 place, thinking themselves unable to sustain weekly 
 preaching, permitted him to spend a portion of his time 
 in the service of congregations abroad. Under this 
 arrangement he visited, during the remainder of that year 
 and the next, the churches at Fairfield, Wilmington, 
 Maysville, Ma3'slick, Minerva, Carthage, Harrison, Con- 
 nersville, Rushville, Greensburg, Indianapolis, and other 
 points in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. His principal 
 co-laborers were D. S. Burnett, Walter Scott, John 
 O'Kane, and R. T. Brown. In pairs and trios they jour- 
 neyed about on horseback, holding here and there what 
 were literally " big meetings," for they usually continued 
 several days, and resulted in the salvation of many. 
 
 In the Winter of 183T he attended the Campbell and 
 Purcell debate, at Cincinnati ; and took part in the long 
 series of meetings which followed that exciting dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 In April of the same year he resigned his charge at 
 Dayton, and returned to his old, first field at Carthage, 
 where he found a true yoke-fellow in the person of 
 Dr. L. L. Pinkerton. While at this point he also preached 
 regularly for the churches at White Oak, Burlington, 
 Mount Pleasant, and Harrison. He made one tour 
 through Rush and Fayette counties, Indiana, and one 
 through a portion of Kentucky. 
 
 In December, 183t, he was married to Miss Elizabeth 
 M. Clark, a woman of such excellent spirit that she was 
 soon counted worthy to appear in the society of the blest.
 
 272 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 For the next two or three years he continued to travel 
 and preach as formerly, being present, in the Winter of 
 1839-40, at the great meeting in Cincinnati, which con- 
 tinued one hundred days. 
 
 At this time he was passing — had well nigh passed — 
 the happiest days of his life. Shortly afterward Walter 
 Scott and Dr. Pinkerton removed to Kentucky ; some old 
 friends emigrated to the West ; others died ; and the 
 happy circle in which he had been wont to move, was 
 sadly broken. Under such circumstances he was no 
 longer content with his field of labor. Like the lone 
 Indian who snapped his bow-strings, threw them on the 
 burial-place of his fathers, and departed toward the setting 
 sun, he left with a sad heart the scenes of his joys and 
 griefs in Ohio, and journeyed westward to Indiana. 
 
 This general emigration of evangelists was a severe 
 blow upon the cause of reform in Ohio. At that very 
 time, if ever, there was need of united and untiring effort. 
 All ihat rich and populous region west and north of 
 Cincinnati was stretching out its hands for the ancient 
 gospel, and, by proper exertion, might have been brought 
 under its influence. But the golden opportunity was 
 suffered to pass unimproved, and the field that was ripe 
 for the harvest was never reaped. 
 
 In May, 1840, he rested once more with his little family 
 beneath the paternal roof. His first work on returning 
 to Indiana was to revisit the churches for which he had 
 been wont to preach in his youth. This being done, he 
 constantly extended his field of operations, until he had 
 published the ancient gospel in nearly all the cities and 
 villages of the southeastei'n portion of the State. 
 
 In some of these places he received a small pittance 
 for his labors ; but, in the majority of them, he received 
 nothing. He therefore knew "how to be in want," 
 though he knew not "how to abound." At no period of
 
 LOVE H. JAMESON. 2Y3 
 
 his ministry has there been reason to suspect that Elder 
 Jameson was following the Saviour for " the loaves and 
 fishes." During- his sojourn in Ohio he never received 
 more than four hundred dollars per annum ; and the 
 debts he was compelled to leave unpaid, added not a 
 little to the heaviness with which he left that State. It 
 was only by rigid economy and stern self-denial that he 
 satisfied those old claims, and thus kept the command 
 to "owe no man anything, but to love one another." 
 Since his return to Indiana his abundant labors in the 
 gospel have afforded him a bare support; and pecuniary 
 embarrassments that were present in his youth, are 
 robbing him of the ease and tranquillity that should 
 accompany old age. 
 
 In May, 1841, Elder Jameson located in Madison as 
 pastor of the congregation in that city. The year opened 
 with bright prospects, but it closed in the deepest gloom. 
 At the close of a beautiful day in June, his wife was 
 walking in the garden, apparently in perfect health ; and 
 while thus engaged, she was suddenly seized with an 
 apoplectic fit, and almost instantly expired. 
 
 After this sad bereavement, he continued his pastoral 
 labors in Madison until the Fall of 1842. In the mean 
 time he made an extensive tour through the Wabash 
 country, including the cities of Terra Haute, Crawfords- 
 ville, Lafayette, and Indianapolis. 
 
 At the close of the meeting in Indianapolis, he was 
 invited to take charge of the church in that city. This 
 invitation he accepted; and on the 5th of October, 1842, 
 he entered upon the duties of his new pastorate. Before 
 leaving Madison, however, he was again married, to Miss 
 Elizabeth K. Robinson, of that city. 
 
 In September, 1843, he accompanied Elder B. W. Stone 
 and others to the Illinois State Meeting, which convened 
 that year at Springfield. After its adjournment, he
 
 274 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 spent a month in visiting important points in the Prairie 
 State. 
 
 In 1845, the State Meeting:, which met at Columbus, 
 Indiana, appointed him and Elder John O'Kane to evan- 
 gelize in the southwestern part of the State. To this 
 mission they devoted the Summer of that year, doing 
 what they could to extend the Redeemer's kingdom, in 
 the midst of the excitement produced by the national 
 difficulties with Mexico. 
 
 For several years subsequent to this date he was em- 
 ployed, partly by the church at the capital, and partly by 
 congregations in the vicinity. 
 
 Since 1854, he has preached but little in Indianapolis, 
 but he has continued to reside there, laboring incessantly, 
 elsewhere, in word and doctrine. He keeps up his regu- 
 lar monthly appointments at some four different churches ; 
 and availing himself of the excellent facilities afforded by 
 the numerous railroads centering at that place, he pub- 
 lishes the glad tidings throughout the entire Common- 
 wealth. Even state lines do not circumscribe his influ- 
 ence ; for, in the last few years, he has visited Ohio, 
 Kentucky, Western Missouri, Illinois, New York, and 
 portions of New England. 
 
 From first to last he has been successful in his ministry ; 
 and the Lamb's book of life will reveal many a name 
 written therein through his instrumentality. 
 
 In the personal appearance of Elder Jameson there is 
 but little indicative of the hardy pioneer. Aside from 
 his silvered locks and patriarchal beard, he exhibits but 
 few signs of old age. His cheek is but slightly furrowed ; 
 his black, restless eye has lost none of its youthful fire ; 
 and he who has known him for a score of j^ears can 
 scarcely detect any loss of grace or elasticity in his step. 
 He weiglis about one hundred and forty-five pounds ; is
 
 LOVE H. JAMESON. 275 
 
 about five feet nine inches high, rather slender, and as 
 straight as an Indian. 
 
 As he has risen by his own efforts from the humbler to 
 the higher and more refined circles, he has departed from 
 the style of dress, and, somewhat, from the plain and 
 simple manners of the former days ; on which account, 
 some, who adhere to the simplicity of the olden time, 
 think him proud. But he is easily approached, uniformly 
 courteous, and always sociable, unless his attention hap- 
 pens to be engrossed with some particular subject 
 
 With regard to intellectual ability and scholarship, he 
 is considerably above mediocrity. In the main his re- 
 searches are extensive rather than deep ; yet he is not 
 superficial, and on some subjects he is decidedly original. 
 In biblical criticism, especially, he has evinced greater 
 acumen than many who eclipse him in reputation. 
 
 He has not written extensively for the public, but has 
 for many years contributed sparingly to the Christian 
 Record, Millennial Harbinger, and other organs of the 
 brotherhood. It costs him much labor to write for the 
 press ; for he composes slowly and with great care ; and 
 his manuscript, before it leaves his hand, must be in ap- 
 pearance altogether unexceptionable. It may be on this 
 account that he has not been a more frequent contributor. 
 His prose essays certainly compare most favorably with 
 the productions of many whose names, in full, appear 
 almost weekly in some of the religious papers. Though 
 he does not claim to be a poet, he has written some very 
 respectable hymns, a few of which have recently appeared, 
 over his initials, in " The Weekly Christian Record." 
 
 As a pulpit orator he occupies an honorable rank among 
 the preachers of his day. He has an excellent voice ; his 
 elocution is earnest and emphatic ; in gesture he is free 
 and natural, in language chaste and copious. In speaking 
 he holds his head in a rather elevated position, ai d turns
 
 2T6 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 it about in a peculiar manner, bj which alone he would 
 be easily recognized were he, in other i-espects, completely 
 disguised. Some censorious critics think him somewhat 
 wordy, desultory, and given to repetition. If so, it is not 
 because he lacks ability to be concise and logical ; but 
 because he has preached so long and become so familiar 
 with every portion of the Scriptures that he has suffered 
 himself to fall into the habit of speaking without previous 
 preparation. In this particular he is by no means a sin- 
 ner "above all others" — the fault is as common as it is 
 grievous. He is a bold and uncompromising defender of 
 the truth, yet he is not disputatious or dogmatical. His 
 discourse is generally designed to point out the path of 
 duty to saint and sinner, or to expound some difficult pas- 
 sage of Scripture. 
 
 As a Christian he is without spot and blameless. In 
 the congregation, in his family, in the round of mirth, in 
 the house of mourning, in every relation of life, his de- 
 meanor is "as becometh the gospel of Christ." 
 
 Having been from his youth under the influence of that 
 wisdom which has "in her left hand length of days," bis 
 willing spirit is not yet fettered by any serious infirmity 
 of the flesh. On the contrary, he is still vigorous and ac- 
 tive in the ministry, though 
 
 " The morning of life 
 Has vanislied away, 
 And shadows portend 
 The close of the day."
 
 '''•v^n,^ \;^
 
 j^C? 
 
 L^riy^ct^GJ^ 
 
 yT^;^'^^"^
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 
 
 Of all the preachers of Indiana, whether of the past or 
 the present day, none has contributed more to the progress 
 of the current Reformation than the subject of this sketch. 
 He was born on the 8th of July, 1808, in Jefferson county, 
 Kentucky, near the site of the present village of Browns- 
 borough. His progenitors, a few generations past, were 
 inhabitants of the county of Antrim, in the north of Ireland. 
 His grandfather served under General Washington in the 
 war of Independence, as quartermaster of a Virginia regi- 
 ment. His father, Jeremiah Mathes, was born in Shen- 
 andoah county, Virginia, whence, about the close of the 
 last century, he emigrated to Kentucky. 
 
 In the year 1804, Jeremiah Mathes was married to 
 Florence Cameron, a descendant of the celebrated Parson 
 Cameron, who is embalmed in Scottish history by the 
 side of the Wallaces and Bruces. Her father, John C. 
 Cameron, an educated Scotchman, also served a long time 
 in the Revolutionary war, and was wounded in the battle 
 of Brandy wine. 
 
 Elder Mathes is therefore a descendant of two patriotic 
 families, whose spirit he inherits, and whose good name 
 he has never sullied. Though too old to enter, himself, 
 into the great struggle now going on between patriots 
 and rebels, he has sadly but willingly laid his three sons 
 on the altar of his country. 
 
 His grandfather, John C. Cameron, after retiring from 
 the service of his adopted land, spent the remainder of his 
 days as a professional teacher — disseminating intelligence, 
 24 277
 
 278 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 " A weapon surer yet 
 
 And mightier than the bayonet ; 
 A weapon that comes down as still 
 
 As snow-flakes fall upon the sod, 
 And executes the freeman's will, 
 
 As lightnings do the will of God." 
 
 Religiously he was a Covenanter, as were all the Cameron 
 family in the old country. 
 
 On the other side, the Matheses had been Presbyterians 
 almost from the beginning of Protestantism ; but early in 
 the present century the father of Jeremiah Mathes, and 
 his whole family, were converted to the views of the 
 Regular Baptists, with whom they all became identified. 
 
 About the year 1825, the parents of Elder Mathes 
 became convinced of the errors of the Calvinistic system, 
 and of the folly of all human cre-eds. In consequence of 
 this conviction they left the Baptist Church and united 
 with the Old Christian body, in Owen county, Indiana, 
 whither they had removed some years before. 
 
 James M. was the second of a family of eleven children, 
 six sons and five daughters. Two of his brothers, John 
 C. and J. J. W., are also able ministers of the gospel. 
 The other three, Henry, William, and Franklin, are indus- 
 trious and well-to-do farmers. All the brothers, together 
 with the five sisters, are still living, and all are faithful 
 members of the Christian Church. 
 
 Elder Mathes was strictly brought up in that particular 
 form of Calvinism held by the Regular Baptist Church. 
 His public teachers in these things were John Taylor, Wm. 
 Keller, George Waller, Zacheus Carpenter, and other early 
 preachers of Kentucky, whose names are yet familiar to 
 many aged disciples. In their doctrine were many things 
 hard to be understood, yet he endeavored to believe "every 
 word," because it was believed by his parents, in whose 
 judgment he reposed implicit confidence.
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 2Y9 
 
 His mother taught him to read when he was very young ; 
 and the first act that he can remember is his reading the 
 Holy Scriptures. Thus early was he taught to love the 
 Bible and reverence it as " indeed and in truth the word 
 of the living God." Through this wholesome teaching it 
 is probable that the outline of his character and the course 
 of his future life were marked out before he was eight 
 years old 1 
 
 Certain it is that at a very early period of his life he 
 manifested a remarkable fondness for public speaking, in 
 which he was promptly aided and encouraged by his 
 parents and grandparents. His grandfather, especially, 
 who was a well-informed man, took great delight in 
 teaching him to make little speeches and take part in 
 simple dialogues. As often as a few of the neighbors 
 would come in, the old gentleman would place the young 
 orator upon a table, where he would pronounce his little 
 orations to an audience far better entertained than many 
 have been by more prosy and more pretending addresses. 
 
 At church he watched with a mimic's eye all the move- 
 ments of the speaker, and, on returning home, he practiced 
 the same attitudes in the delivery of the short and simple 
 speeches which his hopeful grandfather had taught him. 
 Even at that age he had resolved to be a preacher of the 
 gospel ; and often would he discourse with great earnest- 
 ness to his playmates, all seated around according to his 
 directions, and all listening demurely to his admonitions. 
 At a later period he used to write his discourses, one of 
 which is believed to be extant, but in a portion of the 
 country not now accessilile. It was written on the fol- 
 lowing passage in Jeremiah : " O that you had hearkened 
 to my commandments ; then had your peace been as a 
 river and your righteousness as the waves of the sea." 
 
 Soon after his father's immigration to Indiana, a mis- 
 sionary by the name of Isaac Reed came from Western
 
 280 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 New York, and settled in the same neighborhood at a 
 noted Big Spring near Grosport. Being Presbyterians, and 
 having a " zeal for God, but not according to knowledge," 
 they opened a Sunday-school in their own cabin. The 
 establishment of this school was hailed with delight by 
 the juvenile preacher. He attended regularly, applied 
 himself closely, and soon became distinguished for his 
 proficiency in memorizing the Scriptures. " The Shorter 
 Catechism" he also mastered so completely, that he could 
 answer almost every question it contained. Along with 
 these answers, he received into his mind much error ; but 
 the inspired texts committed, proved to be as " a little 
 leaven that leaveneth the whole lump." Even the knowl- 
 edge of the doctrines and commandments of men, thus 
 acquired, has been no disadvantage to him in the conflict 
 of life. 
 
 This was the first school of any kind he ever attended. 
 When, in 1816, his father removed with him to Indiana, 
 Owen county was a wilderness from which the savages 
 had not retired before the advancing tide of civilization. 
 It afforded then, and during nine years subsequent to that 
 time, no facilities whatever for education. It was not till 
 the year 1825, that Scott W. Young (who subsequently 
 married the eldest sister of Elder Mathes) came from 
 Kentucky, and taught several schools in Owen county. 
 These schools Elder Mathes attended regularly, and by 
 close application he acquired the rudiments of a common 
 education, including a smattering of English grammar. 
 
 From a child he was inclined to wisdom's ways. The 
 simple prayers taught him by his pious parents were 
 seldom neglected until he attained to sufficient age to 
 embody, in words of his own, the grateful emotions of his 
 heart. He often prayed to his Heavenly Father in secret, 
 and inquired of his relatives and friends what he must do 
 to be saved. But they were blind leaders of the blind,
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 2:sl 
 
 anxious, but incompetent, to show liim tlie path of litb. 
 He longed to see some great "light from heaven," to 
 " hear the voice of an angel," or, at least, to dream some 
 good, orthodox dream, which would be satisfactory evi- 
 dence of his acceptance with God. But he could neither 
 see, hear, feel, nor dream any thing that gave him full 
 assurance of his conversion. 
 
 He continued in this uncertain state of mind for five 
 long years. He attended the meetings of all denomina- 
 tions, but none of the preaching afforded him any relief, 
 for none was according to the oracles of God — none took 
 away the vail of Calvinism, which was closely drawn 
 over his heart. According to the direction of the Cal- 
 vinist he endeavored to resign himself to perdition. Fol- 
 lowing the advice of the preacher of " free grace," he 
 repaired to the anxious seat. All the popular expedients 
 were resorted to in vain. Year after year did the wintry 
 gloom disappear from the face of Nature ; but from his 
 brow the dark clouds were not driven. Spring after 
 Spring the vernal sun called forth leaf and blossom ; but 
 no mysterious power caused to appear, in his heart, " the 
 tender leaves of hope." On every side of him others 
 glorified God ; but he, though equally sincere, had no 
 new song put into his mouth. 
 
 Unable to reconcile this fact with the Scripture which 
 affirms that God is no respecter of persons, he presented 
 his difficulty to the ministers, who attributed his ill 
 fortune to his want of faith. It may seem strange that 
 under their instruction he had been praying for years 
 without faith. But the fact is they proceeded on the cor- 
 rect assumption that the penitent had faith when he pre- 
 sented himself at the altar of prayer ; and when one pro- 
 fessed to have obtained pardon they received his testimony 
 as an additional proof that justification is by faith only. 
 But when, as in the case of Elder Mathes, there was a
 
 2">2 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 fiiilure in the struggle for remission of sins, they dared not 
 acknowledge the faith of the penitent, for by so doing they 
 would have dispi-oved at once the '' mod wholesome doc- 
 trine and ver-y full of comfort." The extremity to which 
 the system was reduced by these failures, gave rise to at 
 least two grievous but popular errors. 
 
 1. The denial of the faith of the unsuccessful penitent, 
 necessarily originated the docti'ine of repentance before 
 faith. 
 
 2. The attributing of the failure to lack of faith on the 
 part of the penitent, necessarily originated the idea of 
 divers kinds of faith. For since the Scriptures say, 
 " Let him that asketh ask in faith," the preachers were 
 bound to admit that faith is antecedent to prayer. Now, 
 the praying penitent having faith, and the doctrine of 
 "justification hj faith only" being true, pardon was to be 
 expected, in every instance, as a logical, an inevitable 
 sequence. When it did not follow — when the subject 
 did not profess to have " got religion," some objection had 
 to be made to one or the other of the premises. The 
 major premise, that " we are justified by faith only" could 
 not be objected to because it was in the creed. The 
 minor premise had been admitted — namely, that the peni- 
 tent had faith before he prayed ; therefore there remained 
 but one way of escape, and that was by affirming that the 
 faith of the penitent was not of the right kind. Hence 
 the origin of such phrases as " faith of assent," " saving 
 faith," etc., etc. The system sought out this invention 
 for the sake of self-preservation — on this ground only is 
 it pardonable. ^ 
 
 Sadly perplexed by these absurd teachings. Elder 
 Mathes sought in skepticism the relief he could not find 
 in religion. He doubted, for the first time, tlie authen- 
 ticity of the Scriptures ; withdrew for nearly a year from 
 the sanctuary; sought to forget God in the company of
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 283 
 
 the gay aud thoughtless ; devoted his leisure hours to the 
 reading of infidel books ; and stopped not in his hopeless 
 career until he reached the very border of atheism. 
 
 But in every giddy round of pleasure he saw continually 
 before him the meek and troubled expression of his pious 
 and affectionate mother, who, more watchful than he had 
 anticipated, perceived with pain his every aberration 
 from the path of virtue. Her influence, and that alone, 
 kept him from plunging openly into " many foolish and 
 hurtful lusts that would have drowned him in destruction 
 and perdition." 
 
 Finally he resolved to dismiss from his mind, as far as 
 possible, all previous religious teaching; and to read 
 again the New Testament as if he had never read it 
 before. In so doing his doubts were all dispelled, and he 
 again believed with all his heart that " Jesus is the 
 Christ, the Son of God." 
 
 The entrance of God's word also gave him light as to 
 the means by which he might obtain pardon. In looking 
 into " the perfect law of liberty," he saw, with some 
 degree of clearness, the plan of salvation ; and was made 
 exceedingly happy in believing the truth. 
 
 With joyful haste he communicated his convictions to 
 his religious friends, some of whom, to his surprise, 
 expressed serious doubts relative to the safety of his more 
 excellent way, while some confidently pronounced his 
 strange doctrine a delusion of the devil. 
 
 Among others he went to see an old brother by the 
 name of John Snoddy, a very candid and pious man, and 
 one of the few that, with B. W. Stone, seceded from the 
 Presbyterian Church in Kentucky. After his youthful 
 visitor had stated his view of the gospel plan of saving 
 sinners, the old brother replied with tearful eyes as fol- 
 lows : " Brother James," said he, " it is contrary to my 
 experience, but what am I that I should withstand God?
 
 284 PIONEER PREACHEK8. 
 
 You are right. It is fJie Lord\^ ivord, and (here/ore safe. 
 Go on, and the Lord bless you, my son." Italics can not 
 do justice to these "words fitly spoken." They deserve 
 to be inscribed in letters of gold on every sectarian pulpit 
 ill the land. They gave great encouragement to the 
 y.ung reformer, who resolved to obey the gospel the very 
 first opportunity. 
 
 Tliat opportunity did not present itself for a long time; 
 liii- ill all that section of country there was not a preacher 
 that ivoidd immerse him "for the I'emission of sins!" 
 
 At that time he had heard of Alexander Campbell, but 
 he knew nothing whatever of his views. He had always 
 heard him spoken of as an arch-heretic ; and he had not 
 the remotest idea that Campbell was in advance of him in 
 the very way which he (Mathes) had recently discov- 
 ered. Elder Mathes is, therefore, another who derived his 
 "Campbellism" directly from the Bible. In the absence 
 of other testimony, the fact that so many in that dark era 
 came, each without the knowledge of another, to the same 
 conclusions, from the study of the Scriptures, would be at 
 least strong presumptive evidence that the doctrine they 
 then embraced, and have since maintained, is taught in the 
 book of God. 
 
 About the 1st of September, 1827, Mr. Mathes obtained 
 a copy of Campbell's " New Version" and a few numbers 
 of the " Christian Baptist." The former greatly assisted 
 him in arriving at the true meaning of the Scriptures, 
 while his faith was confirmed by the able articles con- 
 tained in the latter. 
 
 In October following he attended a great camp-meeting 
 held by the Newlights at Old Union meeting-house, in 
 Owen county. On Sunday morning he walked out with 
 Elder John Henderson, one of the principal preachers, sat 
 down with him on a log, and actually taught him "the way 
 of God more perfectly. " At first the good man listened
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 285 
 
 with suspicion ; but as tlie argument progressed he became 
 deeply interested, and, finally, was so overwhelmed with 
 evidence that he exclaimed : " You are right, my son ; it 
 IS the Lord's plan ; and whatever he commands I can 
 cheerfully perform ! I am ready to immerse you for the 
 remission of sins." They then returned to the place of 
 meeting, and, at the close of a discourse by Elder Blythe 
 McCorkle, Father Henderson, with a word of apology and 
 explanation, invited sinners to come forward, confess the 
 Saviour as he was confessed in primitive times, and be 
 baptized every one of them for the remission of sins. J. 
 M. Mathes and his sister Eliza made the good confession, 
 \\'ere immersed straightway by Elder Henderson, and, for 
 the time being, united with the Old Christian or Newlight 
 Church. 
 
 Immediately after his immersion he began to take an 
 active part in the public prayer-meetings, exhorting his 
 brethren as often as he was called upon. He also engaged 
 earnestly in teaching from house to house, and by the way- 
 side, the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 
 
 He may be said to have entered upon his ministry when 
 he sat down on the log with Elder Henderson — in fact 
 when he first discovered the divine plan of pardon ; for 
 the gray-haired minister that immersed him was really his 
 third convert, his sister being the second, and old Brother 
 Snoddy the _;?rs^. 
 
 On the 5th of March, 1829, he was married to Sophia 
 Glover, a pious young sister in the household of faith. 
 She was born in Virginia, whence her father removed, 
 first to Montgomery county, Kentucky, and subsequently 
 to Owen county, Indiana. Through their long pilgrimage 
 together she has been an exemplary Christian, an amiable 
 and faithful companion. Meek and uncomplaining, she 
 has submitted with cheerfulness to the lot of a minister's 
 wife, and has always encouraged her husband to labor for
 
 286 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 the salvation of sinners and the extension of the Redeem- 
 er's kingdom. 
 
 Their union has been blessed with three sons and three 
 daughters, all of whom are still living, and all are mem- 
 bers of the Church of Christ except the youngest son. 
 
 In June, 1831, he re-organized the church at Old Union, 
 all the members entering heartily into the Reformation 
 except one sister, who joined the Protestant Methodists 
 and became a public teacher of their doctrine. In the 
 absence of more experienced leaders, he was compelled 
 to take a prominent part in the conduct of the new organ- 
 ization, the work of edifying the body devolving almost 
 entii'ely upon him. 
 
 In the Fall of the same year (1831) the first co-opera- 
 tion meeting held in the State took place at Crawfords- 
 ville. To that meeting he and Elder T. C. Johnson were 
 appointed messengers. Arriving upon the ground, they 
 found the following preachers in attendance, viz. : Michael 
 
 Combs, Andrew Prather, Jas. R. Ross, Sears, John 
 
 M. Harris, and Wm. Wilson — only six, a number which 
 clearly indicates that the Reformation in Indiana was 
 then in its infancy. At that meeting, and in the house 
 of old brother James McCullough, Elder Mathes made 
 his first attempt at preaching, beyond the bounds of his 
 own congregation. 
 
 Returning home, the messengers aforesaid entered with 
 fresh vigor into the evangelical field ; yet their sphere of 
 usefulness was necessarily limited. Elder Johnson was 
 clerk of the county ; and Elder Mathes was obliged to 
 teach school for a livelihood. Consequently to preach 
 on Sundays, and occasionally to hold a two-days meeting, 
 was the best they could do. 
 
 The plan of sustaining an evangelist by contributions 
 from the peop^<? — for there were no chw'ches — had been 
 but slightly discussed, and had met with but little favor
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 281 
 
 In that quarter of the world, also, the doctrine obtained 
 that a minister of the gospel ought to preach for nothing 
 and board himself It was generally supposed to be right 
 to feed a preacher's horse, if he was so fortunate as to 
 have one ; and also to feed the preacher himself, if he 
 would go from house to house for his meals. There was 
 no law against giving him a pair of socks, especially if, 
 as he sat around the old-fashioned fireplace, his protrud- 
 ing toes invoked a covering ; and if he had a river to 
 cross in order to reach his next appointment, it was con- 
 ceded to be lawful for some rich man to slip into his hand 
 the amount of the ferriage. This last act, however, was 
 perpetrated very stealthily, that the left hand might not 
 know what the right hand did ! 
 
 Under these circumstances, he did not receive from the 
 churches, during the first ten years of his ministry, an 
 average of one hundred dollai's per annum. Even this 
 small pittance was received, for the most part, in articles 
 of food and raiment — country jeans, the broadcloth of 
 those times, being a legal tender. 
 
 The perquisites of his office were also few and small. 
 On a certain occasion, he rode some six or eight miles, in 
 very cold weather, to join in happy wedlock a country 
 lad and lass. The ceremony performed, the delighted 
 groom took him to one side and inquired the amount of 
 his claim. He replied that in such cases he usually made 
 no charge ; but left the amount to be determined by the 
 liberality of the party benefited. "Well, then," said the 
 new-made husband, "take this, any how," at the same 
 time dropping into his hand three Spanish bits, or thirty- 
 seven and a half cents. 
 
 From 1830 to 1838 he taught school the greater part 
 of his time, but preached on Sundays in the neighbor- 
 hood, and, occasionally, during his vacations, he held 
 protracted meetings at various points. His labors were
 
 288 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 mostly confined to the counties of Clay, Owen, Monroe, 
 Morgan, Putnam, and Lawrence. He was very success- 
 ful in his ministry ; many new churches were organized ; 
 and hundreds obeyed the gospel and took their stand on 
 the Bible alone. 
 
 In the year 1833 he was ordained to the ministry by 
 fasting, prayer, and the imposition of hands. 
 
 In the Fall of the same year, while on a tour through 
 Clay county, he met with a violent opposer by the name 
 of Burberage, with whom he first measured swords in 
 public. The conflict was short, but decisive ; and hardly 
 deserves to be called a debate. 
 
 The following Autumn, however, a regular discussion 
 took place at Pleasant Garden, Putnam county, between 
 him and the Rev. Lorenzo D. Smith, of the M. E. Church. 
 This was a highly exciting contest, which resulted in 
 great good to the cause of reform, and inflicted a blow 
 upon Methodism from which it has not recovered to this 
 day. 
 
 In those days he had many little skirmishes with the 
 enemies of the truth ; for he was assailed on every hand, 
 and he never declined battle when it was offered. 
 
 By this time he had acquired, mainly by his own efforts, 
 a tolerable English education ; but his experience in de- 
 bates led him to desire a wider scope of information, and 
 a more thorough mental discipline — especially did he covet 
 a knowledge of the Greek language. He therefore deter- 
 mined to make an effort to secure these desired objects. 
 Many things stood opposed to the enterprise, not the least 
 of which was poverty. But he rented out his little farm 
 in Owen county, gathered together a small sum of money 
 by selling off his stock, and, in Autumn of 1838, removed 
 to Bloomington, and became a student of the State Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 To maintain his family and defray his expenses in col-
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 289 
 
 lege, he preached regularly for the churches at Blooming- 
 ton, Clear Creek, Harmony, and Richland. These con- 
 gregations prospered in his hands, and, despite this extra 
 labor, he made rapid progress in his studies, especially in 
 Greek. 
 
 There were with him in the Greek Testament class 
 several young men of Pedobaptist training, and con.-^e- 
 quently of Pedobaptist views. When the class began, 
 the President. Dr. Wylie, instructed them to translate the 
 original text as if it had never been translated, giving to 
 every word its primary meaning, according to their seve- 
 ral lexicons. Under this rule they all went on harmo- 
 niously until they came to the word ^aHti^av. This 
 Elder Mathes rendered "to immerse." The Pedoes pro- 
 tested, but he persisted. Unable to silence him by their 
 own arguments, they appealed to Dr. Wylie, who, in 
 hearing their grievances, decided that there was no just 
 cause of complaint — that Mr. Mathes was only obeying 
 orders, for such was without doubt the primary significa- 
 tion of the term. The decision was final ; but the Pedo- 
 baptists, wiser than seven men that could render a rea- 
 son, continued to use the word "baptize." 
 
 This was by no means the only concession that the 
 learned Presbyterian Doctor made to his pupil, with 
 whom he condescended to an intimate acquaintance. He 
 frankly admitted the correctness of many tenets of the 
 Reformation, and was, for a long while, almost persuaded 
 to be a Christian. 
 
 He remained in the University until April, 1841, and 
 was, at the time of leaving, a member of the senior class. 
 Financial embarrassments prevented him from being 
 graduated. 
 
 On leaving college he returned to his little farm in 
 Owen county ; and, having made arrangements for its 
 cultivation, he gave himself wholly to the word. Being 
 25
 
 290 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 exceedingly zealous, he labored incessantly niglit and 
 day; and, in all places, Lis efforts were crowned with 
 remarkable success. Having learned also to wield the 
 pen, he began to contribute to the Christian periodicals 
 generally; and, by this means, he soon became widely 
 known as an able and earnest advocate of primitive 
 Christianity. 
 
 In the month of February, 1842, he met the Rev. 
 James Scott, of the M. E. Church, in a public discussion. 
 This took place at Martinsville, Morgan county, and con- 
 tinued three days. The result of the engagement may be 
 inferred from the fact that, until this day, the Christians 
 have occupied the field in force. 
 
 In the Fall of this year he attended the annual meet- 
 ing at Old Mill Creek, Washington county. John 
 Wright, sr., presided; Absalom Littell, and other 
 preachers, assisted ; but Elder Mathes was the chief 
 speaker. The meeting continued only eight days, and 
 closed with one hundred additions. Such glorious meet- 
 ings were frequent in those days, when the disciples had 
 not only knowledge, but zeal according to knowledge — 
 when they did not shrink from pointing out the difference 
 between Christianity and various isms, through fear of 
 being called "uncharitable." During the year ending 
 May, 1843, Elder Mathes immersed six hundred and 
 seven persons. Even a greater number were enlisted 
 under his preaching, but some were immersed by other 
 hands. This was the most successful year of his minis- 
 try ; but for thirty years past he has proselyted from two 
 to three hundred per annum, making a total of five or six 
 thousand. 
 
 In May, 1843, he engaged in another public debate, at 
 Greencastle. His opponent was Rev. Erasmus Manford, 
 the editor of a Universalist paper at Terra Haute, and 
 the great apostle of IJniversalism in Indiana.
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 291 
 
 In July of this year he commenced the publication of 
 " The Christian Kecord," a neat monthly of twenty-four 
 pages. Except the Millennial Harbinger, it is the oldest 
 living advocate of the current Reformation. It was first 
 issued at Bloomington, and it gradually increased in 
 popularity until it reached its maximum circulation of 
 five thousand. 
 
 Over these subscribers, their families and friends, he, 
 for years, exerted a controlling influence. Through the 
 columns of his paper he inspired their hearts with zeal 
 and courage ; opened the Scriptures to their understand- 
 ing ; showed them how good and pleasant it is for 
 brethren to dwell together in unity ; demonstrated the 
 evils — the sin — of sectarianism ; and warned them against 
 every delusion, of whatever name or description. Mil- 
 lerism and Universalism, especially, he combated with 
 signal ability, until they were no longer able to offer a 
 respectable resistance. 
 
 The cause of education also received special encourage- 
 nxent from his columns. He did much to extend the fame 
 and influence of the State University ; and his pen was 
 one of the ablest advocates of the establishment of the 
 N. W. C. University, which is now the pride of t 
 brotherhood. He was one of the original commission'e 
 named in the charter of that institution ; and was a mem 
 ber of the Board of Directors from its organization until 
 1856. 
 
 At the beginning of Volume Y. the number of pages 
 of the Record was increased to thirty-six, and the amount 
 of reading matter nearly doubled. At the same time the 
 publisher associated Elder Elijah Goodwin with him in 
 the editorial management of the paper. This partnership 
 continued to the middle of Volume VI., first series, when 
 Mr. Goodwin retired from the firm. 
 
 In the Fall uf 1843 he sold his farm and removed to
 
 292 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Bloomington that he miglit the better superintend his 
 publishing business. 
 
 About the year 1848 he purchased the oflBce, press and 
 stock of the " Bloomington Herald," and commenced the 
 additional publication of " The Indiana Tribune," a weekly 
 family newspaper, neutral in politics. 
 
 In the Spring of 1851 he discontinued the Tribune, and 
 removed to Indianapolis, where he continued the publica- 
 tion of the Record. There he also engaged in the book 
 and stationery business; and finally became a stockholder 
 in the Indiana Journal Company. 
 
 During his residence in Indianapolis he performed an 
 immense amount of labor. In addition to his editorial 
 employments, he preached a great deal in various parts 
 of the State ; was for a while pastor of the congregation 
 in the city ; attended to the business of his book concern ; 
 and rendered efficient service as a member of the Exe- 
 cutive and Building Committees of the N. W. C. Uni- 
 versity. Under such constant pressure his health gave 
 way ; and he found it necessary to undo the heavy burden 
 by changing his locality. 
 
 Accordingly, on the 5th of November 1855, he left 
 Indianapolis and removed to a farm which he had pur- 
 chased, near Bedford, in Lawrence county. He left the 
 city with a sad heart ; for he had been unfortunate in his 
 business transactions, and was poorer by several hundred 
 dollars than when he entered into it. He is another of the 
 few who, realizing the truth of the Saviour's aphorism, 
 have chosen to fail in the service of Mammon rather than 
 in the service of God. 
 
 For a few years after his removal to Lawrence he con- 
 tinued to publish the Record at Indianapolis ; but he 
 finally established a printing office at Bedford, which then 
 became the place of publication. In a few months he 
 again removed the Record to Indianapolis, where he con-
 
 JAMES M. MATHJ£S. 2'J3 
 
 tinned to have it issued until June, 1859, when, owing to 
 the inconvenience of editing at so great a distance, he 
 transferred it into the hands of Elder Elijah Goodwin, by 
 whom it is at present controlled. 
 
 This excellent periodical Elder Mathes ably conducted 
 through sixteen and a half volumes, which will be in- 
 valuable to the future historian, who shall record the Rise 
 and Progress of the Reformation in Indiana. 
 
 Improved in health but not in fortune by his residence 
 in Lawrence, he gave up his farm, for which he was 
 unable to pay; removed with his family to New Albany; 
 and became the pastor of the church. .in. that city. This 
 position he occupied from June, 1859, to May, 1861. 
 
 While at New Albany he prepared and published a 
 book of four hundred and eight pages, entitled, " Works 
 of B. W. Stone." It is chiefly compiled from the writings 
 of that lamented servant of God, and is a valuable addition 
 to our Christian literature. 
 
 He also published, in 1861, a little volume of one hun- 
 dred and eighty-nine pages, titled, " Letters to Bishop 
 Morris." It contains fifteen letters addressed to Thomas 
 A. Morris, D. D., Senior Bishop of the M. E. Church. 
 The first eleven letters are a review of a small work by 
 the bishop, entitled, "The Polity of the M. E. Church." 
 In the other four the author gives his reasons for not 
 being a Methodist. It is written in popular style; and 
 those who may read it, will be both interested and 
 instructed. 
 
 In May, 1861, he removed from New Albany to assume 
 the pastoral oversight of the congregation at Bedford. 
 The estimate placed upon his services at New Albany, 
 may be inferred from the following resolutions, adopted 
 on the eve of his departure : 
 
 " Whereas, Our beloved brother James M. Mathes has 
 signified his intention -k) dissolve the relationship which
 
 294 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 has foi" some length of time existed between himself as 
 pastor and ourselves as the Christian church in New Al- 
 bany ; therefore, 
 
 " Retiolved, That it is with deep regret that we part with 
 brother Mathes, who, by his Christian deportment, bright 
 example, and able ministry, has won for himself our lasting 
 respect and esteem. 
 
 " Resolved, That our good wishes, our kind remem- 
 brances, and our prayers, will accompany him wherever he 
 may go ; and that we can and do cheerfully and cordially 
 commend him to all with whom he may hereafter associate, 
 as a Christian and minister worthy of the love and esteem 
 of the wise and good." 
 
 By the church at Bedford he is no less beloved; and 
 his success there has been even greater than in New Al- 
 bany. Under his able ministry has grown up a large 
 congregation, which is just completing a house of worship 
 second to but few Christian churches in the State. No man 
 living exerts a stronger or more healthful influence over 
 the citizens of Lawrence county. 
 
 Both of his married children reside at Bedford, the 
 presence of whom and of a multitude of brethren and 
 friends who fully appreciate him and his labors, greatly 
 lightens the otherwise heavy burden of his long-accumu- 
 lating cares. 
 
 For the last thirty years he has been industriously em- 
 ployed in the evangelical field ; during which period his 
 preaching alone has induced thousands to glorify the 
 Father in the confession of the Son. Of these converts 
 over four thousand have been immersed by his own hands. 
 The heirs of salvation have also been greatly multiplied 
 by many evangelists whom he has induced to enter the 
 ministry, having first qualified themselves for its work. 
 
 If we add t>i all this the effect of his public discussions, 
 and the influence of his writings — which will no doubt be
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 295 
 
 re-published and read by thousands after his death — we 
 shall then only approximate the blessed results of his self- 
 sacrificing and well-spent life. 
 
 Elder Mathes is a medium-sized man, having weighed 
 until recently about one hundred and forty-five pounds. 
 He is now considerably heavier. He is five feet nine 
 inches high, has a full round chest, and great muscular 
 power. He stoops a very little, as he walks with a quick, 
 stealthy step. As he moves along there is nothing osten- 
 tatious about him, his dress, or his gait. He has coarse 
 black hair, and his blue eyes indicate a meek and quiet 
 spirit, a sober, reflecting mind. He has a fine constitution, 
 which is but slightly impaired by the infractions of time 
 and toil. True, his hair is sprinkled with gray, and his 
 beard begins to whiten with the frost of age ; but his step 
 is still firm, his vigor of mind and body unabated. 
 
 The following are the leading traits of his character. 
 1. He is a man of gi^eat ingenuousness. To his brethren 
 and friends he opens his heart without reserve ; and even 
 in the presence of strangers there is about him no appear- 
 ance of stiffness or distrust. He never attempts, by any 
 ambiguity of speech or insincerity of action, to appear on 
 both sides of a question, but he promptly chooses his po- 
 sition and frankly gives expression to his views. This 
 element of character manifests itself, especially in his public 
 discussions. In such engagements, however closely con- 
 tested, he scoi'ns all alliance with equivocation, sophistry, 
 or deceitful handling of the word of God. 
 
 2. Very much of his usefulness as well as happiness, 
 results from his eminent sociability. Wherever he goes 
 he soon forms the acqaintance of almost every body ; all 
 his acquaintances are his friends ; and being such they are 
 the more easily persuaded to become the friends of Jesus 
 by keeping his commandments. Aside from the know-
 
 296 PIONEKR I'REACHERS. 
 
 lege of a graver kind, he has an inexhaustible supply of 
 anecdotes, which but few can relate to better advantage 
 or vi^ith more pleasure than himself. Though he has trans- 
 mitted a rich legacy of wit to each of his children, yet he 
 is still blessed above his fellows with that rare faculty 
 which never fails to make its possessor a favorite in the 
 social circle. Ilis wit never descends to obscenity and 
 foolish jesting : — 
 
 " Religion curbs indeed its wanton play, 
 And brings the trifler nnder rigorous sway : 
 But gives it usefulness unknown before, 
 And, purifying, makes it sliiue tlie more." 
 
 3. Of such a nature as his, hospitality is a spontaneous 
 growth. He uses it without grudging, though not without 
 detriment to his earthly estate. His house has always 
 been a kind of Disciples' Inn, open, and but too well 
 patronized, on all occasions. He is ardently attached, 
 not only to his family, but also to his brethren and friends ; 
 and in the entertainment of his visitors, he spares neither 
 pains nor expense. 
 
 4. He is a true philomathean — one who loves the truth 
 and searches for it as the covetous do for hid treasure. 
 In the course of his life he has investigated a great variety 
 of subjects, and, although not particularly noted for his 
 scholarship, his mind is well stored with useful knowledge 
 — especially the knowledge of God and of the great plan 
 of redemption. His whole nature is deeply imbued with 
 that wisdom which cometh down from above — which is 
 " first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, 
 full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and 
 without hypocrisy." 
 
 5. As a speaker he is always ready upon any subject 
 within the wide range of his investigations. His mental 
 forces are so well disciplined, that the}'' can be brought
 
 JAMES M. MATHES. 297 
 
 into action at a moment's notice ; and his retentive memory 
 is well stored with the munitions of intellectual warfiire. 
 He is never eloquent ; but he speaks with remarkable 
 fluency, and apparently without effort. His voice is clear, 
 mellow, and of more than ordinary compass ; yet he does 
 not startle his hearers with his emphasis, nor does he tickle 
 their ears with a great variety of tones : it is the constant 
 flow of well chosen words, each laden with its portion of 
 some good idea, that at once pleases and instructs. There 
 is nothing theatrical about his delivery. During the whole 
 of his discourse he often stands in the very same spot, his 
 feet close together ; and his gestures are usually few and 
 unimpressive. Yet, after all, his manner is earnest ; his 
 argument is conclusive ; his exhortation is warm, seldom 
 impassioned, often effectual. In the selection of his sub- 
 jects he makes no effort to find "some new thing;" and 
 his preaching is of that quality which "doeth good like a 
 medicine,''^ rather than of that highly-seasoned kind, which 
 is pleasant to the taste, but productive of spiritual debility. 
 He does not hesitate to declare the whole counsel of God, 
 nor to expose any or all dogmas that may retard the pro- 
 gress of the truth ; but his delivery is so mild, his repre- 
 sentations so fair, and his expositions so clear and con- 
 vincing, that he seldom gives offence. Especially, where 
 he is known, can he, with impunity, utter sentiments 
 which, if expressed by any one else, would be regarded as 
 highly offensive. 
 
 His whole pulpit character is pretty well delineated in 
 the following poetical description of 
 
 "A vet'ran warrior in the Christian field, 
 Who never saw the sword he could not wield ; 
 Grave without dullness, learned without pride, 
 Exact, yet not precise — though meek, keen-eyed ; 
 A man that would have foiled, at their own play, 
 A dozen would-be's of the modern day;
 
 298 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Who, when occasion justified its use, 
 Sad wit as bright as ready to produce ; 
 Could fetch, from records of an earlier age, 
 Or from philosophy's enlightened page, 
 His rich materials, and regale your ear 
 With strains it was a privilege to hear : 
 Yet, above all, his luxury supreme 
 And his chief glory was the gospel theme; 
 There he was copious as old Greece or Rome, 
 His happy eloquence seemed there at home — 
 Ambitious, not to shine or to excel, 
 But to treat justly what he loved so well." 
 
 6. As a writer he has long occupied a high rank, as the 
 popularity of the Record, and of his other publications, 
 clearly attests. With the pen, as in the pulpit, he imitates 
 no one ; but dashes on in a bold, free, independent style. 
 He pays but little attention to rhetorical flourishes, but is 
 prolific of ideas, which he conveys to his readers with 
 great force and clearness, though not always in the fewest 
 words. He is emphatically a ready writer, composing 
 with as much ease as he speaks. 
 
 t. As a religious editor he was eminently successful, 
 because of his rare qualifications. He possessed a tho- 
 rough knowledge of the Scriptures and of the tenets 
 of opposing sects, courage to stem the tide of opposition, 
 prudence to avoid expressions that would have engen- 
 dered unprofitable strife, a nice discernment in the selec- 
 tion of matter, a quick perception of what ought to be 
 encouraged or opposed, and, above all, the ability to 
 wield a swift, vigorous, and untiring pen. In every 
 department of the Christian field he has been useful ; but 
 it is chiefly as a public journalist that he has made hi.o 
 indelible mark upon the age. 
 
 As already observed, he has not yet been overtaken by 
 the infirmities of age, and his ancestors being remarkaljje
 
 JAMES M . M A T H E S . 299 
 
 for their long life, there is reason to hope that the day is 
 far distant when his face shall be seen no more in the 
 sanctuary of God. But should he fall to-morrow, his 
 surviving friends may, without flattery or falsehood, in- 
 scribe upon his monument that most beautiful and desira- 
 ble of all epitaphs : 
 
 "HE WAS A BURNING AND SHINING LIGHT."
 
 E. T. BEOWN. 
 
 Ryland T. Brown was born on the 5th of October, 
 1807, in Lewis county, Kentucky. His ancestors, on 
 both his father's and his mother's side, were originally 
 from Wales. His parents were exemplary members of 
 the Baptist church, his father being noted as a leader in 
 the singing exercises of the congregation. His mother 
 still survives, and both the families from which he has 
 descended, have been remarkable for their longevity. 
 
 In the Spring of 1809 his father removed to Ohio, 
 and settled near New Richmond, in Clermont county. 
 Shortly afterward a colony from Maine settled in the 
 same neighborhood. 
 
 In the formation of that colony Yankee sagacity did 
 not fail to discover that a schoolmaster would be a prin- 
 cipal desideratum in the far West. Therefore, Mr. Mark 
 P. Stenchfield, a teacher by profession, was induced to 
 accompany the expedition ; as a member of which he was 
 regarded as not a whit less useful than the blacksmith, 
 the shoemaker, or any other artisan. Simultaneously 
 with the round-log domicile and workshop, the school- 
 house was erected in the same style of architecture ; and 
 as the smith's hammer was heard Winter and Summer, 
 so Summer and Winter was heard the busy hum of Mr. 
 Stenchfield's school. Thus Master Brown was furnished 
 with a rare opportunity of acquiring knowledge from a 
 truly competent instructor. He was equally fortunate in 
 another respect. Being a weakly lad, of slender habit 
 and feeble growth, his parents relieved him from labor on 
 300
 
 ^^-«x««l^-» , 
 
 tnLAi<i^ 
 
 A^^?^-2xyC<^ , 
 
 u 
 
 \<^^~lT-OC~J 
 
 u
 
 V 
 
 Of THE 
 UviWERSiTY OF llUHO^S
 
 R. T. BROWN. 301 
 
 the farm (which was popularly, though foolishly, regarded 
 as fatal in such cases), and did all in their power to give 
 him a good education, which they supposed the only 
 means by which he would ever be able to make a living. 
 For several years, therefore, he was sent regularly to the 
 colonial school, in which he made rapid progress, and 
 acquired a thorough knowledge of the common-school 
 branches. 
 
 The teacher was a zealous Baptist, who did not neglect 
 the moral and religious training of those under his charge. 
 He made himself the companion of his scholars ; entered 
 into all their feelings and sympathies; and suftered no 
 opportunity to escape by which he might impress his 
 pupils with the paramount importance of a pious and 
 devotional life. These lessons made a deep and lasting 
 impression on the subject of this sketch ; and together 
 with the counsel and example of his pious parents, they 
 gave direction to the whole current of his subsequent 
 life. 
 
 Early in the year 1821 his father removed to Indiana, 
 and settled in what is now the southeastern part of Rush 
 county. But three years before, that section of country 
 w^as ceded to the United States by the Delaware Indians ; 
 and it was only in a few places that the trees had been 
 removed from what had been their hunting grounds. 
 Here the delicate young student was transferred from the 
 confinement and exhaustive toil of the schoolroom to the 
 invigorating labors, hardships, and privations of a back- 
 woods life. 
 
 For the first two or three years after removing to 
 Indiana, he was employed much of his time as guide to 
 land-hunters. In this employment he not only became 
 an expert woodsman and a second Nimrod, or "mighty 
 hunter," but here also he began to form the active habits, 
 and to acquire the fondness for out-door pursuits, for 
 26
 
 302 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 which he has been distinguished through subsequent life. 
 The change of occupation also contributed greatly to his 
 physical development. The open air, the ramblings over 
 hill and dale, and the excitement of the chase, strength- 
 ened every bone, invigorated every muscle, quickened 
 the morbid action of every part of his system, and, in 
 short, laid the physical foundation without which the 
 intellectual superstructure could never have been reared. 
 
 In the Spring of 1822 — being then in his fifteenth year 
 — he made a profession of faith in Christ, was immersed, 
 and united with a Baptist congregation known as " the 
 Clifty church." 
 
 At that age he had no further opportunity of attending 
 school ; but, being passionately fond of reading, and con- 
 stantly in search of intellectual food, he finally heard of 
 the county library at Rushville. To his famishing mind 
 this was a " feast of fat things" to which he resorted fre- 
 quently, though distant ten miles, by a road very primi- 
 tive and, at times, almost impassable. To his education, 
 under these circumstances, the college or university was 
 not essential : he did not need to be taught ; all he asked 
 was the means of learning. 
 
 In the Fall of 1825 he had the misfortune to lose his 
 father by a very sudden and violent attack of congestive 
 fever. It was this sad event that directed his mind to 
 the study of diseases and remedies, and determined his 
 profession for life. 
 
 In the year 1826 he chanced to meet with a copy of 
 Campbell and Walker's Debate, from which he learned 
 of the publication of the " Christian Baptist," to which 
 he soon became a subscriber. From this date (1826) he 
 is to be reckoned as a Reformer, though he remained, for 
 a short time, a nominal Baptist. 
 
 His first overt act in the direction of reform was on 
 this wise : the Flat Rock Association having arrogated
 
 R. T. BROWN. 303 
 
 to themselves a little of the authority given to the Messiah, 
 drew up certain articles of faith, and recommended their 
 adoption by all the churches of which the said ecclesias- 
 tical body was composed. The matter being laid before 
 the " Clifty church," a motion was made " to rescind the 
 old articles and adopt the new." "Brother Brown," then 
 only nineteen years old, called for a division of the ques- 
 tion, the first part of which passed by the aid of no vote 
 more cheerfully given than his own. Having thus freed 
 the church, for a moment, from the bondage of human 
 authority, he immediately moved to adopt the New Tes- 
 tament as an exponent of the faith of that congregation. 
 This being offered as an amendment, and promptly sec- 
 onded, was fairly before the house ; and to dispose of it 
 without voting directly against the Bible cost them not a 
 little trouble. 
 
 From 1826 to the Spring of 1829, his time and atten- 
 tion were devoted exclusively to the study of medicine. 
 His knowledge of this subject, as well as others, was 
 principally acquired without a master ; and but few men 
 that have attained to equal eminence in the profession 
 have qualified themselves for it under greater difficulties. 
 Out of the bones of an Indian that had been exhumed 
 near his father's farm he constructed an imperfect skele- 
 ton, to aid him in the study of anatomy and physiology. 
 To the " great swelling words," that he encountered when 
 on that branch of the subject, he gave names without 
 regard to unknown rules of orthoepy, and attached ideas 
 without knowledge of their derivation. No wonder, 
 therefore, if he is sometimes liable to criticism in the 
 pronunciation of enormous derivatives. 
 
 During the latter part of the period above mentioned, 
 he attended the " Ohio Medical College," at Cincinnati, 
 at which institution he was graduated in the Spring of 
 1829.
 
 304 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Returning to bis home in Rush county, he spent the 
 remainder of that year in search of a location, and in re- 
 cruiting his powers of mind and body, then almost ex- 
 hausted by three years' incessant study. 
 
 On his return he found the community greatly excited 
 on the subject of Christianity, which excitement had been 
 occasioned mainly by the introduction of a new religious 
 element. Elder John P. Thompson (whose history is 
 given elsewhere in this volume) had begun to proclaim 
 the ancient gospel with great zeal ; and under his labors 
 great numbers were being added to all the Baptist churches 
 in that region. But few understood the cause which had 
 given the preaching of Elder Thompson such extraordi- 
 nary power ; yet not even the most rigidly orthodox 
 thought of asking qiiestions or interposing objections 
 during the excitement of a great revival. On the con- 
 trary. Revs. Wm. McPherson and "Wm. Thompson, both 
 Baptist preachers of some note, fully co-operated in the 
 glorious work, and materially aided in carrying forward 
 the Reformation. Dr. Brown, the eyes of whose under- 
 standing had been enlightened, intelligently gave his 
 heart, hand, and voice to the furtherance of the new 
 movement. 
 
 But as soon as the excitement began to subside, the 
 Baptist churches became greatly alarmed ; and the cry 
 of " Campbelliam" went up loud and long. The rulers in 
 the Baptist Israel imagined that they saw tares among 
 the wheat, and that it would be doing God service to " go 
 and gather them up." Therefore the work of immolating 
 heretics was commenced. 
 
 Dr. Brown, whose impertinent action on the creed 
 question, three years before, had not been forgotten, was 
 selected as the first victim in the State to be sacrificed on 
 this altar of sectarian bigotry. He was arraigned on the 
 very general charge of " being a Campbellite," and, as
 
 R. T. BROWN. 305 
 
 sucb, was excluded from the Church. The following ac- 
 count of the affair appeared in the " Christian Baptist" 
 for June, 1830 : 
 
 Arcadia, Rush Co., Ia., March 15, 1830. 
 
 Dear Brother, — A general conspiracy is forming among 
 the " Orthodox Calvinistic Baptists" in Indiana, the object 
 of which is to put a stop to the alarming spread of those 
 principles contained in the " Christian Baptist," and advo- 
 cated bj all who earnestly pray for a " restoration of the 
 ancient order of things ;" which they, however, have seen 
 proper to honor with the name of "damnable heresies." 
 I have had the honor of being ranked among the first vic- 
 tims of this conspiracy. I have been immolated on the 
 altar of party prejudice and sectarian jealousy. I have 
 passed through the furnace of clerical indignation, "heated 
 seven times hotter than it was wont to be heated." But 
 the smell of fire has not passed on my garments. Clothed 
 with the panopoly of faith, with the volume of unerring 
 wisdom in my hand, I would be ashamed to fear a host of 
 sectarians, who have no stronger armor, either offensive 
 or defensive, than their creed. 
 
 Nearly four years ago I had the presumption to oppose 
 the doctrine of creeds, etc., in a public assembly, for which 
 I received repeated rebukes by the dominant clergy, who, 
 however, made no attempt to oppugn the arguments I 
 advanced in favor of my position. The three years im- 
 mediately succeeding this passed with my saying little or 
 nothing on this or any other of the religious questions 
 which, during that period, were agitated; my time being 
 entirely engrossed by studies of a different nature. 
 
 After spending some time at Cincinnati, I returned to 
 my former residence in Rush county, and, being more at 
 leisure, I determined to give the Scriptures a careful, and, 
 if possible, an impartial examination. I did so without
 
 306 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 favor or afifection to any party. The effect was a thorough 
 conviction of the truth of the following propositions, viz. : 
 
 1. Faith is nothing more nor less than a conviction of 
 the truth of any position from evidence. 
 
 2. That faith in Jesus Christ is nothing more than a 
 belief of the facts recorded of him by the Evangelists, to 
 wit : That Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, 
 and that he gave impregnable proof of his divine mission 
 by his miraculous birth, by the numerous miracles which 
 he wrought while living, and by his death, resurrection, 
 and ascension. 
 
 3. The evangelical writings, containing the facts rela- 
 tive to the mighty works which were done by Christ and 
 his apostles, together with the corroborating testimony 
 of the prophecies, form altogether a phalanx of evidence 
 sufficient to convince any reasonable mind that " Jesus is 
 the Christ." 
 
 4. I became convinced that the popular doctrine of a 
 partial atonement, and unconditional election and repro- 
 bation, were alike antichristian and unscriptural. 
 
 These opinions I at all times expressed freely, not a 
 little to the annoyance of my Calvinistic friends. At 
 length, after considerable threatening, the following reso- 
 lution was adopted by the church on Clifty for my especial 
 benefit: 
 
 "Resolved, That we will not fellowship the doctrines 
 propagated by Alexander Campbell, of Bethany, Virginia." 
 
 I entered my protest against this resolution, as I con- 
 ceived it was intended to condemn a man without giving 
 him an opportunity of defense. But I soon learned I was 
 to share the same fate. The heresies of Campbellism (as 
 they pleased to call it) were charged home on me. I 
 claimed the right of defense, but was informed it was a 
 crime which did not admit of a defense. I next denied 
 the charge of being the disciple or follower of any man,
 
 R. T. BROWN. 30T 
 
 and required the proof of it. I was again told that no 
 evidence was necessary. Thus, you see, I was charged 
 without truth, tried without a hearing, and condemned 
 without evidence; and thus, in due form, delivered over 
 to Satan as an incorrigible heretic. Several more of this 
 church are destined shortly to share my fate. Bishop 
 John P. Thompson and about forty members of Little Flat 
 Rock Church have been arrested for denying the tradi- 
 tions of the Fathers, and will no doubt be formally ex- 
 communicated.* 
 
 Notwithstanding these sorry attempts of the clergy to 
 patch the worn out vail of ignorance, which has long cov- 
 ered the eyes of the people, light is dawning apace. Truth 
 is omnipotent, and must prevail. 
 
 I shall make a defense of my principles before a candid 
 public, the subject of which I would send you for publi- 
 cation in the "Harbinger," if it would not be too much of 
 a repetition of what you have already said on those sub- 
 jects in your essays published in the "Christian Baptist." 
 
 The above facts I consider as public property. 
 Yours, in the bonds of Christian love, 
 
 R. T. Brown. 
 
 On the fourth Lord's day in May, 1830, the majority 
 that saved Elder Thompson from expulsion organized 
 "The Church of Christ at Little Flat Rock," which 
 church continues to this day one of the largest and most 
 influential in the State. Into it Dr. Brown entered with 
 characteristic zeal ; and in it he made the public defense, 
 alluded to in his letter to A. Campbell. This defense had 
 a great and good effect upon the community, and is to be 
 
 * By reference to the sketch of Elder Thompson, it will be 
 seen that the attemjit to excommunicate those persons was de- 
 layed too long — they in the mean time becoming the majority.
 
 308 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 regarded as the commencement of his public advocacy of 
 the ancient gospel. 
 
 Having in 1829 married Miss Mary Reedei", he, in the 
 Summer of 1832, located at Connersville, Fayette county, 
 there to establish himself in the practice of medicine. 
 Here he had to compete with old and expei'ienced physi- 
 cians under many disadvantages, not the least of which 
 was his religion. The Reformation of the nineteenth 
 century was then and there known only in the caricatures 
 of a prejudiced pulpit ; and to be simply a disciple of the 
 Lord Jesus, without being identified with any orthodox 
 sect, was looked upon as evidence of great ignorance or 
 impiety, and was therefore a great reproach. But Dr. 
 Brown was not the man to deny the faith for the sake of 
 popularity, or filthy lucre. Both publicly and privately 
 he proclaimed " all the words of this life," without regard 
 to his own reputation or pecuniary interests. By close 
 attention to business, and a manly advocacy of the truth, 
 he was soon well respected in both his professions. The 
 people favored him with a liberal patronage ; and, what 
 was far more gratifying to him, they gladly received the 
 word and were baptized, both men and women. Shut 
 out of the orthodox churches, he made a sanctuary of the 
 court-house, in which he soon held a protracted meeting, 
 being assisted by John O'Kane, at that time located at 
 Milton, Wayne county. A considerable number being 
 added to the saved at this meeting. Elder O'Kane removed 
 to Connersville ; and m January, 1833, the Church of 
 Christ at that place was organized. 
 
 From this time until the year 1842, he preached exten- 
 sively through the White Water country ; and his name is 
 identified with the early history of many churches in that 
 region. 
 
 By these labors, and his arduous duties as a physician, 
 his health was so impaired as to render a temporary aban-
 
 R. T. BROWN. 309 
 
 donment of one or the other of his professions an absolute 
 necessity. He therefore discontinued his own work, and 
 gave himself exclusively to the Lord's. 
 
 At the State Meeting held at Connersville, in June, 
 1842, he, in conjunction with three others, was appointed 
 to labor, in word and doctrine, " for the churches in 
 Indiana." In various portions of this extensive field he 
 spent about a year, exposing tradition in its several forms, 
 and scattering the incorruptible seed broadcast over the 
 land. 
 
 By this service his health was not improved. Suffering 
 frequently from hemorrhage of the lungs, his fellow physi- 
 cians assured him that, if he persisted in preaching, it 
 would be at the cost of his life. He therefore i-esigned 
 the commission received from the State Meeting, and 
 spent one year in manual labor of that peculiar kind 
 which is required to run a saw-mill. Under this severe 
 treatment all symptoms of consumption disappeai'ed, 
 although he continued to preach the word on almost 
 every Lord's day. 
 
 In the Spring of 1844 he located at Crawfordsville, 
 Montgomery county, and resumed the practice of medi- 
 cine in connection with the preaching of the word. 
 
 For years past he had devoted his leisure hours to the 
 improvement of his education — especially to the study 
 of natural science ; and his residence in Crawfordsville 
 he made equivalent to a regular course in college. The 
 " Wabash College" being located at that place, he was 
 kindly admitted to a free use of its extensive library and 
 philosophical apparatus. This golden opportunity he 
 improved so well that, in 1850, he received from that 
 institution the honorary degree of A. M. ; this being one 
 of the few instances in which it was justly merited. 
 
 In 1854 he acted as State Geologist, by the appoint- 
 ment of Governor Wright, who was of a different school
 
 310 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 of politics, and therefore not influenced, in the selection, 
 by partisan considerations. In this capacity he traversed 
 almost every nook and corner of the State, finding 
 
 "books in the running brooks, 
 Senno7is in stones, and good in every thing." 
 
 In 1858 he was elected to the chair of Natural Science 
 in the N. W. C. University, at Indianapolis ; to which 
 place he removed in August of that year. There he still 
 resides — distinguished as an instructor, and indefatigable 
 as a preacher. In all his labors, whether as physician, 
 geologist, or professor, he has almost invariably devoted 
 the first day of the week to the ministry of the word. 
 Having thus performed double duty, he ought to be 
 counted worthy of double honor. 
 
 He was also among the first, and has ever been among 
 the most zealous, advocates of the Temperance Reform, 
 both in Indiana and in other States of the Union. In 
 company with General S. F. Carey he has travelled 
 extensively as a public lecturer on that subject ; and he 
 now stands at the head of the temperance organization in 
 his own State. He preaches the whole of the apostle's 
 doctrine — " righteousness, temperance, and judgment to 
 come." 
 
 Though he has never been a candidate for office, yet be 
 has always taken an active part in politics. True to his 
 convictions of right and duty, he acted with the Free Soil 
 party fourteen years ago, when it seemed to be a hopeless 
 minority. He was stigmatized as an Abolitionist even 
 before that term assumed an application so general as to 
 include almost every good and loyal citizen. Justly and 
 legitimately the term cannot be applied to him ; for 
 although he is firmly opposed to slavery and to the exten- 
 sion thereof, yet he denies, and has always denied, the
 
 R. T. BROWN. 311 
 
 right of the General Government to abolish it in the 
 States. 
 
 For many years past Dr. Brown has exerted no incon- 
 siderable influence through the medium of the press. 
 Many articles from his pen have appeared in the Indiana 
 School Journal, Ohio Farmer, Christian Record, Christian 
 Luminary, and other periodicals — religious, educational, 
 agricultural, medical, and political. In all these depart- 
 ments he is fully up with the times if not a Httle in 
 advance of them ; hence it is not by any means in religion 
 alone that he is to be recognized as a Reformer, 
 
 The personal appearance of Dr. Brown is rather homely, 
 yet such as to fasten upon a stranger the conviction that 
 he is in the presence of no ordinary man. He is of 
 medium stature, fitly joined together, and weighs about 
 one hundred and forty-five pounds. His eyes are pale 
 blue or gray, his complexion fair and slightly flushed. 
 His hair, now white as almond blossoms, was once light 
 or sandy — in early youth almost red. His temperament 
 is nervous-sanguine, the latter element predominating. 
 There is, therefore, nothing sluggish about his move- 
 ments, either physical or intellectual ; and for him to be 
 lazy is impossible. 
 
 His mind is of the highest order — clear, logical, com- 
 prehensive, and of an eminently practical cast. He is 
 naturally a naturalist, possessing superior perceptive 
 faculties, combined with extraordinary powers of analysis 
 and classification. It is not extravagant to say that had 
 he been properly educated and introduced to Nature in 
 early life, he might have rivaled Agassiz or Humboldt in 
 the number and value of his scientific achievements. 
 
 His scholarship partakes largely of the qualities of his 
 mind. He is well acquainted with history, especially 
 that of the church, and of humanity in its moral and reli-
 
 312 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 gious phases. With such branches of mathematics as are 
 of practical utility he is sufficiently familiar ; but of the 
 abstract theories of calculus he knows as little as he 
 cares. Of the literature of his own language he has a 
 respectable knowledge ; but in Greek and Latin he has 
 but little faith and but few attainments. He is well 
 informed with regard to politics, the science of govern- 
 ment, and every thing pertaining to the 7-ights of man, 
 whether civil or religious. In short he is praciical rather 
 than classical ; and comprehensive at the expense of 
 accuracy in little things. He knows more of the present 
 than of the past, and is more familiar with nature than 
 with books. It is in the department of Natural Science 
 that he seems almost omniscient. There nothing is so 
 minute as to have escaped his attention; nothing fathom- 
 able, that he has not sounded to the bottom. 
 
 He is emphatically an off-hand man. He writes no 
 sermons and but few addresses of any kind.- His college 
 lectures, both before his classes and on Lord's days, are all 
 extemporaneous. When he does write, however, his arti- 
 cles are characterized by clearness, force, and originality. 
 
 As a speaker he ranks above mediocrity. He has a 
 pleasant voice of very great compass, which he employs 
 with proper emphasis and unaffected earnestness. His 
 language is fully adequate to the prompt expression of 
 his ideas ; and if he repeats, several times, a clause of a 
 sentence, it is not because he is unable to complete the 
 proposition, but because he is indulging a wayside 
 thought with reference to some other matter. If some 
 such obtrusive thought entices him a little way from his 
 line of argument, he comes back to the point with an 
 emphatic " but," which is a fair warning that the main 
 subject is about to be resumed. He indulges no flights 
 of fancy, but deals with plain facts. He dilutes no senti- 
 ment in a flood of words, studies no attitudes for the sake
 
 R.T. BROWN. 313 
 
 of appearing graceful ; but lie expresses himself as forcibly 
 as possible, and if a gesture is added it is designed to 
 impress rather than to please. He abounds less in pathos 
 than in imagination; has no gift of exhortation; honce 
 has never been very successful in proselyting. His forte 
 is to instruct the church and to convince the judgments 
 of "them that are without." Those whom he does dis- 
 ciple have such " deepness of earth" that but few if any 
 " wither away." 
 
 In society and at home he is "a plain, blunt man," 
 possessing more of the fortiter in re than of the snamler 
 in modo. True, he is kind, hospitable, and sufficiently 
 affable ; but on meeting a friend, he makes no courtly 
 bows, feigns no unspeakable joy, puts on no hypocritical 
 smiles. Though not remarkably awkward in the drawing- 
 room, yet he is not a "star" in circles that abound in small 
 talk ; and sooner than spend his days in such a place, he 
 would choose life in a prison where, undisturbed, he might 
 stroke his long beard as he always does when absorbed in 
 meditation. 
 
 He possesses an indomitable will ; and is noted for 
 great decision of charactei'. He is of that class of men 
 who suffer — not only reproach, but martyrdom, if need be, 
 for their religion or cherished principles. Had he been 
 the editor of the Knoxville Whig the world would perhaps 
 have heard as much of Parson Brown, as it has heard of 
 Parson Brownlow — they are at least as much alike in one 
 respect as their names. 
 
 He is a man of remarkably active habits. Early in the 
 Spring he spades up his large garden, because it could not 
 well be ploughed to suit him ; and, while thus engaged, 
 he might easily be mistaken, at first glance, for a genuine 
 son of the Emei'ald Isle. As the growing season advances 
 be is to be found out in his grounds, planting, weeding, 
 pruning, training, or otherwise laboring. Though neither 
 27
 
 314 PIONEER PREACHERS, 
 
 poor nor penurious, he saws his own wood ; and, while 
 thus employed, he arranges in his mind the materials for 
 his next sermon or lecture. If he preaches on Sunday at 
 a distance of ten miles from the city, and if there is no 
 early train on Monday morning, he regards it as a light 
 matter to perform the journey on foot in time to hear his 
 classes in the University. " In time," be it observed, for 
 with him punctuality is a cardinal virtue. When he takes 
 his class into the field to give them a little practical, as 
 well as theoretical geology (a thing seldom done by ten- 
 der-footed Professors), he astonishes them as much by his 
 indefatigableness as by his familiarity with the names, 
 qualities, and positions of the rocks. He is usually the 
 last to cry "halt." 
 
 The burden of years is light upon him ; and his present 
 condition and appearance, Cowper has well described in 
 the following lines : — 
 
 "A sparkling eye beneath a wrinkled front 
 The vet'ran shows, and, gracing a gray beard 
 With youthful smiles, descends towards the grave 
 Sprightly, and old almost without decay."
 
 OF THE 
 lilVERSITY OF fLUNOIS
 
 '--^^>-KX>' 
 
 ^-/Lvv^ 
 
 -^ Cs^^^fLetu
 
 GEORGE CAMPBELL 
 
 Elver Gboiuje Campbell was borri at Bn^wcr, Maine, 
 on the 8th of February, 1807. -He i'h a dew^findant of a 
 homewbat difrtini^iBhed family in the UighJandB of Scot- 
 land. Ilia grandfather, when quite young, cAuifrr'dU'A to 
 the county of Antrim, near Argyleshire, in the north of 
 Ireland, where be married into a ProleBtant family by the 
 name of Dunning. In commemoration of thiH part of the 
 Emerald Isle, Elder Campbell received from bin parentis 
 the name, George Argyle, which be has cboBen to abbre- 
 viate to (jcorfje. iSoon after his marriage, and a few years 
 prior to our Revolution, the ^andfather emig-rat*id t'j the 
 New World and settled at Brunswick, in what was then 
 the province of Maine. About the year 1774, be re- 
 moved to Bangor, then a nmall village, on the Penobscot, 
 at the beaf] of tide-wat^r. Here b^j took command of a 
 company of patriot forces, which protected the friendly 
 Penobscots and guarded the northeastern frontier against 
 the depredations of the hostile Mohawks. In thiB posi- 
 tion he .served, his country gallantly, and became widely 
 and favorably known as Captain CampV>e]l, Elder Camp- 
 bell, in his bo^'hood, often 8j>ort/;d with the famous clay- 
 more which his grandfather wielde^I against the Mobawku 
 in the straggle for Independence, little dreaming that he 
 was destined to wield, in hia manbof>d, the mightier 
 "sword of the Spirit," which only can make us "free 
 indeed." 
 
 His father, Thoma.T. Campb«.'ll, was born at Brunswick, 
 
 315
 
 316 PIONEER PREACHERS, 
 
 Maine, and brought up in the Presbyterian faith, which 
 was hereditav}' with the Campbells, as it is with many 
 good people even now. His mother, whose maiden name 
 was Sahara Knapp, from whom he received his first reli- 
 gious impressions, was a Congregationalist, and a mem- 
 ber of a Massachusetts family originally from Germany. 
 Thus it happens that the blood of three different races 
 courses his veins, blending in him the wit and eloquence 
 of the Irishman, the vigorous intellect and untiring in- 
 dustry of the German, and the dauntless courage and 
 elastic spirit of the Highlander. No wonder, therefore, 
 tliat he is considered z^xaraavis — a remarkable character. 
 He was the sixth of a family of nine children, four of 
 whom still survive. As his star arose in the East, he 
 enjoyed better educational advantages than most of his 
 co-laborers, who were struggling up to manhood in the 
 wilderness of the West. When only five years old he 
 entered the New England free-schools, which he attended 
 regularly for six years. The next five years were de- 
 voted to hard labor on bis father's farm, where he acquired 
 the splendid physical development which has contributed 
 so much to his intellectual vigor. At the age of sixteen 
 he entered Foxcroft Academy, which was fortunately 
 situated near his father's residence. Afterwards he at- 
 tended the Maine Wesleyan Seminary, then under the 
 able supervision of W. C. Larrabee, late Superintendent 
 of Public Instruction in Indiana. At a still later period, 
 he became a student of Waterville College, where he com- 
 pleted the regular course to the close of the junior year. 
 His tutor, at this Institution, was Parish Lovejoy, who, 
 a few years ago, died at Alton, Illinois, a martyr to the 
 cause of liberty and free speech. Thus it is seen that 
 Elder Campbell, although not a graduate, has undergone 
 rigid mental discipline, and is therefore to be reckoned 
 among the educated men of the Reformation.
 
 GEORGE CAMPBELL. o 1 7 
 
 From his twenty-third to his t\vent>--liflli year he was 
 a clerk in his brother's store at Argyle, Maine. While 
 thus employed he wrote and circulated the petition to the 
 Legislature for the incorporation of the town of Argyle, 
 so named in memory of the land of his forefathers. 
 
 In the year 1830 he entered upon the work of the 
 ministry among the Liberal Chi'istians of New England. 
 These societies were congregational, composed of Univer- 
 salists. Unitarians, and Free-thinkers. For a short time 
 he was a member of the Maine Convention of TJniver- 
 salists, or more properly Redorationists, since they advo- 
 cated the doctrine of a judgment "after death," but 
 believed that all punishment would prove reformatory, 
 and that, as a positive infliction, it would finally cease. 
 During the year 1831 he preached for Unitarian Congre- 
 gational Societies at Atkinson and Orono, Maine. 
 
 In 1832 he renounced all fellowship with the whole 
 fraternity of Uuiversalists, went to Boston, and united 
 with the Bulfinch Street Congregational church, then 
 under the pastoral care of the Rev. Paul Dean, who held 
 to the strict and proper divinity of Christ. During the 
 year 1832, and part of 1833, he studied theology under 
 Dr. Dean, and received from the Association in Boston 
 his license to preach. With this commendation he came 
 to Ohio in the Summer of 1833, arriving in Cincinnati 
 just at the breaking out of the cholera in that city. On 
 the first Lord's day after his arrival he preached in the 
 Unitarian church on Fourth street, and on the next day 
 was seized with the cholera. The attack was severe, but 
 God did not permit the silver cord to be loosed. He 
 designed to open the blind eyes that they might yet 
 behold wondrous things in His law. 
 
 Having recovered from this illness, he visited his uncle, 
 D. Campbell, in Fayette county, Indiana. Here he con- 
 tinued preaching theology for the space of three years ;
 
 318 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 here, too, an event transpired which led to a complete 
 revolution in his theological views In the providence 
 of God he had now arrived near Damascus, where the 
 light from Heaven was to shine round about him ; he 
 had come to Ephesus, where "the way of God" was to be 
 expounded to him "more perfectly." As this event was 
 the pwot in his religious life, it deserves to be recorded in 
 detail. 
 
 At this time the Church of Christ at Connersville, 
 Fayette county, was under the oversight of Elder Jesse 
 Holton and Dr. R. T. Brown, now Professor of Natural 
 Science in the Northwestern Christian University, and 
 then, as now, an efficient laborer in word and docti'ine. 
 On the arrival of the brilliant New England preacher in 
 that community, there was no small stir among his breth- 
 ren, who were almost disposed to say of his preaching, 
 "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man" — so satisfac- 
 torily, to them, could he establish their cherished theo- 
 ries. They insisted that the Christians should give him 
 a hearing, and he, in turn, was invited to come out and 
 hear the Christians. 
 
 Not long after, when the Church of Christ at that place 
 had assembled, "on the first day of the week to break 
 bread," Elder Campbell entered, and seated himself near 
 Dr. Brown. Being invited to preach, he declined. The 
 invitation was renewed ; and, thinking there must be 
 some misunderstanding, he frankly confessed that he was 
 not of that "way." "No matter," said the doctor; "for 
 this very reason, we desire to hear thee — what thou 
 sayest." Consenting to preach, he took for his text, 
 Acts xvi. 31: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 thou shalt be saved ;" from which he delivered an excel- 
 lent discourse relative to the power of faith to purify 
 the heart, reform the life, and save the soul. At the close 
 of the sermon, Dr. Brown followed with some remarks.
 
 GEORGE CAMPBELL. 319 
 
 He heartily endorsed all that had been said of faith ; 
 "but," said he, "there are two chapters in man's life: 
 the past, and the future. Faith, by purifying the heart 
 now, may regulate the future ; but it cannot reform the 
 past, or blot out the transgressions that are already 
 recorded in the book of God's remembrance." He then 
 proceeded to show that, in the divine economy. Baptism, 
 with its proper antecedents, is designed to free us from 
 our " old sins," while Faith, by purifying the heart, is to 
 prevent the occurrence of new offenses, and thus present 
 every man perfect in the sight of God. At the con- 
 clusion of these remarks Elder Campbell had described 
 with his chair a quadrant of a circle, and was sitting 
 directly in front of the speaker, regarding him with a 
 look very similar, no doubt, to that of the ancient scribe 
 when he said to the Saviour, Well, Master, thou hast said 
 the truth. Like the Scribe, too, he was then "not far 
 from the kingdom of God." 
 
 While preparations were being made to break bread, 
 he inquired if he would be permitted to partake with 
 them, and received the prompt answer, " Let every 
 man examine himself ;'''' which, he says, made such an 
 impression on his mind that, to this day, he has never 
 ceased to "examine himself." 
 
 When the congregation retired he had a long interview 
 with Dr. Brown. The questions they discussed engen- 
 dered no strife. The one, like Aquila, confined himself 
 to the "way of God;" the other, like Apollos, received 
 with meekness the engrafted word ; and between them 
 that day was cemented a friendship which has never been 
 dissolved. 
 
 Returning to his uncle's, he entered upon a thorough 
 investigation of the doctrine of the New Testament. 
 This he did, not to find support for any dogma, or former 
 religious hypothesis ; but devoutly to ascertain, in the
 
 320 PIONEER niEACHERS. 
 
 light of the divine oracles, what is the religion of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. This investigation, which was dili- 
 gently prosecuted for several months, resulted in his 
 union with the Church of Christ at Connersville, in tho 
 year 1835. The inductive ordinance he received at the 
 hands of Elder John Longley, now tlie oldest Christian 
 preacher in Indiana. 
 
 llecoinmissioned by the church at Connersville, he left 
 Fayette county in August, 1836, and soon after became 
 the pastor of the church at Harrison, near Cincinnati. 
 Here lie remained three years ; and mainly by his labors 
 more than four hundred converts were, in that time, 
 added to the church. 
 
 In September, 1839, he returned to Maine to see once 
 more his aged parents and kinsmen in the flesh. Among 
 the friends and relations Avho joyfully received the word, 
 he had the pleasure of immersing into Christ his vene- 
 rable mother, with whom, in former days, he had always 
 coincided in religious views. She was a woman of 
 exemplary piety, who, for years, had endeavored to do 
 the will of God so far as she had been able to ascertain 
 it. It was hers to* realize the promise : " To the upright 
 there ariseth light in the darkness." To her he was 
 indebted for the moral and religious direction given to 
 his young life ; and her letters to him are fine models of 
 a mother's counsel to her son. 
 
 In June, 1840, he set out on his return ; passed 
 through the Federal capital and other Eastern cities ; 
 visited the sacred spot where reposes the dust of Wash- 
 ington — then undisturbed by the shock of fratricidal 
 war ; and paused awhile at Charlottesville to see Mon- 
 ticello and the University of Virginia. The State Meet- 
 ing of the Disciples happening to be in session, he made 
 the acquaintance of many of the chief brethren of that 
 State and Maryland ; among whom were Elders Heushall,
 
 GEORGE CAMPBELL. 321 
 
 Goss, Coleman, and the venerable Father Ferguson. Here, 
 too, he met his distant Scotch relative, Alexander Camp- 
 bell, then in the prime and vigor of life, whose preaching 
 on that occasion he represents as superlatively eloquent, 
 evangelical, and edifying. 
 
 From Charlottesville he returned to Harrison, and 
 continued to labor there and in the adjacent counties in 
 Ohio and Kentucky, until the Spring of 1842. In April, 
 1841, he was married to Miss Sarah Ann Wile, a worthy 
 sister in the Harrison church. She has been a faithful 
 and self-sacrificing helpmate in all his toils and trials in 
 the gospel and in the cause of education. She is now 
 the mother of six children, five sons and a daughter, who 
 constitute almost the whole of their earthly treasures. 
 
 In 1842 he removed with his family to a small farm 
 near Oxford, Ohio ; and became the pastor of the church 
 at that place. Here he continued to preach, with great 
 success, for the next three years, making occasional tours 
 through Indiana, Kentucky, and other portions of Ohio. 
 
 In the Spring of 1845, the Rush County Evangelizing 
 Association, in Indiana, of which the Hon. J. Helm was 
 then President, and Hon. John L. Robinson, Secretary, 
 called him to the work of an evangelist, and to aid in 
 founding and building up an institution of learning in that 
 county. Responding to this call he removed to Fairview, 
 and in March, 1845, entered the field in Rush county, 
 The great battle between orthodoxy and that which they 
 called heresy was then going on in that county, in which 
 conflict he engaged with all boldness and bent his .bow 
 valiantly for the truth. 
 
 In the Fall of that year he resigned his position as 
 evangelist of the Association and took charge of the 
 Farmington Academy, which maintained a good repu- 
 tation during his administration. It was subsequently 
 transferred to Fairview, where it continues to flourish,
 
 322 PIONEER PREACHERS 
 
 Elder Campbell being the President of the Board of Di- 
 rectors. 
 
 At the State Meeting of the Brotherhood of Indiana, 
 held at Greensburg, Decatur county, in 1847, he introduced 
 a resolution in favor of building up in the State an Insti- 
 tution of learning of the highest grade. This, so far as is 
 known to the writer, was the first movement toward the 
 founding of the Northwestern Christian University, an 
 institution already second to none in the State, and which, 
 if completed on the scale of the projectors, will be second 
 to but few on the continent. The discussion of the said 
 resolution led to the appointment of the University Com- 
 mittee, which was composed of James M. Mathes, Elijah 
 Goodwin, L. H. Jameson, Ovid Butler, and John O'Kane; 
 all of whom were from that time active co-workers in 
 behalf of the enterprise. At the next Annual Meeting 
 they reported in favor of establishing the University, 
 which was subsequently located at Indianapolis, accord- 
 ing to a vote of the churches throughout the State. The 
 following year, the State Meeting appointed as their 
 agent. Elder John O'Kane, who obtained the subscription 
 requisite for the organization of the Institution. Elder 
 Campbell was one of the original commissioners appointed 
 by the Legislature, and at the organization he was chosen 
 one of the members of the Board of Directors, which po- 
 sition he still occupies, having been twice re-elected. 
 
 In April, 1848, he removed to Cincinnati and became 
 pastor of the Church of Christ in Fulton, dividing his time 
 between that church and his old charge at Harrison. This 
 year he assisted Elder Walter Scott in the removal of the 
 " Protestant Unionist" from Pittsburg to Cincinnati ; and 
 ably conducted the paper in the absence of the editor. He 
 also rendered important service to Dr. Horatio P. Gatcl)fl 
 in bringing out the reimlA'wdliouoV'McLdiic an iln^ Cent-
 
 GEORGE CAMPBELL. 323 
 
 jntssion," a work that has greatly contributed to the })io- 
 gress of the Reformation. 
 
 Near the close of 1848, he, with others, purchased the 
 " Protestant Unionist," which, on the 1st of January, 1849, 
 was superceded by the " Christian Age," of which Dr. 
 Gatchel and T. J. Melish were editors. In a short time 
 Dr. Gatchel sold his interest in the paper, and the name of 
 George Campbell appeared as one of its editors. During 
 the absence of Elder Melish, and during the prevalence of 
 the cholera in the Summer and Autumn of 1849, Elder 
 Campbell had the sole charge and management of the 
 paper. Aided by Elder James Challen, he conducted, in its 
 columns, a discussion relative to the propriety of calling 
 a convention for the purpose of organizing a general Mis- 
 sionary Society. He and Elder Challen successfully plead 
 the affirmative of the proposition until the convention was 
 called and the American Christian Missionary Society was 
 formed. Probably this enterprise was first suggested by 
 Elder Challen ; but once suggested it found an earnest, 
 able, and persevering advocate in the person of Elder 
 Campbell. Of the Executive Board of this Society he has 
 always been an efficient member, and much of the time 
 one of its general traveling agents. 
 
 In the fall of 1849 Elder Melish transferred his share 
 of the " Christian Age" to Elder D. S. Burnett, who then 
 became the principal editor. Elder Campbell then bade 
 adieu to the sanctum and the city ; returned to Rush 
 county, and entered again upon the work of an evangelist. 
 He also assisted Prof. A. R. Benton ( now President of 
 the N. W. C. University) in the Fairview Academy ; and 
 regulnrly contributed to the "Christian Age," of which he 
 continued joint proprietor and associate editor. 
 
 In 1851 he sold his share of the paper to Elder Benja- 
 min Franklin, but still contributed to its columns, until, 
 after so many changes, it finally fell entirely into the
 
 324 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 hands of Elder Franklin. Not long after this it died, but 
 by a happy transmigration of soul it soon re-appeared in 
 the present well-known weekly, "The American Christian 
 Review." Of this paper Elder Campbell has been an 
 occasional correspondent. Indeed, he has contributed 
 more to our periodical literature than is generally known. 
 Aside from his editorials, he has furnished occasional arti- 
 cles for the Millennial Harbinger, Western Reformer, Ohio 
 Preacher, Christian Family Library, Western Evangelist, 
 Christian Record, and Christian Luminary. He writes 
 forcibly in very plain style. As when one sees him, it is 
 the man, and not the dress, that attracts the eye ; so 
 when one reads him, it is the idea, and not the language, 
 that fixes the attention. He employs no grievous words 
 that stir up strife ; but his articles are deeply imbued 
 with that charity that "thinketh no evil." His pen 
 addresses itself ad rem, and not ad hominem. 
 
 Being employed by the State Meeting as a home mis- 
 sionary in Northern Indiana, he spent the Winter of 1853 
 in that field, which embraced the counties of Porter, 
 La Porte, and St. Joseph. Here, in co-operation with 
 brethren R. Wilson and D. Miller, he reconstructed the 
 prostrate church at Mishawaka. This had been a power- 
 ful church, but political commotions and various other 
 wranglings had destroyed its influence and laid it in ruins. 
 Its successful reconstruction gave a new impulse to the 
 cause of primitive Christianity in Northern Indiana, which 
 is now a great field " ripe for the harvest." 
 
 He finally removed to the northwestern part of the State, 
 and fixed his residence at Oxford, the county seat of Benton 
 county. Soon after this removal, assisted by Elders John 
 Longley, H. R. Pritchard, and J. C. Johnson, under a 
 great oak tree on his own premises, he organized the 
 Church of Christ at Oxford. This was the first church 
 planted at that place ; and it was the first house of worship
 
 GEORGE CAMPBELL. 325 
 
 erected in Benton county. It lias continued to increase 
 by the edifying of itself in love, until it now numbers 
 nearly eighty members, and is in a prosperous condition. 
 
 These missionary labors were to him " the heat and 
 burden of the day." Under their pressure his constitu- 
 tion so far gave way that, from 1854 to 1859, he was 
 never in perfect health even for a single day. Still he 
 remained at his post ; often preaching during the parox- 
 ysm of either chill or fever ; organizing churches in Ben- 
 ton, Warren, Tippecanoe, La Porte, and Montgomery 
 counties ; and introducing the ancient gospel into various 
 places in Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky. 
 
 In December, 1858, he removed to Burnettsville, in 
 White county, for the sake of the educational advantages 
 afforded to his children by the Indiana Normal Institute 
 located at that place. Here he was made the general 
 agent of the Institute ; and, besides extensive evangeliz- 
 ing operations, he raised by subscription over three thou- 
 sand dollars for the erection of a new building. This 
 excellent high school is now in successful operation in 
 the new edifice, which is another beautiful monument 
 erected by Elder Campbell in the cause of education. 
 
 During his two years' residence at Burnettsville he 
 added sixty-nine to the assembly of the saints ; and 
 through the instrumentality of that church several pro- 
 mising students of the Institute have been sent forth into 
 the harvest. These two years, however, he mainly spent 
 abroad ; the first as evangelist, the second as agent of 
 the American Christian Missionary Society. In both 
 these departments his labors produced abundantly the 
 peaceable fruits of righteousness. 
 
 In December, 1860, he moved back to his old home at 
 
 Fairview, Rush county, whence he causes the light of 
 
 truth to radiate. There he happily resides, surrounded 
 
 by confiding, warm-hearted brethren, very many of whom 
 
 28
 
 326 PIONEER PREACHERS, 
 
 are his own sons in the gospel. There we leave him, and 
 close the record of his deeds. 
 
 The exact number that have been redeemed through his 
 instrumentality cannot be given. Of these he has kept 
 no record, trusting that their names will all be found 
 written in the Lamb's book of life. But, wherever he 
 has preached the word, the disciples have been multiplied 
 greatly ; and in the counties of Rush and Fayette, where, 
 with Elders Reeve and Thompson, he has labored so long, 
 multitudes have obeyed the ancient gospel, and its claims 
 are so generally acknowledged that an angel from heaven 
 would perhaps meet with very little success were he to 
 declare in those counties "any other gospel." 
 
 He has unbounded confidence in the ultimate triumph 
 of the cause for which he has plead, and to which he has 
 devoted the affections of his heart, the energies of his life, 
 and the most of his earthly substance. 
 
 In the providence of God his health has been completely 
 restored, so that he rejoices not only in view of the triumph 
 of Truth, but also in the prospect of long life. He yet 
 possesses a vigorous mind, a stout heart, and a firm pur- 
 pose to devote his earthly future as he has his past, assured 
 that for all his sacrifices in the life that now is, God will 
 restore him a hundred fold in the life that is to come. 
 
 Elder Campbell is about five feet seven inches in height, 
 and not quite so much in circumference. He is heavy 
 set, weighing about two hundred pounds ; and although 
 his lieart may sometimes falter, his Jlesh never fails him. 
 His head is very large, and in such close proximity to his 
 shoulders that an observer once said of him, "That man 
 has no neck.''^ It is overgrown with a heavy crop of 
 short, coarse, bristly hair, which, as often as he beholds 
 his natural face in a glass, affords him an example of up- 
 rightness. He walks like every other fat man, and sits
 
 GEORGE CAMPBELL. 32t 
 
 down, when duty permits, with evident satisfaction. The 
 portrayal of his features must be left to the engraver. 
 
 His dress is eminently in keeping with his person — 
 rough and serviceable. In its selection he consults com- 
 fort, not fashion. His cravat is never of ministerial white, 
 and it very often fronts to one side. He leans upon no 
 staff save that which supported David ; and displays no 
 yolden chain but love. In a word, he takes no thought 
 for the outward adorning "of wearing of gold and putting 
 on of apparel." 
 
 His habits — those immaterial garments that envelop the 
 inner man, the soul, and form the charactei' as material 
 garments do the dress — are equally becoming. There is 
 no studied concealment of defects — no egotistical display 
 of virtues. His character, like his body, stands before 
 you in bold, distinct outline. Its principal traits are thus 
 given in an article from the pen of Elder James Challen, 
 than whom, perhaps, no one knows them better : 
 
 " He is possessed of a sound judgment, a vigorous un- 
 derstanding, a quick perception, considerable compass of 
 thought, and a power of keeping his mind in abeyance 
 until he has fairly reached his conclusions ; and, when 
 reached, he holds on to them with singular tenacity. He is 
 not satisfied with looking at a subject simply in one direc- 
 tion, but seeks to examine it in all its bearings and relations. 
 
 " He is a lover of the truth, and is never weary in its 
 pursuit. His thirst for knowledge is at times a passion — 
 an appetite — and his application unwearied and constant. 
 ****** He is possessed of great simplicity 
 of character : kind, confiding, and full of warm and strong 
 attachments, which make him a most agreeable compan- 
 ion. He is utterly devoid of all envy and jealousy, and 
 free from every ungenerous suspicion. A constant and 
 devoted friend, a cheerful, pleasant, and profitable com 
 panion. ******
 
 328 PIONEER PREACHEES. 
 
 " His skill lies cliiefly as an evangelist over large fields. 
 He easily adapts himself to every situation in life and 
 class of society ; chiefly to the more humble and hard- 
 working. With these he is a special favorite, and is held 
 in high estimation for his plainness and simplicity." 
 
 He is a friend in deed to the missionary cause. Ope- 
 rating much of his time in large fields, be realizes that the 
 harvest Is great ; he therefore prays the Lord to send forth 
 laborers into his harvest, and exerts himself to obtain 
 means for their support. Believing of a truth that faith 
 comes by hearing the word of God, and that salvation is 
 through faith, he does all in his power to send that word 
 to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. 
 
 The cause of education also finds in him a zealous ad- 
 vocate and a liberal contributor. AThile others have en- 
 deavored to accumulate silver and gold, and houses and 
 lands for their children, he has beneficently applied the 
 most of his goods, that, by so doing, he might lay up foi 
 himself a good foundation against the time to come. 
 " Let the light enter," is his motto ; and his heart's desire 
 is to see the sons of our country grow up as fruitful plants, 
 and her daughters be polished after the similitude of a 
 palace. 
 
 As a preacher he is plain, pointed, didactic. His ser- 
 mons are not pleasure parks with their flowery walks, 
 refreshing shades, and fountains spanned by rainbows ; 
 but rugged mountains rather, full of useful materials, 
 based on the Rock of ages, their sun-lit tops pointing to 
 Heaven. His subject is often a most familiar passage, 
 and the instruction drawn from it is generally of a prac- 
 tical character. If he employs a figure, it is more for 
 strength than for beauty. If he makes a quotation, it is 
 oftener from the apostles than from the poets — an asser- 
 tion which is not true of all preachers. There is no effort 
 to gratify itching eai's, but an earnest purpose to reach
 
 GEORGE CA Mr BELL. 329 
 
 the candid heart ; no bombastic flights of fancy, no su- 
 perfluity of feigned pathos ; but in their stead there is 
 depth, solidity, originality, genuine earnestness, and, above 
 all, the truth as it is in Jesus. One is not apt, therefore, 
 to become a weary listener ; more probably his heart will 
 burn within him while the Scriptures, in their ancient 
 simplicity, ai'e being opened to his understanding. 
 
 He has a strong, deep voice, and his loud, rapid, and 
 sometimes vociferous utterance has won for him the sobri- 
 quet, Boanerges. When excited he gesticulates violently 
 in every direction, and according to no prescribed rules. 
 He apparently loses all knowledge of himself in his sub- 
 ject, and feeling the importance of his theme himself, he 
 easily makes others feel it. He closes every discourse 
 with a powerful exhortation, in which his voice sometimes 
 rises to the highest pitch, and his vehemence kindles into 
 the most impassioned eloquence. 
 
 He is not generally regarded as a formidable controver- 
 sialist ; yet in his hands the weapons that are not carnal 
 are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds, and every 
 thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. 
 He has never hesitated to assault error, and his attacks 
 have been more successful than those of many who are 
 flattered as champions of truth. But while others have 
 used harsh epithets in public discussions with those whose 
 prejudices were so excited that they were unable to dis- 
 cover the right, he has in meekness instructed those that 
 oppose themselves ; and, by a quiet victory, brought them 
 to the acknowledgment of the truth. 
 
 There is another trait in his character as an evangelist 
 that deserves to be presented, that it may be imitated. 
 He is a peace-maker. Perhaps no man in the Reforma- 
 tion has been more successful in reconciling brethren at 
 variance, and in reconstructing churches destroyed by 
 schism. He is a most zealous advocate of union among
 
 330 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 all the followers of Jesus, and an ardent opposer of what- 
 ever tends to sow discord among brethren. Though he 
 resembles Peter in his elocution, and Paul in his reason- 
 ing, he is most like the beloved John, the burden of whose 
 doctrine was. Little children, see that you love one another. 
 May the children of the kingdom among whom he has 
 gone preaching, hearken to his wholesome admonitions — 
 may they " do all things without murmurings and disput- 
 ings, that they may be blameless and harmless, the sons 
 of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and per- 
 verse nation ; and that he may rejoice in the day of Christ 
 that he has not run in vain, neither labored in vain.
 
 OF THE 
 UF^SVERSITY OF iUmiS
 
 -v-^U^
 
 JOHN O'KANE. 
 
 This distinguished pioneer was born in Culpepper 
 county, Virginia, in 1802. His ancestors were originally 
 from Ireland, and many traits of the Irish character are 
 yet traceable in his own. His parents seem to have been 
 quite poor, and to have had no claim whatever to a place 
 among " the first families" of his native State. Therefore 
 his distinction is due to his own genius, and not to any 
 extraordinary privileges obtained either by purchase or 
 by inheritance. 
 
 In his youth he was sent for a short time to an academy, 
 where he received a tolerable English education. In after 
 life, while contending earnestly for the faith, against a 
 host of opposers, he acquired, by his own efforts, a re- 
 spectable knowledge of the Greek language. This, with 
 the general information acquired by reading,is the extent 
 of his education. It is not, therefore, on account of what 
 he knoiva, but on account of what he is and what he does, 
 that he is remarkable. 
 
 He embraced Christianity at an early age, and at first 
 united with the Old Christian body, or Newlights, in Vir- 
 ginia. Among them he commenced preaching when quite 
 young ; but of his ministry east of the Alleghanies little 
 is known. 
 
 Sometime between 1825 and 1830 he left Virginia, and 
 made his way — on foot it is said — to Lebanon, Warren 
 county, Ohio. There he prosecuted for some time the 
 work of the ministry ; and there, in the year 1830, he 
 was married to Miss Martha Verbryke. 
 
 331
 
 332 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 It appears that bis conversion to the ancient gospel 
 was effected in the following manner : when zealously- 
 opposing what he supposed to be heresy, he saw, in the 
 " Christian Messenger," some articles on " The Plan of 
 Salvation," written by Elder James E.Mathes of Alabama, 
 and ably advocating the claims of the Reformation. There 
 being no opposition to these articles from any other quar- 
 ter, he determined to reply to them himself. Accordingly 
 he wrote his " No. 1," which was published in the Mes- 
 senger, accompanied by some editorial remarks, in which 
 he found, to his surprise, that Elder Stone had taken 
 sides against him, and in defense of the views of Elder 
 Mathes. These editorial comments on his " No. 1" were 
 so pointed and convincing that his "No. 2," though writ- 
 ten, was never published ; and in a short time both he 
 and Elder Stone were preaching the faith which both had 
 once sought to destroy. 
 
 In the Spring of 1832 he came to Indiana, locating at 
 Milton, in Wayne county. For the support of his family 
 he engaged in teaching a common-school ; but for the 
 good of his race he continued to preach the gospel on 
 Lord's days, and at such other times as he had oppor- 
 tunity. Being charged with " Campbellism," the few 
 meeting-houses were closed against him ; but John 
 O'Kane was not the man either to conceal his own light 
 under a bushel, or to suffer it to be extinguished by the 
 prescriptive efforts of those who "loved darkness rather 
 than light, because their deeds were evil." Such pres- 
 sure only made him the more luminous, and in a little 
 while he became a burning and shining light — almost 
 the only one at that time in Eastern Indiana. Com- 
 mencing in his own little schoolhouse, he rapidly extended 
 his appointments to others ; and when no house could 
 be obtained, he preached to multitudes of people in the 
 open air.
 
 JOHN o'kane. 333 
 
 Within the same jesiv, 1832, he crossed over into Rush 
 county, where he was employed for one year to co-operate 
 with Elder John P. Thompson in doing the work of an 
 evangelist. In this service he traversed the counties of 
 Rush, Fayette, and Decatur ; and his name is identified 
 with many churches and reformatory movements which 
 originated at that time in that portion of the State. 
 
 In January, 1833, he journeyed as far west as Indian- 
 apolis. On his arrival there he found the court-house 
 occupied by the Legislature then in session ; the " evan- 
 gelical" churches closed their doors against him; and 
 there was no place for holding a meeting, save in an old 
 log-house on Market sti'eet, which the few persecuted 
 saints had rented as a place of prayer. In this he began 
 and preached on three evenings in succession, the house 
 not accommodating one half the people who were anxious 
 to hear the word. In the meantime the Legislature ten- 
 dered him the use of the court-house on Saturday even- 
 ing and on Lord's day. There he had an opportunity of 
 speaking before judges and legislators, as well as many 
 of the "common people;" and faithfully did he witness 
 to both small and great, speaking none other things than 
 those which the Lord and his apostles appointed for them 
 to do. "The preaching," says one who heard it, "was 
 so different from any that had ever been heard in Indian- 
 apolis before — so bold, so pointed, so convincing, so 
 strongly enforced by the commanding voice, expressive 
 eye, and fine oratory of brother O'Kane — that it seemed 
 to carry every thing before it. All seemed spell-bound, 
 and many were seen to tremble under his mighty ap- 
 peals." This was a kind of Pentecostal occasion; for 
 not only was a deep and lasting impression made in 
 the cit}^ — or rather town — but the representatives and 
 strangers from the several counties, like the "devout men 
 out of every nation" at Jerusalem, carried with them, on
 
 334 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 their return to their homes, some knowledge of the faith 
 as it was once delivered to the saints. 
 
 Elder O'Kane made two or three other visits to the 
 capital prior to the following June, at which time the 
 Church of Christ at that place was organized with some 
 twenty members. 
 
 In January, 1833, he and Dr. R. T. Brown organized 
 the Church of Christ at Connersville, Fayette county, to 
 which place he soon after removed, and commenced the 
 publication of a monthly religious paper called " The 
 Christian Casket." While engaged in this enterprise he 
 continued to preach the gospel throughout all Central 
 and Eastern Indiana, occasionally making tours through 
 portions of Ohio and Kentucky. 
 
 In 1837 he removed to Crawfordsville, Montgomery 
 county, where he resided for several years, having the 
 pastoral care of the church in that place, and preaching 
 extensively in the western and southwestern portions of 
 the State. 
 
 lu 1848 he returned to Connersville, and for a twelve- 
 month labored efficiently in fields with which he had made 
 himself familiar in former years. 
 
 In 1849 he located at Indianapolis and engaged in the 
 book and stationery business; still proclaiming the gospel, 
 however, both in that city and in many distant parts of 
 the State. Everywhere his labors were attended with 
 the most encouraging results, and to all the disciples of 
 Indiana his name was as familiar as household words. 
 
 About this time was conceived the project of establish- 
 ing the Northwestern Christian University, to meet the 
 educational wants of a great and rapidly increasing bro- 
 therhood. Into this enterprise Elder O'Kane entered 
 heart and soul, and to him more than to any other indi- 
 vidual its success is to be attributed ; for he, more than 
 any other, raised the money with which the magnificent
 
 JOHN o'kane. 335 
 
 building was erected, and witli which the corps of in- 
 structors are sustained. In the Spring of 1851 he was 
 appointed by the Board of Directors as a general agent 
 and stock solicitor ; in which capacity he visited almost 
 every nook and corner of the State, gathering, for the 
 institution, a rich pecuniary harvest, and at the same 
 time disseminating the good seed of the kingdom to meet 
 the demands of other great and good enterprises in future 
 times. 
 
 In 1859 he removed to Independence, Missouri, where 
 he has since resided, and where he is now separated from 
 his friends and brethren in Indiana by a wall of fire. 
 Consequently they have but little knowledge of his minis- 
 terial operations in the Southwest ; yet they occasionally 
 hear of his affairs — that he is a true patriot, and that he 
 remains " steadfast, immovable," in the work of the Lord. 
 
 It is to be regretted that, owing to the unhappy con- 
 dition of the country, more ample materials for this sketch 
 cannot be obtained. Unquestionably the subject of it was 
 one of the most noted reformers of Indiana ; and his his- 
 tory, if given in full, would be replete with good works, 
 remarkable incidents, and anecdotes of the choicest kind. 
 As for himself, he needs no historian to perpetuate his 
 memory. He has made his mark upon the age ; his 
 name is familiar to many a devout father, who will trans- 
 mit it, in connection with fact and anecdote, to his chil- 
 dren ; and thus he will be held in remembrance even to 
 the third and fourth generations, though not a stone should 
 be raised or a line written. 
 
 Elder O'Kane is physically, as well as mentally and 
 morally, a fine specimen of the genus homo. He is six 
 feet and one inch high, very straight and slender. His 
 fine head, covered with raven locks, sits with an air of 
 majesty on his square shoulders ; and beneath his high,
 
 336 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 over-arching forehead, sparkle eyes reraarliably black and 
 piercing. He walks with an easy, don't-care gait, seem- 
 ingly criticising, and inwardly laughing at every thing 
 around him. He is certainly more like Democritus than 
 Heraclitus — a laughing rather than a weeping philosopher. 
 
 If his personal appearance is singular and upon the 
 whole prepossessing, his character is eccentric and, take 
 it all in all, worthy of imitation. A Phillips would find 
 in it almost as many antitheses and yet as much con- 
 sistency as he found in the character of Napoleon. 
 
 Perhaps the most striking trait is his wit, and the 
 anecdotes of John O'Kane, alone, would fill a volume. 
 His witticisms are usually mixed with the severest sar- 
 casm, or pointed with the bitterest irony. The following 
 are a few inferior specimens : 
 
 With a swaggering air an orthodox preacher once 
 refused to debate with him, at the same time observing 
 that he would gladly discuss the doctrinal issues with 
 Alexander Campbell or some of the great leaders of the 
 Reformation. Fixing his keen eyes upon him, and point- 
 ing his long finger at him in the style of Randolph, 
 O'Kane replied: "You — you debate with Alexander 
 Campbell ! Why if one of his ideas should get into your 
 head, it would explode like a bomb shell." 
 
 On a certain occasion he was to preach in one of the 
 many ill-constructed meeting houses with dark walls and 
 very small windows. As he walked up the aisle, surveying 
 every thing with a critical eye, he observed in an under- 
 tone to a brother that was with him : " Tell them to sing 
 
 Tis darkness here, but Jesus smiles." 
 
 At another time when preaching in an old rickety 
 church, from the walls of which the plastei'ing had fallen 
 off in places, he solemnly exhorted his brethren not to
 
 JOHN o'kane. 387 
 
 negrlect the Lord's house, at least while it was so low with 
 erysipelas. 
 
 A certain adherent of one of the sects once met him, 
 and, extending his hand, said, "Well, Brother John, I 
 used to think you were an unprofitable servant, but I 
 think differently now." "Indeed," replied O'Kane, sha- 
 king his hand warmly, " that is precisely what I used to 
 think of you, brother, hut I have never changed my mind .''"' 
 
 Just before he removed to Missouri, he fell in with one 
 of those young preachers who, in the wisdom of their own 
 conceits, urge the necessity of reforming the Reformation. 
 "Brother O'Kane," said he, "the world will not stand still 
 after A. Campbell dies. Luther performed a great work, 
 but he left something for others to do. So did Wesley ; so 
 we think will Campbell ; and if the Lord shall see proper to 
 commit the direction of this Reformation to younger heads, 
 be it so." "You young fellows lead this Reformation !" 
 said O'Kane. "As well might one think of harnessing a 
 lot of Shanghai chickens to a train of cars." 
 
 Another young preacher was once complaining of the 
 too small remuneration received for his services. " If the 
 brethren do not support me," said he, " I will go where I 
 can be supported." ''When did you take the hojj, brother." 
 inquired O'Kane, slyly alluding to the Scripture which 
 says that after Judas had dipped the sop, Satan entered 
 into him. 
 
 With all his wit and sarcasm an element of tenderness 
 is strangely mingled, and the effect of the combination can- 
 not be better described than in the words of a pious old 
 brother who affirms that he has seen him "laughing out 
 of one eye and the tears coming out of the other.'''' 
 
 With a dignified and apparently proud bearing he walks 
 humbly before God, having never manifested a disposition 
 to be greatest otherwise than by faithfully performing his 
 duties as a servant. 
 29
 
 338 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Ordinarily approachable, and unreserved in conversa- 
 tion, he has the pov/er to assume a stoical indifference to 
 every thing around him, whenever it seems good in his 
 sight. 
 
 It is in the pulpit that he exerts his principal influence 
 in behalf of the gospel. His commanding person, his ex- 
 pressive eye, his clear, strong voice, and his free earnest 
 gestures — all contribute to make him a most interesting 
 and impressive speaker. He is well versed in the Scrip- 
 tures, and familiar with all the dogmas incorporated into 
 the several creeds, upon which instruments he sometimes 
 lays a heavy hand. Yet after all, the effect is produced 
 not so much by what he says as by the admirable manner 
 in which he says it. 
 
 As already intimated he does not occupy a high rank 
 as a scholar ; and he is strongly disinclined to write for 
 the benefit of the public. Hence his own editorial career 
 was short, and his articles in other periodicals are but few. 
 
 In the course of his ministry he has been engaged in 
 many public discussions, in all of which he has triumph- 
 antly vindicated the principles of the current Eeformation. 
 As a disputant he has but few superiors. 
 
 Next after his achievements as a public speaker he has 
 accomplished most as an agent, or solicitor of funds for 
 benevolent purposes ; for which office his pleasing address 
 and above all his nice and ready discernment of character 
 eminently fit him. Where almost any other man could 
 not have obtained a cent, he obtained dollars and even 
 hundreds of dollars. 
 
 The tact which made him so suceesssful in this employ- 
 ment, secured for himself also a more liberal support than 
 that which fell to the lot of most pioneer preachers. 
 Yet being a poor economist, and very careless in the 
 management of pecuniary matters, he is in his old age
 
 JOHN o'kane. 339 
 
 one of the poor whom God hath chosen to be heirs of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 Having remembered his Creator in the days of his 
 youth, he has spent the Springtime and the Summer of 
 his existence in the service of the Lord. Now that the 
 Autumn of his days has come, and that his , 
 
 " way of life 
 Is fallen in the sere and yellow leaf," 
 
 the peaceable fruits of righteousness appear in rich pro- 
 fusion ; and he has abundant reason to expect an exceed- 
 ing great reward from Him whose "eyes are open upon 
 all the ways of the children of men, to give to every one 
 according to his ways and according to the fruit of his 
 doings."
 
 THOMAS LOCKHAET. 
 
 This venerable and indefatigable servant of God was 
 born in Patrick county, Virginia, A. D. 1793. His father 
 was brought up in the Presbyterian Church, where he 
 vainly sought religion from early youth until he reached 
 his seventieth year ! At that advanced age he united with 
 the Dependent Baptists in Washington county, Indiana ; 
 was immersed by Elder Peter Wright ; and about three 
 years afterward went down to the grave in peace. 
 Through the influence of false religious teaching, a shadow 
 rested upon almost his whole life. 
 
 The mother of Elder Lockhart was for many yeai*s a 
 Baptist. From her he received his first religious impres- 
 sions ; and as he grew up, the articles of her faith were 
 zealously inculcated in his mind. 
 
 When thirteen years of age his parents removed with 
 him to North Carolina, where he remained until he reached 
 his majority. During his residence there the most of his 
 associates were members of the Society of Friends, among 
 whom he imbibed many of the views of that peculiar 
 people. 
 
 In the Summer of 1814, while on a visit to Ohio, he 
 volunteered his services in the war of 1812 ; and during 
 the following Winter was stationed at Detroit. When 
 his services were no longer required by his country he 
 returned to Ohio, and subsequently to North Carolina. 
 
 Previous to his visit to the West he had been sent to a 
 common school about one year ; and on his return to 
 North Carolina, after the war, he again went to school for 
 340
 
 ■J ^
 
 im^^ 
 
 
 Of ^^
 
 THOMAS LOCKHART. 341 
 
 a term of three months. In this short period he acquired 
 the little mental discipline which he has turned to such 
 excellent account. He might have become a much better 
 scholar but for the fact that he expected to pass his life as 
 an humble tiller of the soil, and entertained the foolish 
 notion that, as such, he would never need much educa- 
 tion. 
 
 This being his view of life, he threw aside his books ; 
 and, in the Fall of 1817, was married to Polly Jessup, a 
 most zealous member of the Society of Friends. 
 
 Soon after his marriage he removed to the West, and 
 settled in Washington county, Indiana. There he found 
 himself in the midst of Dependent Baptists, Friends, and 
 a few adherents of some of the other sects. Being much 
 concerned as to the subject of religion, he attended the 
 various religious meetings held in his neighborhood, espe- 
 cially those of the Friends and Baptists. Indeed, from his 
 early youth, he had been most earnest in his efforts to " get 
 religion;" but it seemed that God only "laughed at his 
 calamity, and mocked when his fear came." As it had 
 been in his youth, so it continued to be in his riper years. 
 The teachings of neither Friends nor Baptists afforded 
 him any satisfactory knowledge of the plan of salvation ; 
 and when he appealed directly to the Lord in prayer, it 
 seemed that He would not answer. After a long, unsuc- 
 cessful conflict, he sank into the conviction that he was a 
 " vessel of wrath fitted to destruction ;" and from this, he 
 easily relapsed into absolute scepticism 
 
 At length, when his feet were almost gone, he chanced 
 to hear some Newlight preacher, who, though still blind 
 in part, understood the way of God more perfectly than 
 did his former religious instructors. Though their views 
 of conversion were much like the views of other denomi- 
 nations the Xewlights differed from those others in that 
 they attached great importance to the Scriptures, and
 
 ;>42 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 earnest]}^ exhorted the people to search them diligently, 
 and take them for the only man of their counsel. 
 
 Agreeably to their instructions he became, for the first 
 time in his life, a Bible reader, and from that book he 
 soon derived more knowledge of Christianity than he had 
 ever been able to acquire from the preachers of those 
 days. With David he could say, " I have more under- 
 standing than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my 
 meditation." 
 
 In his case the law of the Lord proved to be " perfect, 
 converting the soul." He soon learned from the Scrip- 
 tures M^hat he must do to be saved ; and in the year 1832 
 he publicly confessed the Saviour, and was buried with 
 him in baptism by Elder Lewis Comer. His conversion, 
 yea, his whole life, is a verification of that declaration of 
 James, " Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, 
 and continueth therein, the same being not a forgetful 
 hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed 
 in his deed." Nor can one well contemplate the long 
 period during which he was striving to enter in at the 
 straight gate, without calling to mind that other scrip- 
 ture which saith, " If thou criest after knowledge, and 
 liftest up thy voice for understanding ; if thou seekest 
 her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures ; 
 then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find 
 the knowledge of God." 
 
 The meeting at which he acknowledged the Saviour 
 was held near the present town of Plainfield, in Hendricks 
 county, whither he had removed from the county of 
 Washington. This neat little Quaker village was not 
 then laid out, and the great national thoroughfare on 
 which it stands was but recently opened for emigrants to 
 the West. 
 
 On returning home from the meeting he found his wife 
 in great distress on account of what he had done. They
 
 THOMAS LOCKHART. 343 
 
 agreed to refer tlie whole matter to the law and the testi- 
 mony, it being solemnly covenanted that the one unable 
 to sustain his or her position, should at once embrace the 
 views of the other. Never, perhaps, did woman strive 
 more earnestly to accomplish any object, than did Mrs. L. 
 to convince her husband of what she verily believed a 
 fatal error. Often, when he unexpectedly entered the 
 house, she hastily slipped the Holy Bible under her apron 
 that he might not know that she had been preparing, in 
 his absence, for the next discussion. She was finally 
 brought to the knowledge of the truth ; was baptized ; 
 and continued a faithful member of the Church of Christ 
 until her death, which occurred in 1859. 
 
 Other strenuous efforts were made to convert him 
 to the Quaker faith, but he remained " steadfast, un- 
 movable. " 
 
 On the next Lord's day after his union with the church 
 he took part with his brethren in prayer and exhortation. 
 This he continued to do on all proper occasions for 
 several months, at the end of which time he began to 
 accompany Elder John Hadley on his preaching tours. 
 
 As there were then but very few churches, they 
 usually preached in private cabins or in leafy groves. 
 Wherever they went the people gave heed to the things 
 which they spake, and by their united efforts many were 
 brought to the obedience of the faith. In their preach- 
 ing they earnestly opposed all human creeds, and con- 
 stantly advocated a union of all obedient believers on the 
 Bible alone. 
 
 In a short time he began to make appointments for 
 himself; and as early as the year 1833 he had fairly 
 entered into the work of the ministry. Since that time 
 he has ceased not to preach Jesus, and to do what he 
 could to bring the religious world to the unity of the 
 • faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.
 
 344 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 About the year 1834 he was appointed by a co-opera- 
 tive meeting to travel as an evangelist, with John L. 
 Jones. Together they proclaimed the ancient gospel 
 throughout the counties of Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks, 
 and Morgan. Their views were strongly opposed, but 
 their labors were attended with the most gratifying 
 results. 
 
 The witnessing of their success was their chief re- 
 ward ; for Elder Lockhart, at least, did not receive over 
 fifty dollars per annum for his services. For one congre- 
 gation he preached once a month for three years, receiv- 
 ing no I'emuneration save a twenty-five cent Testament, 
 presented to him by one who, it may have been, had no 
 disposition to read it himself. 
 
 To support his family under such circumstances he car- 
 ried on a farm, much of the labor upon which he performed 
 by the light of the moon and stars, that he might find leis- 
 ure to preach the gospel. Five times in the course of his 
 life he has settled in the woods ; and each time added 
 another to the fertile fields of Indiana. 
 
 During the years 1837 and 1838 he extended his travels 
 into Boone and Clinton counties. There were then in 
 that section but few disciples and but very few churches. 
 Opposition was strong, yet he sowed bountifully the in- 
 corruptible seed, some of which fell upon good ground, 
 and contributed to the rich harvest that has since been 
 gathered in those counties. 
 
 A peculiar feature of his ministry was the holding of 
 what were called " Investigation Meetings," at which in- 
 quiries were freely made and religious views freely dis- 
 cussed. Through these meetings public attention was di- 
 rected to the word of God ; and wherever that is directly 
 studied, there the Reformation makes easy and rapid 
 progress 
 
 From 1838 to 1850 he kept out regular monthly ap-
 
 THOMAS LOCKHART. 345 
 
 pointments, and went hither and thither wherever there 
 was a demand for his services, or wherever there appeared 
 an oppoi'tunity of doing good. Hendricks county was, 
 however, the centre and chief field of his operations, and 
 his influence was scarcely felt beyond the confines of cen- 
 tral Indiana. Within those limits he was one of the shin- 
 ing lights, not brilliant but constant. 
 
 At Brownsburg, in the northern part of Hendricks 
 county, he has labored most, and with the best results. 
 When he first visited that point, about the year 1838, he 
 found there only about seventeen disciples, who were bit- 
 terly opposed by the Regular Baptists, of whom there 
 was a large congregation at that place. This little church 
 he set in apostolic order, and for it he has preached regu- 
 larly until the present date. Through his labors some 
 three hundred have been added to its number; and from 
 it three other flourishing congregations have derived their 
 origin, namely those at Clermont, Fayette, and Pittsboro. 
 
 For the church at Bellville, also, he has been the prin- 
 cipal preacher for nearly a quarter of a century, and yet 
 there are few religious teachers whose voice the people 
 of that vicinity will follow more readily than his. In 
 that congregation he has had his membership for twenty- 
 four years ; and in that house of worship he has enjoyed 
 the satisfaction of hearing every one of his children — seven 
 sons and two daughters — confess the name of the Lord 
 Jesus. 
 
 Since 1850 he has greatly extended the area of his use- 
 fulness, having made frequent visits to northern Indiana, 
 and occasional tours through Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. 
 
 During the whole course of his ministry he has held 
 frequent protracted meetings, which have uniformly re- 
 sulted in many additions to the saved. 
 
 There is no earthly record of those whom he has turned 
 from darkness to light j but the number of them is about
 
 346 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 four thousand, among whom are many that are now pro- 
 claiming the truth which has made them free. 
 
 Thus, directly and indirectly, he has done much, espe- 
 cially in an early day, to further the cause of the Reforma- 
 tion, and to entitle him, when he leaves the world, to the 
 grateful remembrance of his surviving brethren. 
 
 Elder Lockhart is a large, heavy-set man, of great phys- 
 ical power and endurance. His height is about five feet 
 eight or nine inches, and his weight not far from one hun- 
 dred and seventy-five pounds. He has dark, but not black 
 hair, small, keen, blue eyes, a ruddy complexion, and a 
 temperament highly excitable. There is an air of majesty 
 about his fine, large forehead, and a look of thoughtfulness 
 with a shade of sadness on his face ; yet his general ex- 
 pression is one of cheerfulness, affability, and pleasant 
 humor. His "earthly house of this tabernacle" has nobly 
 resisted the encroachments of time, so that he is still stout 
 and hearty, and but for the loss of his hair he would be, in 
 appearance, but little beyond the meridian of life. 
 
 Nor was nature less kind in the bestowment of his intel- 
 lectual than of his physical powers ; but while the lattei 
 were fully developed by the hard labor incident to his 
 western life, the former received but little discipline from 
 the few and inferior schools of earlier days. Having been 
 compelled, also, to eat his bread in the sweat of his face, 
 while preaching the gospel without money and without 
 price, he has had but little time to cultivate his own mind, 
 or store it with many facts save those which are connected 
 with the great scheme of man's redemption. Still he has 
 a sound, well-balanced mind, and a thorough knowledge 
 of the Scriptures, of which an almost incredible number 
 of passages are stored away in his capacious and retentive 
 memory. 
 
 He is simple and industrious in his habits ; plain and
 
 THOMAS LOCKHART. 347 
 
 old-fashioned in dress and manners. Ready in conversa- 
 tion, and equally at home in the humblest cabin or in the 
 society of the more wealthy and refined, he is very highly 
 esteemed by all that know him, while in the eyes of many 
 there has not risen a greater than " Uncle Tommy." 
 
 Upon his Christian character there is no serious stain. 
 In the beautiful words of Job, he has put on righteousness 
 and it has clothed him ; his judgment is as a robe and a 
 diadem. On this account his words have great weight, 
 and unto him — as they did to the man of Uz — men give 
 ear, and wait and keep silence at his counseh With 
 respect to his special admirers it may be further said, that 
 " after his words they speak not again, and his speech 
 drops upon them. They wait for him as for the rain, and 
 open their mouth wide as for the latter rain." Job xxix. 
 
 As a public speaker he occupies no mean rank among 
 tlie men of his day. His ideas present themselves promptly, 
 and his language is copious, though frequently inelegant 
 and in rebellion against the laws of syntax. He is not a 
 calm, logical reasoner, but an earnest and desultory de- 
 claimer. He has a powerful voice of extraordinary com 
 pass, and the words come sounding from his great, heaving 
 chest, like the hollow utterances that escape from a vol 
 cano. The chief source of his oratorical power is his 
 excitable nature — his ability to throw his whole soul into 
 his delivery and electrify his hearers. This he frequently 
 does ; and, except at the beginning of his discourse, his 
 manner is vehement throughout. He superabounds in 
 quotations from Scripture, both relevant and irrelevant, 
 and on this single account he is placed, by many, high 
 above other workmen who better divide the word of truth. 
 Nor is he satisfied with the written statements of the 
 inspired witnesses. He authoritatively summons Paul 
 and Peter into the presence of the congregation, and has 
 them repeat their own words, which — he proceeds, in liko
 
 348 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 manner, to show — precisely agree with the testimony of 
 James and John. As he proceeds with the examination 
 of his witnesses he becomes more and more excited, his 
 voice ascends to a higher pitch, his feet become restless, 
 his arms, even to bis fingers' ends, twitch convulsively, the 
 blood seems starting from the great veins upon his fore- 
 head, and, before he sits down exhausted, it is strange if 
 some are not saying in their hearts. Men and brethren 
 what shall we do ? 
 
 Though himself untutored, he has ever been a fast friend 
 of education. He has done much by way of encouraging 
 young men to qualify themselves for useful and honorable 
 positions in life ; and he has done what he could to pro- 
 vide for the mental culture of his own sons. All are 
 qualified for the pursuits of agriculture and commerce ; 
 some have gained admission to the legal and medical pro- 
 fessions ; and one graduated at the JV. W. C. University, 
 and now holds a position to which he was appointed by 
 the President of the United States. 
 
 Though he has passed through many dark seasons, he 
 is now realizing the promise, " at evening it shall be 
 light." His children, once a burden, now a support to 
 his declining years ; his physical wants, once neglected, 
 now well supplied by faithful brethren ; and the cause of 
 God, once persecuted in the hands of a few uneducated 
 defenders, now triumphing gloriously in the hands of a 
 well-disciplined host ; he is able to say, with the aged 
 Simeon, " Now lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace, 
 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.^'
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 i:ilVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 ^ 
 
 C'Uc. Z^/t. >-t.<^''2^«^ie'-?-i^ "^^t^
 
 JACOB WEIGHT. 
 
 Although the son of one of the pioneers sketched in this 
 volume, Elder Jacob Wright is entitled to a place among 
 the first advocates of the Reformation in Indiana. He 
 was born October the 9th, 1809, near Charlestown, Clarke's 
 Grant, Indiana Territory. 
 
 Early in the Spring of 1810, his father, John Wright, 
 removed to a point on Blue River four miles south of Sa- 
 lem, in the present county of Washington, though then 
 within the limits of Harrison. He recollects distinctly 
 when Salem was laid out by his father and the other 
 county commissioners. Probably it received its name — 
 city of peace — from Elder John Wright, the great advo- 
 cate of peace among all the children of God. Among his 
 earliest recollections are the thrilling incidents that oc- 
 curred while his parents and their neighbors were shut 
 up in forts to escape the tomahawks of the savages. 
 
 Owing, therefore, to the circumstances surrounding him, 
 in early life, his education was only on a par with that 
 of other pioneers who grew up in the Western wilds. His 
 father, realizing in his ministry the want of mental cul- 
 ture, did all in his power to improve the minds of his sons; 
 but Jacob, with the rest, acquired only a superficial know- 
 ledge of the lower branches of an English education. 
 
 His spiritual training was carefully superintended, es- 
 pecially by his pious mother, whose holy life was a potent 
 argument in favor of Christianity. But being of a lively 
 and rather froward disposition, no deep impressions of a 
 29 349
 
 350 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 religious cbaracter seem to have been made on his mind 
 in childhood or youth. 
 
 At a very early age he was married to Miss Sarah 
 Sheets, after which event he put away many youthful 
 follies and became more sober-minded. Prom this state 
 of mind the transition was easy and rapid to a state of 
 religious anxiety which induced him to attend the meet- 
 ings and listen to the teachings of the several denomina- 
 tions. In BO doing he well nigh made shipwreck of his 
 faith on the fatal rock of doctrinal diversity. 
 
 He had been taught that it was the part of charity to 
 believe all men sincere in their religious views and candid 
 in the statement of their respective experiences. There- 
 fore his confidence in religion was severely shaken when 
 he heard men earnestly endeavoring to inculcate doctrines 
 as opposite as the poles, and all, at the same time, claim- 
 ing to be direclly called and specially qualified by the 
 Holy Spirit. He could not believe that the Spirit of God 
 inspired such contradictory doctrines ; therefore he con- 
 cluded that those who honestly professed to have been 
 specially called and qualified, were the victims of a delu- 
 sion ; and if tJiey were, so, perhaps, were all believers. 
 
 When witnesses in earthly courts have already contra- 
 dicted each other times Avithout number, their testimony 
 is good for nothing when they chance to agree upon a 
 single point. So when these opposing sectaries agreed 
 in witnessing the blessing to be obtained at the "anxious 
 seat," Elder Wright believed them not, and consequently 
 resisted all the tearful entreaties of his friends, who would 
 fain have seen him at that place of prayer. The religious 
 loaders in those days did not seem to think that the sin- 
 ner's path of duty terminated at the " mourner's bench ;" 
 but at that point it became so obscure that it could scarcely 
 be discerned even by the spiritualized eye of the called- 
 and-sent preacher. In allusion to this fact Elder Wright
 
 JACOB WRIGHT. 351 
 
 is wout to say, in his plain style : " The preachers wanted 
 us sinners to do somcfhiiu/ in order to be saved ; but neither 
 they nor we could ever clearly understand what that 
 'something' was." But for these difficulties he would, no 
 doubt, have obeyed the gospel long before he did ; and it 
 is probable that he never would have obeyed it had not 
 those dark places been illuminated by the dawning light 
 of the Reformation. 
 
 Finally, however, he heard some enlightened preacher 
 observe that "man's duty is simple and may be narrowed 
 down to two points, faith and obedience. This remark 
 directed his mind to something tangible ; and it was not 
 long until both he and his wife were immersed, in humble 
 submission to the will of the Lord. 
 
 They united at once with the congregation of Free-will 
 Baptists at Blue River, which church had been organized 
 by his father on the apostolic foundation, and which, with 
 all the surrounding Baptist churches, came into the Refor- 
 mation at the time of the great union effected soon after 
 between them and the Reformed Silver Creek Association. 
 
 He immediately began to take part in the meetings for 
 public Worship; and in a short time it was whispered 
 about that he ought to preach the gospel. But to this 
 he was firmly opposed ; for his father's experience had 
 taught him that the minister's life is one of severe trial. 
 
 While this matter was pending, he met with a severe 
 affliction in the loss of his wife. She died of consumption 
 in the Summer of 1832. 
 
 Humbled by this sad dispensation of Providence, and 
 seeing the fields on every hand " ripe for the harvest," he 
 yielded to the importunities of his friends, and resolved 
 to devote his life to the service of the Lord. On the 
 third Sunday in August, 1832, he was ordained to the 
 work of the ministry. 
 
 He was at that time in feeble health, and was thought
 
 352 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 to l)e in the first stage of consumption ; but he continued 
 to preach the word with all the energy he could command, 
 his labors being crowned with some success, and his 
 health being finally restored. 
 
 On the last day of March, 1833, he was married the 
 second time, to Rachel Denny, who has been, and still is, 
 a faithful helpmeet in the gospel. 
 
 In May, 1834, he removed to Martinsburg, where he 
 entered into the cabinet business. His cabinet shop was 
 also, per necessity, his theological seminary. He used to 
 keep a Bible on his work-bench ; and while resting he 
 would read a few verses on which to reflect while he plied 
 his tools. In this way he acquired much of that thorough 
 knowledge of the Scriptures, for which he is now noted. 
 
 While prosecuting his worldly business he did not neg- 
 lect the "great salvation." From the very first, his Sundays 
 were regularly employed in the Master's service ; and each 
 succeeding year the area of his operations was enlarged, 
 his influence increasing in a direct ratio. 
 
 During a portion of the year 1838, he preached monthly 
 for the congregation at Cofi'ee Creek ; and through his 
 efficient labors the church increased from forty to over 
 one hundred members. In the year 1839 he immersed 
 about five hundred persons, and about four hundred the 
 year following. Not all of these, however, were enlisted 
 under his preaching alone ; for he travelled much in com- 
 pany with his father, Jesse Mavity, Mordecai Cole, and 
 the Littells — John T. and Absalom. 
 
 Among other important achievements of the year 1839 
 was the organization of the churches at Driftwood and 
 Brownstown — churches which still continueto enlarge their 
 borders, and through the instrumentality of which, many 
 a " mouldering heap," in the cemeteries hard by, will give 
 up its inmate at the first resurrection.
 
 JACOB WRIGHT. 353 
 
 These years — from 1838 to 1840 — were the most suc- 
 cessful of his whole ministry. 
 
 At the close of this period his usefulness as a preacher 
 was seriously impaired, and for a while entirely destroyed, 
 by his becoming entangled in the affairs of this life. By 
 close economy and hard labor in his cabinet shop he soon 
 acquired considerable means, which he invested in a steam 
 flouring mill. In this enterprise he had a partner to whom 
 he intrusted the management of the business, while he, 
 for the most part, gave himself to the word. Under this 
 arrangement the tirm became involved in debts ; and the 
 great financial crisis of 1840 coming upon them, in that 
 situation, rendered them completely bankrupt. 
 
 Up to that time his preaching had been almost gratu- 
 itous, having received only about fifty dollars during the 
 last six years of his ministry. He, therefore, had no reason 
 to look in that direction for pecuniary aid. 
 
 Under these circumstances, and in view of the com- 
 mandment to " provide things honest in the sight of all 
 men," he determined to quit preaching, and labor with 
 his hands, at least until he could pay off all his debts. 
 Accordingly he went to work as a house-carpenter, and 
 by extraordinary exertions was fast liquidating the claims 
 against him. 
 
 But the brethren, especially those of Jackson county, 
 were unwilling for him to abandon the evangelical field. 
 They held that such a course on his part would either 
 produce the impression that his faith had been shaken, or 
 reflect upon his brethren for not giving a more liberal 
 support to one who had made so many sacrifices and 
 manifested so much zeal in the work. Therefore the 
 churches at Driftwood, Brownstown, Pea Ridge, and 
 Indiana Creek, met "in co-operation," and agreed that if 
 he would resume the preaching of the word, as evangelist 
 of Jackson county, they would remunerate him sufficiently
 
 354 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 to enable him to continue the payment of his debts. To 
 this agreement he became a party; and since that time 
 — October, 1841 — he has been (save one year) continually 
 before the public as a minister of the gospel. 
 
 From his journal of proceedings for the year 1842 it is 
 ascertained that he preached for the four churches above- 
 named, and also at Friendship, Leesville, and Leather- 
 wood, in Lawrence ; Coffee Creek and Paris, in Jennings; 
 Sand Creek and Columbus, in Bartholomew; Harrods- 
 burgh, in Monroe ; and Canton, in Washington county. 
 The record also reveals the fact that during the year two 
 hundred and seventy-eight pei'sons were added to these 
 several churches. 
 
 He continued his labors in Jackson until the Fall of 
 1844, during which time the disciples in that county 
 were greatly multiplied. At other points also he held im- 
 portant meetings, among which was one at Mill Creek, in 
 Washington county, where fifty-five were added under his 
 preaching alone. 
 
 His health failing in the Fall of 1844, he removed to 
 Salem, where he was employed during the year 1845 as a 
 clerk in the dry-goods establishment of J. B. Berkey. 
 
 When he entered the ministry the second time in 1841, he 
 determined to seek some further scholastic attainments — 
 at least to acquire the art of using with propriety the 
 English language. Therefore when he engaged to preach 
 for the churches in Jackson county, he also made arrange- 
 ments to spend a portion of his time in a school taught 
 by a brother Richard Fisher. His main study was Kirk- 
 ham's Grammar, with which he became quite familiar. He 
 also acquired some further knowledge of the subject by- 
 attending the lectures of Dr. H. T. N. Benedict, of Bloom- 
 ington, who was traversing the country as a teacher of 
 the English language. 
 
 Subsequently he fell in with a brother Newton Short,
 
 JACOB WRIGHT. 355 
 
 by whom he was induced to begin the study of Greek. 
 In order to encourage him, his patron gave him a Greek 
 Testament, grammar, and lexicon, and also taught him 
 the alphabet. After this humble beginning he continued 
 for two or three years to wrestle with the declension of 
 nouns and adjectives, and to grope his way slowly through 
 the labyrinth of the verb. He obtained all the information 
 he could from every scholar he chanced to meet ; and aside 
 from this he had no assistance until he removed to Salem 
 in 1844. There he placed himself for a few months under 
 the instruction of Prof John I. Morrison, formerly of the 
 State University ; and by this means he was enabled to 
 read the original text with tolerable proficiency. 
 
 Only a few years ago he began the study of Hebrew, 
 which subject, like the Greek, has b6en pursued under 
 many difficulties and mainly without a master. He does 
 not profess to be proficient in either language, but he has 
 learned a sufficiency of both to be able by means of 'his 
 lexicons to determine in most cases the true meaning of 
 the Scriptures. Thus it appears that he has pursued an 
 irregular course — not thorough by any means, but sur- 
 passing in length even the curriculum of the German 
 Universities 1 
 
 On the first of January, 1846, he resumed his labors 
 in the ministry, engaging to preach for the churches at 
 Greensburg, Milford, Clifty, and Clarksburg, in Decatur 
 county. These congregations he found in a weak, luke- 
 warm condition ; but at the end of two years he left them 
 zealous, prosperous, and happy. While employed in De- 
 catur he also reached over into Franklin county, where he 
 organized a church of some forty members. This was 
 in a community previously under the influence of the 
 United Brethren, several of whom entered into the new 
 organization. 
 
 In the Spring of 1848 he commenced preaching monthly
 
 356 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 for the chuvclies at Salem, and New Washington, Clarke 
 county, reserving the remainder of his time for holding 
 protracted meetings at various points. For the space of 
 three years he successfully served the church at New 
 Washington. With the exception of one year he has 
 preached one-fourth of his time at Salem since 1848. 
 During this long period the church has passed through 
 many vicissitudes, has experienced many expansions and 
 contractions ; but it still listens with unabated interest to 
 the instructions of its long-tried pastor. 
 
 In March, 1851, he held a meeting, in New Albany, 
 which resulted in several additions, and gave such satis- 
 faction to the congregation that they employed him to 
 visit them once a month for one year. During the next 
 year he preached fbr them three-fourths of his time, and 
 half his time during the year following. In the three 
 years about one hundred and twenty-five were added to 
 the congregation, which was otherwise greatly strength- 
 ened. 
 
 In the meantime he also organized a new church at 
 Georgia, on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. This 
 was composed largely of those who had formerly been 
 Baptists. 
 
 During the years 1855-56 he served the churches at 
 Milroy, in Rush, and Clifty, in Decatur county. 
 
 In November, 1858, he returned to his old field of 
 labor at Driftwood, where he has since continued to 
 preach once a month Through his zealous ministry 
 nearly the whole community have been converted to the 
 faith of the gospel. 
 
 About this time a rather remarkable meeting took 
 place at Courtland, Jackson county. The Methodists, 
 Baptists, and Disciples of that locality had united their 
 means and erected a union meeting-house. All parties 
 claiming a share in the dedication, Elder Wright was
 
 JACOB WRIGHT. 357 
 
 invited to represent the Christian element on that occa- 
 sion. Arriving at the appointed time, and finding that 
 the building would not be completed for several days, he 
 determined to have a few valedictory exercises in the old 
 house of worship. He accordingly delivered four dis- 
 courses on the subject of Christian' Union, at the conclu- 
 sion of which one of the class-leaders arose and expressed 
 his determination to embrace the Reformation. He 
 paused long enough, however, to deliver a powerful ex- 
 hortation to the members of his class, about twenty of 
 whom — all but one or two — took their stand with him 
 on the Bible alone. Thus, while the workmen were 
 finishing the union house, Elder Wright, as a workman 
 that needeth not to be ashamed, was preparing a united 
 people to occupy it ! Through the increased moral powder 
 resulting from this more perfect union, not less than forty 
 or fifty others were brought into the heavenly family 
 before the close of the meeting. 
 
 But it is not designed to enumerate even a tithe of the 
 meetings which he has held with signal advantage to the 
 cause of reform ; and perhaps those already referred to 
 are sufficient to illustrate, with justice to himself, the 
 manner in which he has been employed, and the success 
 that has attended his efforts for the last thirty years. A 
 line indicating all his travels would pass through, at least, 
 the counties of Decatur, Rush, Franklin, Bartholomew, 
 Jennings, Johnson, Morgan, Monroe, Owen, Lawrence, 
 Jackson, Martin, Washington, Jefferson, Floyd, Greene, 
 Davis, Sullivan, Clark, Scott, Orange, and Harrison. 
 Indeed, his field has embraced almost the whole of 
 southern or southeastern Indiana, which district he has 
 traversed again and again ; for it has been his custom not 
 only to plant, but also to revisit and confirm. He has 
 organized many new churches, set up many altars that 
 had fallen down, and, from the data at hand, the number
 
 858 I'lONEEH PREACHERS. 
 
 of his proselytes cannot be much loss than five thou- 
 sand. 
 
 But Elder "Wright has rendered important services in 
 another department. He is eni])hatically ^' the disputer" — 
 if not " of this world," at least of the State of Indiana. 
 It is as a debater that he has especially distinguished 
 himself, though he was a weak opponent in the beginning. 
 In a brief sketch like this, his numerous discussions can- 
 not be dwelt upon ; but justice demands that they shall, 
 at least, be enumerated as follows : 
 
 1. llis first was with a Methodist preacher by the name 
 of John Bailes. It occurred at Martinsburg, about the 
 
 ; t year 1835. 
 
 2. His next debate, which was on slavery, also took 
 place at Martinsburg, in 1836. His opponent was one 
 Dr. Suggs, an Englishman, who is said to have had a 
 liberal share of the braggart spirit for which his country- 
 men are remarkable. In this respect Elder Wright was 
 also fully up to the American standard ; and conscious of 
 Yankee superiority and the justice of his cause, he ac- 
 cepted the disadvantage of affirming a negative, viz., that 
 "American slavery is not according to the revealed will 
 of God." This he was compelled to do, or be reproached 
 with " backing out ;" for the Doctor, with genuine English 
 
 '; obstinacy, insisted upon the proposition in that form as a 
 
 ^ sine qua non. The moderators decided in favor of freedom. 
 
 2^ 3. At the same place and within the same year, he had 
 
 a sharp engagement with a Mormon apostle, by the name 
 
 of Emmet. 
 
 4. His next collision with one of the contrary part was 
 at Brownstown, Jackson county, in 1839. It was an in- 
 significant, extempore aflair, in which he was opposed by 
 the Rev. Philip May, of the M. E. Church. 
 
 5. This was followed by a regular discussion with a 
 Methodist preacher by the name of Walker. The subjects
 
 JACOB WRIGHT. 359 
 
 discussed were, " The Influence of the Holy Spirit in Con- 
 version and Sanctification," "Infant Baptism," and "Im- 
 mersion." The debate began at Leesville, Lawrence 
 county, August 1st, 1842, and continued three days. Be- 
 fore leaving the ground, Elder Wright immersed twenty- 
 two ; and before the approach of Winter he immersed 
 more than one hundred and fifty in that immediate vicinity. 
 6th. On the 27th of June, 1843, he met Erasmus Man- 
 ford, the Universalist editor, in a discussion which took 
 place at Columbus. On this occasion, his antagonist had 
 the advantage of him in education and experience ; and 
 it is the part of candor to express the opinion that the 
 result was against him. 
 
 7. In the Spring of 1846, and near Clarksburg, Deca- 
 tur county, he had a sharp but irregular contest with the 
 Rev. Williamson Terrell, a Methodist itinerant. The 
 substance of this debate, with the causes that led to it, 
 has since been published by Elder Wright, in a pamphlet 
 of sixty-six pages. 
 
 8. In Octol)er, 1848, he debated five days with Mr. 
 
 Foster, (Universalist,) at New Washington, Clark 
 
 county. This time he was more successful than in his 
 former discussion of Ilniversalism. At the close he im- 
 mersed about fifty persons ; and it is said that " the final 
 holiness and happiness of all mankind" was not again 
 preached in that place for several years. 
 
 9. His ninth engagement was at Salem, in 1850, with 
 a travelling phrenologist, who, in harmony with thai 
 whole race, was inculcating infidel sentiments. 
 
 10. From the 2d to the 10th of August, 1859, he de- 
 bated, at Palmyra, with Dr. E. E. Rose, (Methodist,) on 
 the following ten propositions : 
 
 First. Does the Holy Spirit ever operate, in the convic- 
 tion, conversion, or sanctification of a person, apart from 
 the revealed or written word of God ? Affirmative, Rose,
 
 360 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Second. Did the baptism of the Holy Spirit cease with 
 the death of the apostles ? Affirmative, Wright. 
 
 Third. Has the Church been one and the same under 
 both the Old and New Testaments, and children of be- 
 lieving parents entitled to membership and baptism there- 
 in ? Affirmative, Rose. 
 
 Fourth. Is immersion the one only apostolic baptism ? 
 Affirmative, Wright. 
 
 Fifth. Is sprinkling or pouring apostolic baptism ? 
 Affirmative, Rose. 
 
 Sixth. Is immersion a necessaiy condition of justifica- 
 tion or pardon ? Affirmative, Wright. 
 
 Seventh. Is the Methodist Episcopal Church, as such, 
 a part of the Church of Christ ? Affirmative, Rose. 
 
 Eighth. Is the Church of Christ, which is frequently 
 called "Campbellite," in its organization and form of gov- 
 ernment, the Church of Christ ? Affirmative, Wright. 
 
 Ninth. No church or council has a right to make a dis- 
 cipline or creed for the government of the Church of 
 Christ. Affirmative, Wright. 
 
 Tenth. Is it the will of God that all Christians should 
 be visibly united in one body ? Affirmative, Wright. 
 
 11. In 1860 he again debated with Dr. Rose, at Worth- 
 ington, Greene county. The propositions were almost the 
 very same. 
 
 12. In November of the same year he had a discussion 
 with Nathan Hornaday, at North Salem, Hendricks county, 
 on the following propositions : 
 
 First. Has the kingdom of God, spoken of by Daniel, 
 ii. 44, been set up or organized ? Affirmative, Wright. 
 
 Second. Does the soul of man survive the death of the 
 body, and remain conscious after the death of the body ? 
 Affirmative, Wright. 
 
 Third. Do the Scriptures teach that the "everlasting
 
 JACOB WRIGHT. 3G1 
 
 punishment" of the finally impenitent will be utter extinc- 
 tion ? Affirmative, Hornaday. 
 
 13. His last public debate, in which he was opposed by 
 Rev. T. S. Brooks, (Methodist,) began August 1st, 1861, 
 and continued seven days. 
 
 Thus ends the long chapter of his public discussions, 
 which, in connection with what precedes it, will exhibit 
 to the reader the part which Elder Wright has performed 
 in the current Reformation. For thirty years he has en- 
 dured "hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ ;" and, 
 through the kindness of the Heavenly Father, he still 
 stands upon the walls of Zion, clad in the full armor of 
 God, and brandishing with a strong arm "the sword of the 
 Spirit." 
 
 Elder Wright is a small, sinewy man, black-haired, 
 black-eyed, and of a rubicund complexion. His form, his 
 features, his dress, his gait — every thing about him indi- 
 cates that he is, in a good sense, a busy-body, a man of 
 deeds, as well as pretensions not a few. He is never 
 weary in well doing, and whatever his hands find to do he 
 does with his might. 
 
 His mind is well-balanced and well-informed, especially 
 upon theological subjects. He sees a point readily and 
 clearly, and reasons forcibly from cause to effect. In 
 phrenological terms firmness is large, combativeness larger, 
 self-esteem largest. 
 
 He is rather original and profound in his mental opera- 
 tions, hence the fact that he has preached for the congre- 
 gation at Salem during the past sixteen years, without 
 exhausting his intellectual resources. He is far from be- 
 longing to that class of preachers who deliver a few dis- 
 courses with great effect, and after that have no more that 
 they can do. 
 
 His manner of preaching is plain, straightforward, en- 
 31
 
 362 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 ergetic, authoritative. He speaks with tolerable fluency, 
 yet he is not rich in language ; and his gestures are im- 
 pressive rather than pleasing. He deals exclusively in 
 facts, and carries his point by sheer force of logic. Though 
 not harsh and repulsive in his elocution, yet he is destitute 
 of pathos, and ordinarily incapable of delivering a touch- 
 ing exhortation. 
 
 In debate he is prompt, discerning, perfectly candid, and 
 mild even to a fault ; therefore he contends more success- 
 fully against an able opponent than against a deceitful 
 quibbler. From the number of public discussions in which 
 he has been engaged, it would be inferred that he is not 
 only combative, but habitually aggressive. Such, however, 
 is not the case ; for in the most, if not in all of his regu- 
 lar debates, he has been the challenged party. 
 
 In the world as in his profession, he shows " uncor- 
 ruptness, gravity, sincerity." Though in every respect a 
 positive man, yet he is humble, frank, affable, and there- 
 fore popular, especially among the common people. 
 Wherever he has gone preaching he has a host of friends, 
 with whom his example avails not less than his precepts. 
 
 Poor in this world's goods, yet rejoicing in prospect of 
 a heavenly inheritance, he still proclaims the glad tidings 
 of salvation, resolved to devote the remainder of his days 
 to the advocacy of the principles for which he has so long 
 plead, and which he is fully persuaded will eventually pre- 
 vail over the whole earth.
 
 HpffAR) 
 
 '•"■-s^.*,.
 
 ^. 
 
 ^ /^'^;:^W'z^-2^^^ur
 
 B. K. SMITH. 
 
 Elder Butler Kennedy Smith was born in Spartans- 
 burgh District, South Cax-olina, on the sixteenth day of 
 September, 1807. When he was an infant his father dis- 
 posed of his possessions in South Carolina, intending to 
 emigrate to Indiana Territory; but, clianging his purpose, 
 he settled in the adjoining District of Union, where Butler 
 K. spent the happy days of his childhood. 
 
 In the Spring of 1817 his father carried out his long 
 cherished design of removing to the Northwest. In April 
 of that year he reached Indiana, and soon after entered 
 land on the head waters of West river, in Wayne county. 
 Here in the wild woods — theirs being the extreme frontier 
 house for a long while — Butler K. passed the remaining 
 years of his minority. 
 
 In a country like that there could be no such thing 
 as a school ; consequently he never suffered from that 
 " weariness of the flesh" which is produced by " much 
 study." He had been taught to read before leaving his 
 native State ; and with this ability he gleaned what 
 information he could from the few books owned by his 
 father, and from the newspapers, which at long intervals 
 found their way into the neighborhood. In the course of 
 a few years, however, a respectable school was established, 
 in which he acquired a pretty thorough knowledge of 
 arithmetic, and was shown a little way into the symbolic 
 mysteries of algebra. This, with the general knowledge 
 since gathered by the wayside, is the sum total of his 
 education. 
 
 363
 
 364 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 The circumstances sun'ouiiding liim were equally un- 
 favorable to moral and religious culture. It was only 
 occasionally that a Methodist itinerant left an a])point- 
 nient in the neighborhood ; and the nearest Baptist church, 
 of which both his parents were members, was ten or twelve 
 miles distant — entirely beyond his range. At a distance 
 of three or four miles there was a Society of Friends, 
 whose meetings he frequently attended, but without once 
 hearing a discourse exceeding five minutes in length. 
 His religious training devolved, therefore, on his parents, 
 by whom he was thoroughly indoctrinated according to 
 the creed of the Calvinistic Baptists. 
 
 In the course of a few years a couple of Baptist mis- 
 sionaries established a station at his father's house ; and 
 from that time he heard one or more of the " five points" 
 expounded every month. Under this preaching several 
 persons professed to have " obtained a hope," and among 
 the number was Carey Smith, the eldest brother of Butler K. 
 These fresh recruits, together with a few old soldiers of 
 the cross — nine in all — were organized as a " Baptist 
 Church of Jesus Christ," which was christened " Bethle- 
 hem." William Smith, the father of B. K., was made 
 deacon, and Carey was ordained as pastor, with license 
 " to preach and exhort wherever God in his providence 
 should cast his lot." 
 
 Thus a church was brought near to Elder Smith, but 
 from the gospel he was as far removed as ever. He strove 
 to enter in at the straight gate, but all his efforts were 
 ineffectual. By constant exertion he worked himself into 
 the belief that he had obtained what his parents and 
 brother denominated a "trembling hope;" but his "ex- 
 perience" being unsatisfactory, his " hope" was evanes- 
 cent. He finally reached the following conclusions, which 
 are stated in his own language : 
 
 1. That I was one of the non-elect. Such being the
 
 BUTLER K. SMITH. 365 
 
 case, the present life was all I could promise myself any 
 enjoyment in ; consequently the less I thought about a 
 future state the better. 
 
 2. If I was of the elect the Lord's time for effectually 
 calling me had not yet come ; consequently any effort, on 
 my part, to forestall the divine arrangement would be 
 useless, if not sinful. 
 
 3. That the whole matter of religion was but a farce, 
 gotten up by priest-craft to gull the superstitious and 
 weak-minded. 
 
 Such being his convictions, the Bible was laid aside, 
 and Burns' Poems became his favorite pocket companion. 
 In " Holy Willie's Prayer," "Kirk's Alarm," "Ordination," 
 and " Holy Fair," he specially delighted, because of the 
 clear light in which they exposed the absurdity of the 
 Calvinistic theory. A decent self-respect and the early 
 counsel of his parents kept him from descending to gross 
 immoralities ; but, for a long while, the fear of God was 
 not before his eyes. 
 
 In the Fall of 1823 or '24 his brother Carey, mounted 
 on a sorry nag and an old weather-beaten saddle, set out 
 on a preaching tour through Kentucky and other Southern 
 States. In Kentucky he fell in with "The Christian Bap- 
 tist," with which he was so well pleased that he ordered 
 two copies of the work, as far as published, to be sent to 
 Indiana, one to his own address, the other to that of his 
 father. Thus his apparently unpromising mission was 
 the means of introducing the primitive gospel and the 
 ancient order into Wayne and other counties of Eastern 
 Indiana. 
 
 He lived to see many churches grow up under the 
 labors of himself and others. Finally he went on a mis- 
 sion to the South, under the special patronage of Elder 
 A. Campbell, and fell a victim to the Southern climate 
 soon after reaching his field of labor. He died at Fayette,
 
 3G6 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Miss., on the 2'7tb of January, 1841, in the forty-first 
 year of his age, and about the eighteenth of bis ministry. 
 He was among the very first of the pioneer preachers of 
 Indiana, but his career was of short duration, and confined 
 to the day of small things. 
 
 By the reading of the " Christian Baptist," Butler K.'s 
 objections to Christianity were removed one by one. 
 Gradually the fog of false teaching and consequent skep- 
 ticism rolled away, and he saw once more the water of 
 life, with full assurance that he might approach and par- 
 take freely. But on the principle embodied in the old 
 adage, "A burnt child dreads the fire," he approached 
 very slowly and cautiously. It was not until the Spring 
 of 1832 that he obeyed the gospel, being baptized some 
 six miles southwest of Indianapolis, by an aged and semi- 
 reformed Baptist preacher by the name of William Irvine 
 —alias "Uncle Billy." 
 
 Prior to this event, however, some changes worthy of 
 note had taken place. For the purpose of establishing 
 themselves in the business of blacksmithing — which trade 
 was a kind of heirloom in their family — he and his bro- 
 ther Carey had removed to Indianapolis, at which place 
 they arrived on the 1st of February, 1829 ; and, on the 
 11th of November, 1831, he had married Miss Sarah 
 Bristow, the third daughter of Peyton Bristow, Esq., of 
 Marion county. 
 
 At the time of their removal to Indianapolis, there was 
 at that place a Baptist church, which had reported itself 
 to the " Christian Baptist" as reformed ; but it was still 
 so far from the ancient order that Carey Smith refused to 
 unite with it, and attached himself to a congregation in 
 the country designated by the significant name of Liberty 
 church. At the period of Butler K.'s immersion, the said 
 Liberty church was arraigned before the Indianapolis 
 Association on the charge of heresy, and the so-called
 
 BUTLER K. SMITH. 367 
 
 Reformed church was taking an active part in the prose- 
 cution. Therefore the little church which was organized 
 in the "Bottom," (or six miles from town on the Bluff 
 road,) and of which Elder Smith and his wife were ori- 
 ginal members, did not report itself to the Association, 
 but assumed an independent form of government, adopt- 
 ing the New Testament as its constitution or creed. They 
 also recognized the principle of weekly communion ; and, 
 as far as they understood it, conformed in all things to 
 the order observed by the primitive churches. In this 
 faithful little congregation he retained his membership 
 until the 12th day of June, 1833, on ivhich day was organ- 
 ized ''The Church of Jesus Christ at Indianapolis, Indi- 
 ana.^^ The organization was effected at the house of a 
 brother Benjamin Roberts, Peter H. Roberts afad John 
 H. Sanders being chosen as the first overseers. 
 
 When the disciples met together on the next " first day 
 of the week to break bread," not an officer of the church 
 was present. But there were a faithful few who were 
 not ashamed of the gospel ; and there were quite a num- 
 ber of spectators, anxious to see how those " Campbell- 
 ites" would conduct a meeting without a preacher. 
 
 For a while it was conducted in the most approved 
 Quaker style. Not one of the members present had ever 
 spoken in public, and every one's "tongue seemed to 
 cleave to the roof of his mouth." When the suspense 
 became intolerable. Elder Smith went forward, took up a 
 collection of Baptist hymns — there was then no Christian 
 hymn-book — and began to search for a suitable song. 
 The prayer that he was soon to make in public was press- 
 ing with mountain weight upon his mind ; and, fearing 
 that he might make a failure, he selected the familiar 
 hymn beginning with a definition of prayer especially 
 favorable to him on that occasion, viz. :
 
 368 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 " Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, 
 Uttered or unexpressed." 
 
 This hymn he read and lined out as it was sung, thinking 
 by that means to throw off his embarrassment before the 
 arrival of the critical moment. But the last stanza being 
 ended, his heart failed him, and he sat down, overwhelmed 
 by a sense of dizziness and blindness. One or two other 
 brethren attempted to lead in the exercises, but each and 
 all failed precisely where Elder Smith had failed. Thus 
 the first meeting adjourned, the loaf being unbroken, not 
 a single prayer having been offered. 
 
 This mortifying failure taught the disciples that elders 
 and deacons alone were not to be depended upon ; but that 
 it was the duty, as well as the privilege, of all, " to offer 
 up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." 
 Realizing this, and seeing clearly that the church would 
 go to ruin if such abortive meetings were permitted to 
 recur. Elder Smith added to his faith courage, and at once 
 stepped forward into the front rank of that little faltering 
 band. 
 
 To obviate the difficulty growing out of the absence of 
 the officers, two more elders and as many additional 
 deacons were appointed. Of the latter. Elder Smith was 
 made one ; though he still retained the office of sexton — 
 sweeping, warming, an dilluminating the old school-house, 
 which was the pro tempore "Christian chapel." Ever 
 faithful and punctual in his attendance, he gave the sacred 
 emblems to the disciples ; and in the absence of all four 
 of the elders, he officiated at the table. 
 
 In a short time he became one of the overseers of the 
 congregation, which position he occupied until Elder L. H. 
 Jameson was installed as pastor of the congregation, in 
 October, 1842. At that time Elder Jameson was ordained 
 as an evangelist, Ovid Butler as bishop, and some three
 
 BUTLER K. SMITH. 369 
 
 other brethren as deacons. His last official act, as an 
 elder of that congregation, was to preside over the Pres- 
 bytery which officiated on that occasion. 
 
 Shortly afterwards he was himself ordained as " an 
 evangelist at large;" and thus released from all personal 
 responsibility as to the management, government, and 
 edification of the Indianapolis church. 
 
 In his watchful care over that congregation, and his 
 zealous efforts to extend its borders, he had greatly neg- 
 lected his own business, and had consequently lost very 
 much of the liberal patronage he once received. More- 
 over, his location at that central point, and his position 
 as elder of the church at the capital, enabled him to form 
 but too many acquaintances, and constrained him to 
 receive but too many calls from his brethren in different 
 parts of the State. His house was for many years a 
 Disciples' Inn, and his stable was usually well filled with 
 horses not his own. 
 
 Owing to these combined causes he became greatly 
 involved in debt ; and finally had to dispose of his town 
 property (that would be a fortune to him now) at a great 
 sacrifice, and remove to a farm several miles in the country. 
 There he worked hard to retrieve his former losses ; and 
 in the course of a few years, frowning poverty was suc- 
 ceeded by smiling plenty. During these years of severe 
 manual toil he did not wholly forsake the word of life ; 
 but on almost every Sunday he rode away from one to ten 
 miles, preached one or two discourses, and returned the 
 same day. 
 
 Early in the year 1849 he Avas solicited by the co-ope- 
 ration meeting to evangelize in the county of Johnson. 
 This call he accepted ; and, in April, entered into his new 
 field at a salary of three hundred dollars per annum. The 
 principal churches composing the " co-operation" were at 
 Franklin, Mount Auburn, Edinburg, and Williamsburgh.
 
 3T0 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 For these, and in destitute places, he labored with such 
 success, that he was employed to evangelize another year 
 in connection with Elder Ara Hollingsworth. 
 
 Anxious that he should devote his whole time and 
 attention to the work of the ministry, his brethren, at the 
 commencement of the second year, urged him to lease out 
 his farm for a term of years, at the same time making 
 him verbal and indefinite promises of a liberal support. 
 Yielding to their requests, and abandoning the farm — his 
 only sure base of operations — his supplies were soon cut 
 off" ; and by the close of the year he found himself reduced 
 almost to absolute want. But this return of financial 
 embarrassments only exemphfied still further the apostle's 
 declaration that "all things work together for good to 
 them that love God." By the irresistible force of circum- 
 stances he was compelled to visit other and distant points, 
 where he hoped to find more liberality, and at least equal 
 opportunities of doing good. In this way he made him- 
 self known to many brethren who, perhaps, would never 
 have heard of him had he continued a successful tiller 
 of the soil. Thus his area of usefulness was widely 
 extended ; and he was forced to fulfill the hitherto un- 
 fulfilled conditions of his commission as "evangelist at 
 large. ''^ 
 
 Though his labors were arduous, he fared sumptuously 
 every day, and so far as himself was concerned he could 
 have enjoyed this itinerant service very well. But every 
 dainty morsel was robbed of its relish by the recollection 
 that his wife and children were subsisting on the cheapest 
 and coarsest fare ; and as he sat by the fireside of the 
 thrifty farmer — father, mother, sisters, brothers, all pre- 
 sent, the happy circle unbroken — his mind was filled with 
 sad thoughts of a very different scene beneath his own 
 distant roof But remembering the words, " He that 
 loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
 
 BUTLER K. SMITH. 3Y1 
 
 rae," he sustained the cross, and continued to point the 
 people to Him whom, for their sakes, the cross sus- 
 tained. 
 
 Having spent some two years in these desultory labors, 
 he was invited to take the pastoral charge of the congre- 
 gation at Harrison, in Dearborn county. This call he 
 accepted, and removed to Harrison in the Spring of 
 1853. The congregation at that place gave him three 
 hundred dollars for half his time, and two churches in 
 Kentucky gave him the same amount for the remainder. 
 Thus he received a salary of six hundred per annum, 
 which was more than sufficient to supply the temporal 
 wants of his family. At this point he spent two of the 
 happiest years of his life, the success of the gospel being 
 not the least cause of his rejoicing. 
 
 In May, 1855, he returned to his farm near Indianapo- 
 lis, where he has continued to reside. From that time to 
 the present he has preached regularly for some two or 
 three congregations, and has gone hither and thither 
 throughout Central Indiana, preaching the gospel of the 
 kingdom, establishing new churches, edifying old ones, 
 heahng dissensions, and provoking to love and good 
 works. 
 
 In addition to his preaching he has exerted a considera- 
 ble influence, and become somewhat distinguished as a 
 writer. He wields a vigorous pen, which, for the last 
 fifteen or twenty years, has been industriously employed 
 in contributing to the various Christian periodicals. 
 
 He is now, and has been from the beginning, a punc- 
 tual and xcorking member of the Board of Directors of 
 the N. W. C. University. He also acts a prominent part 
 in the management of County, District, and State Meet- 
 ings; and is well known as a true friend of education, an 
 active and liberal supporter of missions, both home and 
 foreign, and of every institution, human or divine, which
 
 372 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 tends to the physical improvement, mental illumination, 
 or spiritual elevation of his race. 
 
 Of the personal appearance" of Elder B. K. Smith, no 
 written description is necessary. By one glance at the 
 portrait accompanying this sketch, the inquirer will ob- 
 tain a better idea of that than it is in the power of words 
 to convey. Like the ancient Eli, he is " an old man and 
 heavyy He has too much sound sense to attempt to 
 adorn such a person as his with fine clothes ; therefore he 
 dresses in very plain style, his main object being to give 
 the respiratory organs full play, and to guard against the 
 suffocating effects of heat. 
 
 His mental machinery is not of the most ponderous 
 kind ; but his inexhaustible supply of physical force runs 
 it at a furious rate. Impelled by this bodily vigor, his 
 mind easily surmounts obstacles which would be insuper- 
 able to a superior intellect inhabiting a frailer tenement. 
 But the Lord has given him more than one talent, though 
 he may not have given him five. Such are his abilities, 
 natural and acquired, that when the Master comes to 
 reckon with his servants, he may truly say, " Lord, thou 
 deliveredst unto me tico talents ; behold, I have gained 
 two other talents besides them." He is a bold, original 
 thinker, who attempts the solution of the most intricate 
 proVjlems in theology, and who usually throws some addi- 
 tional light on subjects the most difficult to elucidate. 
 
 He is an edifying, stirring speaker — fluent, impressive, 
 and oft-times affecting even to tears. His voice is deep 
 and powerful, but under perfect control ; his gestures are 
 natural, and therefore appropriate ; his countenance glows 
 with animation ; and his whole manner is so earnest as 
 to force upon his hearers the conviction that " from the 
 abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." He is fond 
 of doctrinal subjects ; but he faithfully reminds his breth-
 
 BUTLER K. SMITH. 373 
 
 ren of the practical precepts of the gospel. He opposes 
 at all points those who resist the truth ; yet in so doing 
 he does not assume the authoritative air of the Saviour 
 when he said, " generation of vipers," but rather that 
 sympathetic mood in which he exclaimed, " O Jerusalem, 
 Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest 
 them that are sent unto thee." 
 
 In all things he endeavors to please him who has called 
 him to be a soldier. Therefore he does not suffer himself 
 to become much entangled in the affairs of this life; but 
 the affairs themselves — especially his own — are apt to 
 become greatly entangled. He is not remarkable for the 
 possession of great tact, or superior business qualities ; 
 and his bump of order would hardly be found by the clumsy 
 fingers of some pseudo-phrenologists. 
 
 He is a man of warm and generous emotions — kind, 
 forgiving, tender-hearted, ardently attached to his family 
 and friends. Above all other objects he prizes "the king- 
 dom of God and his righteousness" — 
 
 "The church our blest Redeemer saved 
 With his own precious blood." 
 
 For it he has toiled and suffered, denying himself the 
 pleasures, the riches, the honors — all the "vain pomp and 
 glory of this world." In its service he is fully resolved to 
 spend the remainder of his days, with a firm reliance on 
 the promise, " They that be wise shall shine as the bright- 
 ness of the firmament, and they that turn many to right- 
 eousness as the stars forever and ever."
 
 BENJAMIN F. EEEVE. 
 
 Elder Benjamin F. Reeve was born in Prince William 
 county, Virginia, on the 28th of October, 1198. He is of 
 Welch descent with a slight mixture of Scotch and Irish. 
 Tradition has it, that, very early in the history of this 
 country, four brothers by the name of Reeve emigrated 
 from Europe and settled in four different and distant parts 
 of what is now the United States ; and that from the said 
 brothers have descended all of that name in America. 
 
 Near the beginning of the present century his grand- 
 father, Asa Reeve, removed from Virginia to Fleming 
 county, Kentucky, where he died more than forty years 
 ago. He was a most zealous Methodist, and the most of 
 his family embraced the faith in which they were brought 
 up. Two of his sons became Methodist preachers, but 
 Benjamin, the father of Benjamin F., never made any pro- 
 fession of religion ; and especially did he not receive the 
 doctrines of the Methodists. He rejected all creeds, hu- 
 man and divine, and made one for himself, which con- 
 tained only a single article, namely. Whatsoever things are 
 honest. He was careful to observe but one commandment : 
 " Thou shalt not steal." He employed in his family but one 
 exhortation : " Let us walk honestly, as in the day." With 
 him, as with multitudes now, honesty constituted the whole 
 of religion : upon it hung all the law and the prophets; as 
 if the Messiah had said to his apostles, " Go ye into all the 
 world and preach honesty to every creature. He that 
 deals honestly according to the decisions of his own mind 
 374

 
 UN!V'
 
 BENJAMIN F. REEVE. 375 
 
 shall be saved, but he that defrauds in any matter shall be 
 damned." This being his faith, he sought to implant no 
 other in the minds of his children, who therefore grew up 
 as free from religious bias as it is possible for human 
 nature to be. 
 
 When Elder Reeve was six years old his father removed 
 from Virginia to Kentucky, and settled in Mason county, 
 about six miles below Maysville and near the Ohio river, 
 whose waters were then disturbed only by the light canoe 
 of the Red Man and the clumsy keels of the Whites. 
 When quite young he was sent to school until he learned 
 to spell, read and write with tolerable proficiency. When 
 sufficiently old to work, he employed his time mainly in 
 agricultural pursuits, yet he went to school more or less 
 each winter until he arrived at manhood. He then at- 
 tended a kind of high school for a year or two, in which, 
 by diligent application, he acquired what was then re- 
 garded as an excellent English education. 
 
 Soon after completing his studies he was married to 
 Miss Elizabeth D. Driskell. She subsequently followed 
 him into the Reformation, and has long since preceded 
 him to the Spirit land. 
 
 After his marriage he engaged in the business of teach- 
 ing, which he prosecuted successfully and exclusively for 
 fifteen years. At the expiration of that time he aban- 
 doned the pi'ofession, having demonstrated by actual ex- 
 periment that, by teaching, he could make no more than a 
 bare living for himself and his family. 
 
 The religious element of the community in which he 
 lived was composed principally of Methodists, Baptists, 
 and Newlights. The meetings of these several denomi- 
 nations he attended quite regularly from his boyhood to 
 his thirtieth year. This he did, not for the purpose of 
 ascertaining the will of God and doing it, but merely to 
 listen to the extravagant logic of the preachers, and find
 
 316 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 agreeable companions with whom to while away the slug- 
 gish hours of the Sabbath. The pious quarrels indulged 
 in by those three religious orders, with reference to elec- 
 tion and free grace, and sundry other matters set forth in 
 their creeds, were not well calculated to iniiuence, in the 
 right direction, a mind early taught to criticise the strife 
 and divisions existing among the professed disciples of 
 the Prince of Peace. Under such circumstances he made 
 little or no progress toward the kingdom. So disgusted 
 was he with conflicting doctrines, that he never seriously 
 thought of searching out the narrow way. He knew but 
 little about religion, and, if possible, cared less. With 
 some of the more interesting portions of the Old Testa- 
 ment he had a slight acquaintance. He had read of the 
 creation, of Noah and his ark, of David and Goliath ; he 
 was familiar with the story of Joseph and his brethren, 
 and had some skeptical recollections of Sampson and his 
 foxes. But to his understanding the seal of the New 
 Testament had scarcely been broken. In his mind those 
 wondrous things which the angels desire to look into had 
 awakened no interest. He was truly without God and 
 without hope in the world. Who can contemplate his 
 spiritual condition at that time, and the causes which 
 mainly led to it, without being convinced that a divided 
 church is opposed to the spiritual welfare of man, as well 
 as to the revealed will of God ? 
 
 The first book of a religious character he ever read 
 with any interest or seriousness, was the published debate 
 between Alexander Campbell and W. L. McCalla. Hav- 
 ing as yet no preference for this denomination or that, he 
 gave the work an unprejudiced perusal, being just as will- 
 ing at that time to be a MvCallaite as a Camphellile. 
 From it he obtained some substantial knowledge of reli- 
 gion, and he closed the book with the impression that the 
 Bible is less contradictory than the sects, and that, like
 
 , BENJAMIN F. REEVE. 377 
 
 any other book, it may be studied and for the most part 
 understood. 
 
 About the year 1828 the three denominations mentioned 
 above imported into the neighborhood three preachers, 
 one of each order, and each an able defender of the dog- 
 mas of his church. Many things were then done through 
 strife and vain glory. Meetings were so frequent that 
 opportunities were afforded of hearing one of the three 
 champions every Lord's day. From the very first Elder 
 Reeve attended these meetings, and he soon became a 
 deeply interested listener, having now learned how to 
 compare the views of men with the word of God. They 
 mainly discussed the subjects of Baptism, Calvinism, and 
 the Divinity of Christ. He hearkened diligently to them 
 all, until he understood clearly their positions and the dif- 
 ferences between them. On Baptism the Baptist and New- 
 light opposed the Methodist ; on Calvinism the Methodist 
 and Newlight opposed the Baptist ; and on the Divinity 
 of Christ the Baptist and Methodist opposed the Newlight. 
 It was, therefore, a remarkable, triangular, and unequal 
 contest, there being two against one on each of the 
 subjects. 
 
 In addition to these discussions, the doctrine of the 
 Reformation was beginning to be preached in that com- 
 munity, though as yet, it had made no breach in the walls 
 of sectarianism. In the midst of all these circumstances. 
 Elder Reeve desired greatly to know which of all the doc- 
 trines was true, or whether all were alike false. To sat- 
 isfy himself, he resolved to try the whole matter before 
 the apostolic jury. 
 
 Baptism being put on trial first, he took up the New 
 Testament and read it through with special and exclusive 
 reference to that subject. Wherever the term occurred, 
 or wherever the subject was alluded to in any way, there 
 he paused, scrutinized, and analyzed as closely as possible
 
 378 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 He examined well the locality of "Enon near to Salim," 
 and weighed well the reason why John was there bap- 
 tizing. — Jno. iii. 23. He hears John say, "I indeed bap- 
 tize you with water," and he resolves to discover if pos- 
 sible how he does it. Presently a subject approaches. It 
 is Jesus coming "from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be 
 baptized of him." — Matt. iii. 13. He watches with intense 
 interest and perceives that John baptizes in water ; for 
 " Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out 
 of the water." He observes the passage of our fathers 
 through the sea, and finds that they were baptized unto 
 Moses in the sea — not ivith it. He seeks diligently the 
 "spray" by which, the preachers affirmed, they were 
 sprinkled on that memorable occasion. He finds to his 
 astonishment that the waters are frozen in the heart of the 
 sea, and that they are "a wall (of ice) unto them on the 
 right hand and on the left." — Ex. xv. 8 and xiv. 22. He 
 follows the chariot over the desert toward Gaza, to wit- 
 ness the baptism of the eunuch. As they go "down both 
 into the water," he vainly strives to discover some simi- 
 larity between the action of Philip and that of the man 
 who administers this ordinance, standing on a soft carpet 
 with a basin of water in his hand. He closely observes 
 the Saviour when the little children are brought unto him. 
 He sees him put his hands on them ; he hears a blessing 
 pronounced over their innocent heads ; but not a thing 
 does he see or hear relative to baptism. He goes to the 
 jail at Philippi, and inquires after the jailer's "house" — 
 the little ones that were said to have been baptized upon 
 their father's faith. He finds that they are all of sufficient 
 age to believe in God. — Acts xvi. 34. He asks Paul and 
 Silas as to the number, the ages, and the names of Lydia's 
 children, but they return no answer. 
 
 These researches he made impartially, being as willing 
 to find authority for Sprinkling or Infant Baptism, as for
 
 BENJAMIN F. REEVE. 3Y9 
 
 any thing else. Having heard so much about these out- 
 side of the Bible, he was not a little surprised to find, in 
 it, no trace of either the one or the other. He read the 
 Testament through again in the same manner and with 
 the same result. The doctrine so eloquently advocated 
 by the Methodist brother in opposition to the Baptists and 
 Newlights, was not written in the book of God. 
 
 Returning one evening from school he stopped at the 
 village where several persons were assembled, and among 
 them a certain class-leader who knew that he was search- 
 ing the Scriptures. Being interrogated by the brother as 
 to the result of his investigations, he replied, that if he 
 bad not previously heard, from men. of Sprinkling and In- 
 fant Baptism, no thought of them would have ever entered 
 his miud in all his reading of the Xew Testament. The 
 official assuming a contemptuous air and giving expres- 
 sion to some taunting remarks, Elder Reeve handed him a 
 Testament, which at that time he always carried in his 
 pocket, and requested him to "put his finger" on the pas- 
 sage, which, of itself, would have originated such an idea. 
 He took the book reluctantly, but instead of pointing out 
 the passage, he began to talk of Lydia and her "house- 
 hold." He has often made the same demand of the advo- 
 cates of those doctrines, but no one has ever met it. He 
 is therefore profoundly impressed with the diiference be- 
 tween finding a doctrine in the Bible and proving one 
 from the Bible The latter practice he regards as a fruit- 
 ful source of errors and isms. 
 
 The first subject being disposed of he again read the 
 Testament through with an eye single to Eternal and 
 Unconditional Election. On the first reading he was fully 
 persuaded that the way of salvation is open to all — that 
 "in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh right- 
 eousness, is accepted with him." 
 
 He then took up the remaining subject — the Divinity of
 
 380 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Christ — in the same manner, but with less success. On 
 the first reading, he felt that he knew but little about it ; 
 on the second, less ; and on the third, still less. Though 
 the term " divinity" was freely used in the discussions of 
 that day, yet the question in hand was more properly the 
 elernitij of Christ — was he co-eternal with the Father, 
 or did he derive his existence from the Father? This 
 was the subject which to Elder Reeve grew more and 
 more obscure. But that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, 
 he found abundant evidence in the Scriptures. With 
 this great, central truth he contented himself; and beyond 
 that, after the third reading, he sought not " to penetrate 
 the vail." 
 
 I3y the time lie reached his conclusions on the subjects 
 before mentioned, the doctrine of the current Reformation 
 was being extensively taught in that community, not only 
 by disciples, but also by many Baptist preachers. Among 
 these was Jesse Holton, a most excellent man, in whom 
 the people had very great confidence. He afterwards 
 came completely over to the Bible alone, and continued a 
 steadfast disciple till he entered into his rest. By this 
 devout man, in the Summer of 1829, Elder Reeve was 
 immersed, with an intelligent understanding that it was 
 an act in order to the remission of sins. Thus was he 
 horn free, though he afterwards united with a Baptist 
 congregation known as Bracken church. 
 
 In 1830 or '31, this church divided. Of some hundred 
 and fifty members, all went into the Reformation except 
 about thirty. The old house of worship was held as 
 common property, the Baptists occupying it one-third of 
 the time. 
 
 Soon after this division B. F. Reeve and Daniel Runyon 
 were selected as elders. In the Summer of 1832, they 
 were formally ordained — Elders D. S. Burnett, John 
 Smith, and Guerdon Gates officiating.
 
 BENJAMIN F. REEVE. 381 
 
 In the Spring of 1833 he removed to Indiana, and 
 settled, where he now resides, in Noble township. Rush 
 county. That county has been the principal field of his 
 labors. He has worked in only a small portion of the 
 great vineyard ; but he has cultivated that portion well. 
 When he came to that county the Christians were few in 
 number and everywhere spoken against. But the face 
 of the western country has scarcely changed more, in the 
 last quarter of a century, than has the religious phase of 
 Rush county. It is no vain boasting, but the statement 
 of a well-attested feet, to say that the despised few have 
 been so multiplied that they now far outnumber any other 
 denomination — that they have more and better churches, 
 sustain in the field more preachers, do more in the cause 
 of education, and exert more influence in every way over 
 the public mind. To bring about this happy state of 
 affairs, no one has done more, perhaps, than Benjamin F. 
 Reeve. To realize the good that he has accomplished, 
 that interesting region must be seen as it is by one who 
 recollects it as it was. 
 
 Upon his removal to that locality, he united with the 
 Flat Rock church ; and for twenty-eight years has been 
 one of its bishops, and its principal instructor in word 
 and doctrine. During this long period, Flat Rock has 
 been one of the largest and most influential churches in 
 the State. It now has over two hundred members, and 
 it has seldom had less. It has sent whole colonies to 
 various portions of Indiana, while many have gone from 
 it to the far West, carrying with them the " incorruptible 
 seed." 
 
 In addition to his labors at Flat Rock, he has rendered 
 efficient service to the neighboring churches, sometimes 
 visiting them monthly. When the system of county co- 
 operation was adopted throughout the State, he travelled
 
 382 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 and preached over a small district for about three years. 
 His labors were attended with great success. 
 
 During his ministry he has been especially useful as an 
 immerser. Possessing great strength of body, caution, 
 and self-possession, he has usually been called on to 
 immerse the obedient wherever he has been present. He 
 baptized his first subject in June, 1833 ; since which time 
 he has immersed hundreds, if not thousands, without the 
 slightest accident to any. On one occasion he buried 
 thirty-six without coming up out of the water. 
 
 He has also enjoyed great popularity among the young 
 men and maidens, very many of whom he has united in 
 the bonds of matrimony. 
 
 He has himself been twice married. His first wife died 
 in 1839, and in the following year he was married to 
 Elizabeth B. Lower, who still survives. 
 
 In view of the important results which he has accom- 
 plished in behalf of primitive Christianity, it may be well 
 to consider the means by which those results have been 
 obtained. It may be safely affirmed that they have not 
 been brought about by extraordinary exertions as an 
 evangelist. Many men, who have done less good, have 
 preached more, travelled farther, and experienced greater 
 hardships. Though he has preached a great deal, he has 
 never given himself wholly to the word. Much of his 
 time has always been devoted to secular pursuits. Upon 
 these he has relied for the support of his family, and, 
 until quite recently, he never received any remuneration 
 for his services in the gospel. 
 
 For several years he was a member of the Board of 
 Managers of the White Water Canal. From the organi- 
 zation of the North Western Christian University, he has 
 been a punctual and highly efficient member of its Board 
 of Directors, and Business Committee. In the township 
 in which he resides he has served as justice of the peace
 
 BENJAMIN F. REEVE. 383 
 
 for thirteen consecutive years; and for the last twenty- 
 years he has been engaged in settling up estates, and 
 acting as guardian of minor heirs. At this time he is 
 executor of five different estates, and the guardian of six 
 families of children. He has sometimes had more of such 
 business on hands, but seldom less. In this capacity he 
 not only guards the dollars and cents, but also superin- 
 tends the moral and intellectual training of those entrusted 
 to his care. During five sessions he has been honored by 
 the people of Rush county with a seat in the State Legis- 
 lature ; two terms in the House — from 1836 to 1838 — 
 and three years in the Senate, from 1841 to 1844. Al- 
 though not wealthy, he has, by judicious management of 
 his worldly affairs, and by hard manual labor, placed 
 himself in a condition to live easily and independently 
 during the remnant of his days. 
 
 It may be affirmed with equal safety, that his success 
 in the ministry is not owing to the possession of extra- 
 ordinary ability. True, he is a workman that needrili 
 not to be ashamed, and one fully competent to officiate 
 creditably in any pulpit ; yet he is not generally regarded 
 as a great preacher. But in the little circle in which he 
 has quietly labored, it is universally conceded that 
 "brother Reeve is the safe preacher." This expression, 
 which has become almost proverbial in Rush county, 
 reveals the secret of his success. He has accomplished 
 his Avork by being emphatically a Book man ; by always 
 meeting the opposer with a "thus it is written;" by 
 taking heed to himself and his doctrine ; by avoiding, as 
 a preacher, all superstitious notions, speculative theories, 
 " vain babblings," and " foolish and unlearned questions ;" 
 by teaching the people the pure word of God; and by 
 being, himself, "an example to the believers in word, in 
 behavior, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." 
 
 Besides these excellent traits as a preacher, he pos-
 
 384 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 sesses admirable qualities as a bishop. It is in tbis office, 
 rather than the ministry, that he stands pre-eminent. 
 There is scarcely a single particular in which he does not 
 conform to the standard given by Paul to Titus. During 
 the twenty-eight years that have elapsed since he became 
 bishop of Fiat Rock church, no serious difficulty of any 
 kind has occurred in the congregation ; and the cause of 
 primitive Christianity, in that community, has been saved 
 from the disgrace which often arises from contentious elders 
 and disputing brethren. This calamity he has prevented 
 by permitting to be brought before the church no ques- 
 tion which was calculated to divide it, or seriously disturb 
 its harmony ; by not assuming, as too many bishops do, 
 a dictatorial attitude ; by causing the church to feel its 
 responsibility, and thus, in a great measure, govern itself; 
 and by not being determined to thrust himself forward as 
 a preacher, but by being always willing to speak or re- 
 frain from speaking according to the will of those whom 
 he served. 
 
 Still proceeding in this way the pleasure of the Lord 
 continues to prosper in his hands; and never, while he 
 stands at the door, will grievous wolves enter in to 
 devour his flock. A little longer shall he " feed the flock 
 of God, taking the oversight thereof, not for filthy lucre, 
 but of a ready mind." Then shall the chief Shepherd 
 appear, and he shall receive a crown of glory. 
 
 From this brief sketch of his life and services let at 
 least one important conclusion be drawn, namely, to 
 advance the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, it is 
 not necessary to travel into Asia, or possess the mental 
 acumen of the apostle Paul. Ordinary ability, employed 
 with discretion in the pulpit, and prudence in the bishop's 
 office, may establish the claims of the ancient gospel in 
 any other county, as, by such means, they have been 
 established in the county of Rush.
 
 BENJAMIN P REEVE. UHf) 
 
 In the personal appearance of Elder Reeve there is 
 nothing remarkable. He is rather heavy set, hardly up 
 to the average height; and his whole contour is indicative 
 of great strength, activity and endurance. He has a keen 
 gray eye, light hair, and a highly nervous temperament. 
 
 He is a thoughtful, well-informed, common-sense man ; 
 not disposed to consider things abstractly; but of a prac- 
 tical and business turn of mind. 
 
 His dress is plain and neat, correctly representing him 
 as a well-to-do farmer. 
 
 He is easily approached, very lively in conversation, 
 and hospitable to a fault. For many years his house has 
 been the preacher's home ; and every good and great 
 enterprise finds in him a " cheerful giver." 
 
 He preaches the simple gospel in very simple style. 
 His action is not that of an orator ; but his ideas are 
 good, his language well chosen, and his delivery impressive. 
 
 When death claims him the world will be minus an 
 obliging neighbor, a patriotic citizen, a patron of learning, 
 a true philanthropist, and an exemplary Christian. 
 33
 
 JOSEPH W. WOLFE, 
 
 Elder Joseph W. Wolfe was born in Frederick county, 
 Virginia, April 19th, 1810. Like most persons of that 
 day his advantages for obtaining an education were very 
 limited. He was sent to school three months in the year 
 181*7 ; and about nine months in the following year. On 
 the 3d of April, 1819, he left Virginia and removed to 
 Sullivan county, Indiana, where he still resides. Arriving 
 at his western home on the 1st of the following May, being 
 a little more than ten years of age, he soon discovered 
 that he was by no means the only xcolf that had emi- 
 grated to that locality ; for at that time Sullivan county 
 was but sparsely settled ; the howling of wolves was 
 heard more frequently than the sound of the gospel, and 
 far more numerous than school-houses were the wigwams 
 of the Indians. Here among savages both human and 
 inhuman, he grew up, toiling daily in forest or in field ; 
 nor until eighteen years of years of age had he any further 
 opportunity of attending school. During the years 1828-9 
 he again went to school for about six months ; and, by a 
 diligent improvement of his time, he mastered the Spelling 
 Book ; learned to read and write, and " ciphered''^ to the 
 rule of three in arithnu'tic. His education was then 
 regarded as complete ; for ))y the people of that day, 
 geography, English grammar, and indeed all things beyond 
 the rule of three were deemed of no practical utility. 
 
 Unlike most of our modern students, he did not confine 
 himself within the narrow bounds of " man's wisdom," 
 386
 
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 C^t>ty 
 
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 . ^r

 
 JOSEPH W. WOLFE. 387 
 
 but diligently inquired after " that wisdom which cometh 
 down from above." He soon found and appreciated the 
 great truth, too often overlooked by young men, that 
 " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and to 
 depart from evil is understanding." Accordingly, on the 
 2d of August, 1828, he was immersed into Christ, and on 
 the first Lord's day of September following, united with 
 the Baptist church at Maria Creek, Knox county, Indiana. 
 
 A little prior to this time, the light of the Reformation 
 l^egan to dawn on that vicinity. Influenced by the 
 writings of Barton W. Stone, Alexander Campbell and 
 others, the principal Baptist ministers preached, with 
 Paul, that " faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the 
 w^ord of God. While they insisted on faith and repent- 
 ance as essential antecedents of baptism, they no longer 
 taught the people that they could not be baptized without 
 a previous assurance of pardon. 'Elder Wolfe declares 
 that, had it not been for these modifications of the ortho- 
 dox gospel, he would never, perhaps, have united with the 
 church, and that he certainly would not have done so at 
 that time. Happily for him and the thousands that have 
 been saved through his instrumentality, these modifica- 
 tions were made ; but alas ! in how many cases have 
 they not been made ! Who but Grod can estimate the 
 influence, nay the souls that have been lost because of 
 them that have hesitated to preach the simple gospel 
 through fear of being called heterodox ? 
 
 But to the new doctrines proclaimed from the pulpit, 
 many of the members seriously objected; and previous to 
 his immersion he was required to relate an "experience." 
 He stated that he had " heard the word;" that he believed 
 that Jesus is the Christ ; that he had repented of his sins ; 
 that he hated iniquity ; loved righteousness ; and desired 
 to be baptized. The fact that he loved righteousness and 
 hated iniquity was regarded as proof, strong as holy writ,
 
 388 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 that Gu(] had blotted out his transgressions; and they 
 accordingly proceeded to baptize him " because of" the 
 remission of sins. Thus he became a Baptist ; but the 
 gate had well nigh proved too straight for him. 
 
 Soon after his union with the Baptist Church, the creed 
 question was greatly agitated in the congregation at 
 Maria Creek. Many of the members were much dissatis- 
 fied with the Baptist Confession of Faith, especially to 
 that part of it which relates to the doctrine of eternal 
 election. So high did the excitement run, that at every 
 monthly meeting some one would move that the creed be 
 read, which being done, the debate began, almost every 
 male member taking part in the discussion. In the midst 
 of this excitement, Elder Wolfe and seventeen others re- 
 quested to be organized as a separate congregation, at 
 Shaker Prairie, in Knox county ; but they were unwilling 
 to be organized on a creed unless that creed should be 
 expressed in Bible terms. To obviate the difficulty, the 
 church appointed Elder Wolfe and their pastor. Elder B. 
 W. Fields, as a committee to prepare a satisfactory creed. 
 At the next monthly meeting they reported one, which 
 began as follows : 
 
 " Preamble. 
 
 " We believe that the Scriptures are divinely inspired, 
 and the only infallible rule of faith and practice : — There- 
 fore we declare to the world our faith in the following 
 manner, viz. : 
 
 " 1st. We believe ' There are three that bear record in 
 heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and 
 these three are one.' 
 
 " 2d. We believe ' There are three that bear witness in 
 earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood : and these 
 three agree in one.' 
 
 " 3d. We believe that ' In the beginning was the Word, 
 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'
 
 JOSEPH W. WOLFE. 389 
 
 " 4th. We believe that 'All things were made by him, 
 and without him was not any thing made that was made.' 
 
 "5th. We believe that 'The Word was made flesh and 
 dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of 
 the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.' 
 
 "6th. We believe that 'Every spirit that eonfesseth 
 that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.' 
 
 " Tth. We believe that ' Every spirit that eonfesseth not 
 that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.' 
 
 " 8th. We believe that ' God hath appointed a day in 
 the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that' 
 man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath given 
 assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from 
 the dead.'" 
 
 Other articles followed in the same style, but this will 
 suffice as a specimen. 
 
 After due deliberation, this singular creed was pro- 
 nounced unexceptionable ; and on it the church at Shaker 
 Prairie was organized, in the year 1830. They elected 
 their officers; chose B. W. Fields as their pastor; and 
 entered upon a short career of peace and prosperity. But 
 ere long a serious question arose among them, viz. : Why 
 should they adopt as their creed a few passages of Scrip- 
 ture, and not the whole Bible ? Then again was discus- 
 sion, until, finally, they unanimously decided to erase all 
 their creed save the first sentence. This was done by 
 Elder Wolfe, as clerk ; and to the fragment saved he 
 added the words, " which we adopt as our creed and Book 
 of Discipline ;" so that the instrument, thus amended, 
 read as follows : " We believe that the Scriptures of the 
 Old and New Testament are divinely inspired, and the 
 only infallible rule of faith and practice — which we adopt 
 as our creed and Book of Discipline." 
 
 By this time the Annual Baptist Association was draw- 
 ing nigh, and the church appointed Elders Wolfe and
 
 390 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 Fields to prepare a letter to that body, setting forth the 
 fact that they had discarded the Baptist creed, and adopted 
 the Bible in its stead. The letter having been prepared, 
 presented to the church, and approved, Elders Wolfe and 
 Fields and brethren James Boyd and Jacob Wolfe were 
 appointed as delegates to bear it to the Association. 
 This body met in September, 1830, at Indian Creek church, 
 Sullivan county ; and no sooner was the letter presented 
 than a motion was made to eject the delegates from the 
 Association. Elder Fields obtained leave to explain their 
 position ; and, for an hour and a half, proceeded to show, 
 1st. The right of congregations to choose their own 
 creeds ; 2d. The perfection of the Divine creed ; 3d. The 
 duty of Christians to adopt it ; and, 4th. That it was 
 antichristian to be governed by any other. At the close 
 of his address, finding his auditors irritated rather than 
 convinced, he and his fellow-delegates withdrew from the 
 Association. Thus ended the connection of Elder Wolfe 
 and the congregation at Shaker Prairie with the Baptists ; 
 and thus was furnished at least one undeniable evidence 
 that human creeds are schismatical. 
 
 Then began the brethren at Shaker Prairie to meet on 
 every Lord's day to break bread ; and the Lord, from 
 time to time, added unto them "the saved." Then, too, 
 began persecution — not such as once filled prisons, fed 
 ravenous beasts, and illuminated with human torches the 
 gardens of Nero — but such as reviles one, and says all 
 manner of evil against him falsely for Christ's sake. The 
 Baptists stigmatized them as " Campbellitcs," and closed 
 their doors against them. The Methodists organized a 
 class among them, and pronounced them heterodox ; 
 while, by the orthodox generally, it was industriously 
 asserted that they denied the Divinity of Christ, and the 
 operation of the Holy Spirit, and that all they required 
 of any one in order to membership was simply to be im-
 
 JOSEPH W. WOLFE. 391 
 
 mersed — misrepresentations which, though corrected a 
 thousand times, continue to be repeated by very many 
 even to this day. " But step by step," says Elder Wolfe, 
 " we advanced on our glorious platform, gaining ground 
 on all opposers." As the means by which this was ac- 
 complished he adds, "Every member of us acted as a 
 preacher. We carried our Testaments into our corn- 
 fields, and read the word at every interval." Thou who 
 hast been wont to rely only ujoon the preacher for progress, 
 "go thou and do likewise.''^ Fired by such zeal, and in- 
 structed by Elders B. W. Fields, M. R. Trimble, and 
 others, the church steadily grew in grace and in numbers ; 
 so much so that in less than two years they had increased 
 from eighteen to twenty members ; and in 1838 they num- 
 bered a hundred and twenty, as did the disciples at Pente- 
 cost, while the pei'secuting church at Maria Creek went 
 down almost to zero. Let the history of this church 
 serve as an index of what might, by proper effort, be ac- 
 complished by the Reformation. If every disciple would 
 labor with equal zeal, there would be reason to hope that, 
 ere long, human creeds would be driven from the church; 
 the walls of sectarianism razed to the ground ; and the 
 people of God united on the one foundation of the apos- 
 tles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief 
 corner stone. Then indeed would the doubting world 
 believe that God has sent his Son to seek and to save 
 that which was lost ; and the kingdoms of this world 
 would speedily become the kingdom of our Lord and of 
 his Christ. 
 
 In the Christian meeting-house at Shaker Prairie, on 
 the 6th of May, 1839, Elder Wolfe was ordained as an 
 evangelist by Elders B. W. Fields, John B. Haywood, and 
 Albert P. Law, all of whom now "rest from their labors." 
 He immediately began to thrust in his sickle with those 
 that were already
 
 392 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 " Shouting and singing in the open fields 
 Their harvest hymns." 
 
 His first labors were confined chiefly to his own and the 
 adjacent neighborhoods. There he not only preached on 
 Lord's days, but held night meetings at various points 
 through the week, and, imitating the great apostle to the 
 Gentiles, he taught the people publicly and /rom house to 
 house — a style of preaching now too nearly obsolete. 
 Afterwards he preached for several churches in more dis- 
 tant parts of Sullivan and Knox counties, until January 
 1st, 1840, when he took a district embracing these coun- 
 ties in Indiana, and the counties of Lawrence and Craw- 
 ford in Illinois. In this district, which contained about 
 fifteen congregations, he became a regular " circuit-rider," 
 but, unlike others of that class, he was subject to no 
 "bishop" save the Shepherd and Bishop of his soul. 
 From May 5th, 1839, the date of his ordination, to the 
 close of that year, he had persuaded seventy persons to 
 obey the gospel, and, encouraged by this success, he en- 
 tered upon the work of his district with large hope and 
 much zeal. This being the year of General Harrison's 
 election to the Presidency, the people were wild with 
 political enthusiasm. The world thought but little of the 
 Church, and, what was equally embarrassing, the Church 
 thought too much of the world. But, undiverted from 
 his purpose, Elder Wolfe still urged the people to modera- 
 tion, and besought them to make their own election sure. 
 The result of his labors this year was four hundred and 
 twenty-six additions by immersion, plus a considerable 
 number by letter and otherwise. This result was effected 
 at great personal sacrifice ; for though he was performing 
 such excellent service for the churches, they gave him but 
 very little support. This year he consumed what little 
 .money he had and most of his personal property. His 
 supply of clothing was also nearly exhausted ; hence he
 
 JOSEPH W. WOLFE. 393 
 
 had to abandon bis circuit and return to the cultivation 
 of the soil for the support of himself and family. During 
 the next year, refusing numerous invitations from abroad, 
 he preached on every Lord's day, and sometimes on Sat- 
 urdays and Mondays, to the home congregation, visiting 
 only a few other churches at such times as the farmers had 
 most leisure. The accessions were one hundred and forty- 
 six by immersion and thirty-two from other churches, a 
 deficiency of two hundred and eighty compared with the 
 year before. Had he been properly sustained, instead of 
 a deficiency there would no doubt have been a greater 
 number of additions ; for this year there was no political 
 excitement. Therefore, if these two hundred and eighty 
 persons are lost, will not the brethren of that district, 
 when they stand before the great white throne, reproach 
 themselves severely for their ilHberality in supporting the 
 gospel ? 
 
 Having, by the labor of his hands, provided for the 
 wants of his family, he, in 1842, again entered the harvest 
 in which the laborers are few. This year he agreed with 
 four congregations to visit each once a month and hold a 
 two days meeting. Under this arrangement he immersed 
 two hundred and sixty-five, and received for his services 
 seventy dollars, inclusive of sundry articles of food and 
 raiment. 
 
 In 1843 he preached for fifteen congregations, and occa- 
 sionally in destitute neighborhoods, adding to the several 
 churches three hundred and sixty, and receiving for his 
 labor one hundred and thirty-three dollars in cash and 
 produce. 
 
 During about two thirds of the year 1844 he preached 
 for the churches at Lawrenceville and Russellville, Illinois, 
 and Bruceville and Shaker Prairie, Indiana. He added 
 to the kingdom more than two hundred and fifty, and re- 
 ceived one hundred and fifty dollars in cash ; while the
 
 394 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 brethren at Shaker Prairie, in addition to their portion of 
 the money, gathered his crop of corn, prepared wood for 
 his family, and cheered his heart by several substantial 
 presents. This year, in connection with Elder John E. 
 Noyes, he held a series of protracted meetings at various 
 points in Indiana and Illinois, a short account of which 
 may serve to illustrate the power of both Elder Wolfe 
 and the truth in those days. 
 
 They began at Bruce ville, Knox county, being assisted 
 at this place by Elder B. W. Fields. The arrangement 
 Was that Elder Fields should preach each day at nine 
 o'clock, A. M., Elder Noyes at three P. M., and Elder 
 Wolfe at night. At the close of the sermon on the second 
 night, eighteen persons came forward to confess the Lord 
 before men. An exhortation was given, and three others 
 came. Thus they continued from day to day until sixty- 
 nine were immersed. Several things conspired to make 
 this a remarkable meeting. The weather was excessively 
 cold ; the ground was covered with snow, which afforded 
 excellent sleighing ; and vast multitudes of people were 
 daily in attendance. The stream in which they baptized 
 was covered with ice more than a foot in thickness. The 
 opening made through this and the overlying snow, had 
 a striking resemblance to a grave ; so that the people had 
 no difficulty in conceiving how they might be buried with 
 Christ in baptism, and arise to walk in newness of life. 
 
 Leaving Elder Fields, they next held a meeting at 
 Russellville, Illinois, which closed, after ten days, with 
 forty-eight additions. They then removed ten miles west 
 to a point on the Ambrosia river, where, in five days, 
 they obtained sixteen additions. Next, on their return, 
 they preached four days at Palestine and immersed 
 eighteen. Their last joint meeting was held at Shaker 
 Prairie, and resulted in twenty-two accessions, making 
 one hundred and eighty-three in all.
 
 JOSEPH W. WOLFE. 395 
 
 At the close of this year, finding himself encumbered 
 with debts and his farm in a bad condition, he became 
 discouraged and thought of abandoning the work of an 
 evangelist ; but he was encouraged by his wife to persevere. 
 Soon, however, the voice of that wife encouraged him no 
 more ; her heart sympathized with him, her prayers 
 ascended for him only a little longer ; for on the 26th of 
 April, 1845, she died, leaving him with four children — the 
 youngest four, the eldest eleven years old. Then to him 
 were " the days of darkness," which in every man's life 
 shall be many. He preached but little, save to the home 
 congregation ; and this year brought into the kingdom 
 only about one hundred. At the close of the year he was 
 married the second time ; and again entering the field as 
 an evangelist, during the years 1846-T, he added about 
 four hundred to the Church. 
 
 In 1848 he was elected county commissioner for three 
 years. This interfered but little with his preaching 
 arrangements ; and each year his labors were crowned 
 by about two hundred accessions. 
 
 In 1851 he was elected clerk of the Circuit Court of 
 Sullivan county, but still continued to preach with his 
 usual success. Assisted by Elder Jas. Blankenship of 
 Monroe county, he held several protracted meetings, at 
 which about two hundred persons became obedient to the 
 faith. But the principal achievement of this year was 
 the planting of a church at Middletown in Vigo county. 
 Here the missionary Baptists had then a large church, 
 while there were but about half a dozen disciples in an 
 unorganized condition. At this point he and Elder B. 
 preached ; organized a church ; and obtained over sixty 
 additions, among whom were several of the most efficient 
 members of the Baptist Church. This gave to the Chris- 
 tian Church at that place great strength, which it has 
 maintained, and steadily increased, to this day. On the
 
 396 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 5th of January, 1852, having sold his farm, he removed to 
 Sullivan, the county-seat, and entered upon the duties of 
 his clerkship. This year he visited several congregations 
 in the country ; but labored chiefly for the church at 
 Sullivan, preaching often at night after the toils of the 
 day were over. 
 
 During the next three years his manner of life was 
 much the same ; only he preached more, held more 
 protracted meetings, and induced greater numbers to 
 obey the gospel. In 1855 he was reelected clerk of the 
 Circuit Court. In 1856 he turned more than two hun- 
 dred from the broad to the narrow way, and planted one 
 new church. During the three years following he preached 
 regularly for four congregations, and averaged about one 
 hundred and fifty accessions per year. 
 
 In 1858 he and Elder Jos. Hostetler held a protracted 
 meeting at Providence, in Sullivan county, where there 
 was a church recently organized and very feeble. The 
 meeting continued ten days, and closed with eighty-five 
 additions. One year later they held another meeting 
 there. As at Samaria, the people with one accord gave 
 heed unto what they spake ; about forty others believed 
 and were baptized, and there was great joy in that city. 
 A few years previous to this, when Elder Wolfe first 
 visited that point, there were but three or four disciples 
 and a few United Brethren in all that region. The entire 
 neighborhood was a very Sodom, in which ten righteous 
 could hardly be found; having long been famous for 
 horseracing, drinking, gambling, and almost every vice in 
 the catalogue of crimes. At the conclusion of two years' 
 labor among them the church at Providence numbered 
 largely over two hundred ; and the Sodom had been 
 transformed into a Salem — a peaceable, a Christian com- 
 munity. So it remains unto this day, a monument more 
 durable than brass, whose top touches heaven.
 
 JOSEPH W. WOLFE. 397 
 
 Although he has received but little from the churches, 
 the proceeds of his farm and the emoluments of his 
 civil office, have placed him above want. He has 
 recently invested his small capital in the mercantile busi- 
 ness, and has, in a measure, retired from the regular 
 service. But still he is resolved to preach Jesus, as 
 health may permit, until the Master shall say : " It is 
 enough; come up higher;" and he now sings the living 
 sentiment of his soul in this beautiful stanza : 
 
 "E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream 
 His flowing wounds supply, 
 Redeeming love has been my theme, 
 And shall be till I die/' 
 
 Such is a brief account of the life and services of Elder 
 Joseph W. "Wolfe, from which it will be seen that, among 
 other good deeds, he has led back to the Shepherd's fold 
 about four thousand five hundred persons that, like sheep, 
 had gone astray. 
 
 Nature granted to Elder Wolfe the two great blessings 
 for which the heathen poet taught his* contemporaries to 
 pray, namely, a sound viind in a sound body. Inured to 
 labor from his early youth, his physical powers were well 
 developed; and the hardships he experienced as a pioneer 
 farmer eminently qualified him for the more severe trials 
 of a pioneer preacher. He is six feet four inches high, 
 and weighs about one hundred and seventy pounds. His 
 frame is muscular, head very large, eyes pale blue or gray, 
 hair and complexion light. His temperament is highly 
 nervous, giving him a rapid utterance and quick move- 
 ments. 
 
 His natural powers of mind are much above the average, 
 and, had he enjoyed the advantages of a collegiate educa- 
 tion, he would have occupied a high rank among the greater 
 lights of the church. His mind is of the perceptive caste, 
 34
 
 398 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 observing closely and comprehending easily both men and 
 things ; yet he reasons forcibly by the best of all logics, 
 common sense. 
 
 He is a man of great vivacity — plain in his dress, simple 
 in his habits, frank in his demeanor, indulgent to his 
 family, and obliging to his neighbors. 
 
 Though not ordinarily eloquent, yet he is a fluent, dis- 
 tinct, impressive speaker, very much like George Camp- 
 bell in his lofty flights and impassioned exhortations. At 
 such times he enunciates with wonderful rapidity, gesticu- 
 lates violently, and is all aglow with animation. His lan- 
 guage is respectable, though not elegant; and he presents 
 the truth with great clearness and simplicity by means of 
 apt illustrations. He usually deals in facts ; and his dis- 
 courses are generally argumentative, hortatory, practical. 
 He never raves like a mad man, but always utters the 
 words of truth and soberness like one who really believes 
 that God "has appointed a day in which he will judge the 
 world in righteousness." 
 
 In whatever he has undertaken he owes much of his 
 success to his untiring industry. In the oSice or on the 
 farm, whatsoever his hands found to do, he did with his 
 might. Hence he has acquired a sufficiency of this world's 
 goods, although the most of bis time has been spent in 
 the Lord's vineyard. 
 
 In the ministry, he has regarded neither winds nor 
 clouds ; but in the morning has sown the incorruptible 
 seed and in the evening withheld not his hand. Thus, 
 having spent his life in sowing to the Spirit, he shall ere 
 long reap the harvest of life everlasting. For, with con- 
 stitution impaired by exposure, oppressed by the weight 
 of more than half a century, and robbed by death of a large 
 portion of his family, he only waits the summons to join 
 them "beyond the river" —
 
 JOSEPH W. WOLFE. 399 
 
 '* 'Tis hid from view, but we may guess 
 How beautiful that realm must be ; 
 For gleamings of its loveliness, 
 
 In visions granted, oft we see. 
 The very clouds that o'er it throw 
 
 Their vail, unraised for mortal sight, 
 With gold and purple tintings glow. 
 Reflected from the glorious light 
 Beyond the river."
 
 THOMAS J. EDMONDSON, 
 
 Elder Thomas Jefferson Edmondson was born in 
 Sullivan county, Indiana, December 25th, 1816. In the 
 Spring of 1817, his father, William Edmondson, removed 
 with him to Monroe county, where he was brought up. 
 He was the eldest of eight brothers, three of whom, 
 George, Porter, and John, became ministers in the Cum- 
 berland Presbyterian Church. They were men of more 
 than ordinary intellectual ability and moral worth, but 
 of very frail constitutions. All three died of pulmonary 
 diseases when they were comparatively young men. 
 His father, who still lives, has never been a member of 
 any church, but is an upright citizen, who has given spe- 
 cial attention to the moral and intellectual training of his 
 children, of whom he has had twelve, eight sons and four 
 daughters. All, save three or four, have long slumbered 
 beneath the sod. 
 
 His mother was a most devoted member of the Cum- 
 berland Presbyterian Church, and she studiously im- 
 pressed that particular form of doctrine upon the minds 
 and hearts of her children. Upon the faith of his mother 
 he was sprinkled in infancy, and under her well-meant 
 instructions he grew up with the rest. 
 
 From the first dawn of reason he seemed to be ab- 
 sorbed in thought. As he grew older he delighted to 
 steal away from his brothers and spend his time in the 
 forest with his rifle. He was also passionately fond of 
 li.sliing, like those of old, who afterwards, in the provi- 
 400
 
 fzf. ^^^J^^^^^^^^^^'^V^^^^^^':^^
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF iniw^JS
 
 THOMAS J. EDMONDSON. 401 
 
 dence of God, became fishers of men. As a school-boy, 
 he was mostly remarkable for seldom seeming to study, 
 yet always reciting well at the head of his class. In his 
 own easy and peculiar way he made rapid progress, and 
 soon mastered all the branches of the common-school. 
 
 He was of a roving disposition — not a man, like Pol- 
 lock's, who thought " the visual ray that girt him in, the 
 world's extreme." Through life his motto was pZw« ultra 
 — more beyond — more knowledge to be acquired — still 
 higher degrees of excellence and enjoyment to be attained 
 in the Christian profession. Sliut in by the hills of Mon- 
 roe county, his expansive spirit was cramped and restless. 
 Before he was twenty-one years old, therefore, he left the 
 paternal roof, made a trip to Mississippi, and there ac- 
 quired some knowledge of the men, manners, and institu- 
 tions of the sunny South. 
 
 On his return home he commenced and prosecuted for 
 some time the study of medicine ; but he was destined to 
 become a disciple of the Great Physician, and, according 
 to his instructions, administer the "*balm in Gilead." It 
 was in the Fall of 1839 that he was brought under the 
 influence of the gospel through the instrumentality of 
 James M. Mathes. This excellent evangelist, then just 
 entering upon his career of usefulness, was preaching 
 once a month at a schoolhouse in the Edmondson neigh- 
 borhood. On going one day to fill an appointment, he 
 perceived, near the house, a man walking to and fro in 
 the road, and seemingly engaged in profound meditation. 
 When they met, the troubled stranger introduced himself 
 as Mr. Edmondson, and requested an interview prior to 
 the commencement of preaching. 
 
 In the course of this interview he presented his diffi- 
 culties with regard to Infant Sprinkling, and several 
 matters connected with the subject of conversion, saying, 
 " If you can remove these difficulties from my mind, I
 
 402 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 will gadly obey the gospel, as I desire to make religion 
 the basis of every thing. I am studying a profession, but 
 before I enter upon it I want to be a disciple of Jesus — 
 then I can build on a sure foundation." The preacher 
 was successful in removing all his difficulties, and in 
 giving him perfect satisfaction as to what the Lord re- 
 quires one in his condition to do. It was therefore 
 agreed between them that on the next day he should 
 meet Elder Mathes at his appointment in Bloomington, 
 and then and there obey from the heart the form of doc- 
 trine delivered to the world by the apostles. 
 
 Accordingly on the next day, which was Friday, he 
 and his brother Porter attended the meeting at Blooming- 
 ton. At the close of the discourse he went forward and 
 publicly confessed his faith in the Great Messiah. The 
 congregation immediately repaired to the water — a natural 
 pool in Clear creek, a little south of the University — 
 where, in the presence of a large concourse of people, he 
 was buried with the Lord by baptism into death. It was 
 an interesting, a solemn, an impressive scene. As he 
 came up out of the water, while all hearts were softened 
 for the impress of truth, he made some excellent remarks, 
 which evinced not only his sincerity, but also his clear 
 understanding of "the way, the truth, and the life." 
 
 About the first of November, 1839, he went to Bloom- 
 ington on a visit to Elder Mathes, who had previously 
 removed to that place for the purpose of attending the 
 University. While there he was easily prevailed upon 
 by his instructor in the gospel to give up the study of 
 medicine and finish his education at the college, prepara- 
 tory to engaging in the work of the ministry. He imme- 
 diately went to live in the family of Elder Mathes, and 
 entered the State University, then under the direction of 
 that profound thinker Dr. Andrew Wylie. There he con- 
 tinued his studies until he acquired a respectable knowl-
 
 THOMAS J. EDMONDSON. 403 
 
 edge of the Latin and Greek languages, Mathematics, the 
 Physical Sciences, Rhetoric, Elocution, Logic, Evidences 
 of Christianity, and jNIetaphysics. He was a most labori- 
 ous student, equalling— if he did not surpass — all his 
 classmates in both thoroughness and dispatch. It is not 
 improbable that, accustomed as he had been to labor in 
 the open fields, he there laid the foundation of that fell 
 disease which carried him, as it carries millions, to an 
 untimely grave. 
 
 Early in the year 1840, while yet a student at college, 
 he commenced preaching. On Saturdays and Sundays 
 he would accompany Elder Mathes into the country, and 
 would occasionally deliver a discourse — at first using 
 notes prepared for him by his companion and tutor in 
 the gospel. On this account he received the name of 
 " Tiviothy," or "brother Mathes^s Timothy,^'' by which title 
 he was for years extensively known. Often when the 
 brethren abroad would request Elder M. to visit them, 
 they would write, " Come, brother Mathes, and bring 
 'Timothy' with you; or, if you cannot come, send 
 'Timothy,' and we will be satisfied." 
 
 After leaving the university he gave himself wholly to 
 the word, rose very rapidly, and soon became a very 
 useful, widely-known, and popular preacher. For several 
 years he had no particular location, but went everywhere 
 preaching Jesus and the salvation that is through faith in 
 his name and obedience to his commands. He was very 
 successful in convincing the people of the correctness of 
 the principles he advocated, and of the necessity of a 
 return to the ancient gospel and the order of the primitive 
 churches. 
 
 In the course of his travels he came to Madison, where, 
 in 1843, he was married to Miss Sarah Ann Hutchinson, 
 who became the mother of his three children. The eldest 
 of them, a son, died at Columbus at the age of six years.
 
 t(j4 IMOiNKER PREACHERS. 
 
 The other two, a son and a daughter, he left with his widow, 
 never again to return to them, but in hope that they would 
 come to him. Those two are still living somewhere in 
 the far West. 
 
 After his marriage, and through the influence of that 
 excellent man of God, Joseph Fassett, he located at 
 Columbus, Bartholomew county, and became the pastor 
 of the church at that place. He did not content himself, 
 however, with feeding that one flock ; but preached often 
 in the country and at various points along the Madison 
 and Indianapolis railroad. A portion of his time was 
 regularly eiuployed in serving the congregations at Edin- 
 burg, New Hope, and Greensburg. 
 
 At no time did he receive from all the churches under 
 his care a sufficiency for his support ; but he was always 
 under the necessity of devoting a portion of his time to 
 some secular business. Through this neglect on the part 
 of the churches, and through bad management of his 
 temporal affairs, he became involved in debt, by which 
 both his happiness and usefulness were impaired. 
 
 He was a ready, keen, and powerful debater, though 
 he never held but one regular public discussion. This 
 was on the subject of Universalism. It took place at 
 Franklin, Johnson county, on the 18th, 19th, and 20th 
 days of January, 1844. His opponent was the great 
 Universalist champion, Erasmus Manford, of Terre Haute, 
 then editor of the " Christian Teacher." 
 
 The two propositions were the same that have long 
 been stereotyped, one aflirmative for each. The following 
 short account of the debate is from the pen of one who 
 heard it: 
 
 " This discussion, we are assured, did much good in 
 Franklin and vicinity, in exposing the sceptical heresy of 
 Universalism, and in the development and establishment 
 of the truth as taught in the Bible. In this debate Mr.
 
 THOMAS J. EDMONDSON. 405 
 
 Manford, though a practiced and wily debater, was no 
 match for the youthful and philosophic Edmondson, who, 
 though young and inexperienced in debate, yet having on 
 the armor of righteousness and truth, laid hold on his 
 opponent with a giant grip, and bound him hand and 
 foot with the strong cords of reason, logic, and Scripture 
 testimony." The writer of this flattering notice, it is 
 true, was a great admirer of Edmondson and a zealous 
 opposer of Manford, yet he is one whose skillful pen is 
 not given to vain boasting but rather to words of truth 
 and soberness. 
 
 The only other debate of his was an informal little 
 afi"air that took place in the village of Leesville, Lawrence 
 county. It occurred in the Summer of 1845, and on this 
 wise : 
 
 Jacob Wright of Salem, and George Walker, a circuit 
 preacher, had just concluded a discussion on the subjects 
 of Baptism and the Influence of the Holy Spirit. At this 
 discussion Edmondson was present, with other Christian 
 evangelists ; and the Rev. Philip May, another circuit 
 preacher, was also present with others of his brethren. 
 At the close of the discusssion — which was just before 
 noon — some one of the Christian preachers announced 
 that, at a certain hour in the afternoon, he would deliver 
 a discourse at the place where they were then assembled, 
 Mr. May immediately arose and gave notice that, com- 
 mencing an hour earlier, he would preach, at the same 
 place, on the subject of Baptism ; at which time and 
 place he would prove from the Greek language that 
 sprinkling and pouring are scriptural modes of adminis- 
 tering that ordinance. Dinner being over, all repaired to 
 the grove, anxious to hear Mr. May prove what mortal 
 man had never before established. By common consent 
 Mr. Edmondson was appointed to follow the reverend gen- 
 tleman, and reply to his Greek arguments. This Mr. May
 
 406 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 did not expect ; indeed he was not aware that any one 
 present understood the language in which God, for wise 
 purposes, wrote through his amanuenses, and stereotyped 
 through his providence, the precious record of His well- 
 beloved Son. He therefore assumed considerable latitude 
 and disclosed a great many things relative to the Greek 
 language, that would certainly have been new to Demos- 
 thenes or Plato — the latter of which gentlemen especially, 
 is supposed to have had a respectable knowledge of that 
 tongue ! 
 
 Mr. Edmondson busied himself in taking copious notes; 
 and wheu the argument was concluded, he took the stand 
 and began his ^eview^ Then came the tug of war — for 
 Greek met Greek. He showed first of all that Mr. May 
 was neither a classical scholar nor a reliable critic ; that 
 his assertions were altogether reckless and without founda- 
 tion either in the New Testament Greek or in the Greek 
 classics. His speech is said to have manifested great 
 ability, profound research, and sound learning. It also 
 abounded in good humor, wit, and pleasant sarcasm, 
 which rendered his opponent very uneasy, and placed 
 himself in the first rank of debaters. It was generally 
 regarded by the people who heard it as a most triumphant 
 vindication of the oft-assailed truth on that subject. 
 
 As a writer also, he attained to a high rank, and no 
 doubt accomplished more good by his pen than by his 
 tongue. Many of his articles were published in the 
 " Christian Record," where they were read with profit by 
 thousands. They are still in print to be read by thou- 
 sands more, now that his tongue lies forever silent in the 
 grave. The style, force, and tone of his literary produc- 
 tions may be best described by inserting a few extracts. 
 The following are taken from his articles written for the 
 Record under the broad caption, "Christian Obligations." 
 After quoting some of the apostolic injunctions, such as,
 
 THOMAS J. EDMONDSON. 407 
 
 " Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before the 
 Lord," he says : 
 
 " A want of conformity to these moral precepts is the 
 cause of a great amount of infidelity in the world. The 
 moralist, instead of looking at the true evidence of Chris- 
 tianity, looks at the conduct of the lukewarm or ungodly 
 professor, and concludes that the character of such is 
 proof that the Bible is not adapted to the nature and 
 wants of man, and consequently he is opposed to Chris- 
 tianity. He concludes that there is more divinity in 
 human nature than there is in the authenticity of the 
 Bible, and, therefore, he attributes the good qualities 
 which some Christians possess, more to the organization 
 of their nature than to the influence of the Bible ; and 
 hence he sets up in opposition to what he calls Chris- 
 tianity, some of its own moral precepts. Others set the 
 moralist in opposition to the ungodly professor — not for 
 the purpose of imitating him, but for an excuse to indulge 
 in immorality and crime." 
 
 On the subject of prayer he writes thus : 
 
 " Prayer is indispensable to the life of the Christian. 
 In fact, a prayerless Christian is, to my mind, an anomaly 
 in the universe of God. It is like attempting to identify 
 the ideas of opaque and transparent qualities in a simple 
 substance, or to conceive of two substances occupying 
 the samB space at the same time. ***** Jt may be 
 contended by some that if we possess the spirit of prayer, 
 that will suffice without formal or vocal prayer. This 
 argument might be brought with equal force against every 
 commandment in the gospel. Some people bring the 
 same argument against obeying the first principles of the 
 gospel. ' Oh,' say they, ' God looks not at forms and 
 outward ceremonies, but at the heart. He abhors the 
 sacrifice where the heart is not found.' Thus people 
 argue, and thus conclude to omit 'the sacrifice' altogethei,
 
 408 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 or offer it on an altar that God has not erected, and thus 
 the virtue of the sacrifice is lost, for ' it is the altar that 
 sanctifieth the gift.' I could not make use of such an 
 argument against an institution of heaven, except it were 
 as an opiate to a guilty conscience, which was too weak 
 to bear the wholesome and strengthening doctrine of 
 Jesus Christ and his apostles. * * * * Is it not strange 
 that, with the example of patriarchs and prophets — apos- 
 tles and first Christians — together with the many precepts 
 on that subject, individuals professing Christianity should 
 never be known to pray ? — no, not even so much as give 
 thanks to Almighty God for the food they eat ? Such, 
 however, in some (T hope few) instances, is literally true. 
 The devotion of the heart is too much neglected. How 
 many are there who are raising up children, bound with 
 them to the grave and to the bar of God, who have never 
 been heard by them to pray or give thanks to God for any 
 of his blessings which he bestows so profusely upon us 1 
 Are there not bishops of churches whose duty it is to 
 watch over the souls of the flock, who never pray in their 
 families or read the word of God to them ?" This long 
 extract on prayer will not be injurious to the readers of 
 these sketches — to the disciples of this present day. 
 
 In more lively style, he treats directly of some of the 
 bishops, as follows : 
 
 " What would you think. Christian reader, notwith- 
 standing the importance of the office of the Christian 
 bishop, were I to tell you that I know of a Christian (?) 
 bishop of whom I have been told by one of the flock of 
 which he was appointed to take the oversight, that he 
 came to see the flock — not to feed— ^ue times in forty- 
 two iveeks ? Such indeed is the fact. Quey-i/ : Will such 
 a shepherd receive a crown of rjlory thai fadeth not aicay? 
 * * * * What would you think were I to tell you of 
 another bishop who undertakes to justify play-parties,
 
 THOMAS J. ET)MONT)SON. 409 
 
 and proves the siucerity of his advocacy Vjv having one at 
 his own house, thus setting an example to the flock ? A 
 church of Jesus Christ, the light of the world, in the 
 habitual practice of such parties ! Such a scene ! A 
 spectacle that would make angels weep, the devil smile, 
 wicked men rejoice, and fill the hearts of the pious cliii- 
 dren of God with sorrow. 
 
 " Suppose a church having such a bishop as we have 
 described should ordain an evangelist, and send. him out 
 to preach the gospel ; and his labors are blest by the 
 conversion of many who hear his voice ; and when he 
 returns home to report his success to his brethren, and 
 thus fill their hearts with joy, there accompany him a 
 young disciple, one of his late converts, whose heart is 
 filled with zeal and love to God ; and when they arrive 
 at the bishop's house about nightfall, where they expect 
 to tarry all night, they hear the voice of male and female 
 engaged in singing, with much animation. 'Ah,' says 
 the new convert to himself, ' I shall have a pleasant even- 
 ing with these disciples, who have met together at the 
 bishop's house to sing the songs of Zion." But to his 
 great mortification, when he arrives at the house of this 
 shepherd of the flock of God, he finds a company of male 
 and female disciples going round in a ring, singing — 
 
 "Old sister Phebe, how merry were we 
 When we sat under yon juniper tree," 
 
 * * * * while the l^ishop, with a smile on his counte- 
 nance, and his sober companion by his side, sits and looks 
 on, well pleased to behold the zeal and devotion of these 
 young disciples, the flock of his care 1 What would be 
 the feelings, on such an occasion, of the young disciple 
 whom we have described?" 
 
 Elder Edmondson possessed also considerable poetic 
 talent. He never spent much time in its cultivation or 
 3.5
 
 410 PIONEER PREACHERS. 
 
 exercise, yet he wrote some very respectable pieces, 
 mostly of a sacred character and plaintive tone. The 
 following is a specimen from the "Christian Psalmist:" 
 
 KEDRON'S GLOOMY VALE. 
 
 •'Among the mountain trees 
 
 The winds were murmuring low, 
 And night's ten thousand harmonies 
 
 Were harmonies of woe ; 
 A voice of grief was on the gale. 
 It came from Kedron's gloomy vale. 
 
 It was the Saviour's prayer 
 
 That on the silence broke, 
 Imploring strength from heav'n to hear 
 
 The sin-avenging stroke : 
 As in Gethsemane he knelt, 
 And pangs unknown his bosom felt. 
 
 The fitful starlight shone 
 
 In dim and misty gleams ; 
 Deep was his agonizing groan. 
 
 And large the vital streams 
 That trickled to the dewy sod, 
 While Jesus raised his voice to God. 
 
 The chosen three that stayed, 
 
 Their nightly watch to keep, 
 Left him through sorrows deep to wade, 
 
 And gave themselves to sleep : 
 Meekly and sad he prayed alone. 
 Strangely forgotten by his own. 
 
 Along the streamlet's banks 
 
 The reckless traitor came, 
 And heavy, on his bosom, sank 
 
 The load of guilt and shame : 
 Yet unto them that waited nigh 
 He gave the Lamb of God to die.
 
 THOMAS J. EDiMONDSON. 411 
 
 Among the mouutain trees 
 
 The winds were murmuring low, 
 
 And night's ten thousand harmonies 
 Were harmonies of woe ; 
 
 For cruel voices filled the gale 
 
 That came from Kedrou's gloomy vale." 
 
 Leaving the reader to judge, from these specimens, of 
 the character of his writings and their probable influence 
 upon the minds and hearts of men, we proceed to give the 
 sad remainder of his history. 
 
 He continued to labor at and around Columbus, in the 
 manner above-described, until early in the year 1854, at 
 which time he was called, by a co-operation of several 
 churches in Lawrence county, to labor for them as an 
 evangelist. He accepted this call, and for a few months 
 prosecuted the work with good success ; but his health 
 failing him he was compelled to retire from the pulpit. He 
 then returned with his little family to Columbus, where it 
 was soon discovered that Consumption, that merciless de- 
 stroyer, had marked him for his victim. Every effort was 
 made by himself and his friends to stay the progress of 
 the fearful disease, but it was all in vain. In a little while 
 he went down lamented to the grave, whither descends 
 every thing good and beautiful on earth. The subjoined 
 extract is from his obituary notice, written by J. M. 
 Mathes, and contained in the October number of the 
 Christian Record, for the year 1855. 
 
 "A MIGHTY MAN FALLEN. We learn by a letter from 
 brother C. C. Alden that our beloved brother and fellow- 
 laborer, Elder Thomas J. Edmondson, fell asleep in Jesus, 
 on Lord's day morning, August 19th, 1855. The disease 
 was consumption, of which most of a large family of bro- 
 thers and sisters have died. Brother Edmondson died at 
 his residence in Columbus, Indiana, leaving a wife and 
 two small children to mourn his departure. For several
 
 412 1' J t) N E E 11 I' R K A C H E R S . 
 
 weeks before his deatlj lie suffered greatly, but lie l)orc it 
 patiently, and calmly awaited the moment that would ad- 
 mit him through the vail of mortality to the pleasures abd 
 glories of a better world." 
 
 Physically, as well as mentally and morally, Thomas J. 
 EdmondsoD was a noble specimen of his race. He was 
 six feet two inches high, and weighed about one hundred 
 and eighty pounds — was well built, finely proportioned, 
 and possessed of great power and activity. In his youth 
 and early manhood, he was passionately fond of athletic 
 exercises ; and at three jumps or hops he had but few 
 equals. 
 
 He had rather light hair, mildly-beaming blue eyes, and 
 "the look of heaven upon his face which limners give to 
 the beloved disciple." 
 
 His was a fine head, especially in the moral and intel- 
 lectual departments ; the moral, perhaps, predominating. 
 He had an excellent memory and very great power of 
 concentration. Every intellectual ray he could bring to 
 a complete focus. The thoughtfulness of his youth so 
 increased with his years that he became subject to fits of 
 entire abstraction. Often has he been known to take his 
 bucket, when in such a state of mind, and proceed to the 
 barn instead of the well, for water. He was not a servile, 
 but an independent thinker, whom no human creed could 
 shut out from "the light of the knowledge of God." 
 
 In the pulpit he was rather a philosopher and logician 
 than an orator, though he was a very pleasant speaker. 
 His voice was charming, full of melody, silvery and sweet. 
 He was an excellent singer, and greatly delighted in sing- 
 ing the songs of Zion. He had a fine flow of language, 
 and his delivery was calm and dignified ; never stormy 
 and impetuous. He always treated his opponents with 
 fairness and candor ; and although he made no compro-
 
 THOMAS J. EDMONDSON. 413 
 
 mise with sectarianism but rebuked it with all authority, 
 yet he was generally mild and conciliatory, never abusive. 
 He was a bold, frank, and earnest speaker, y^t he some- 
 times seemed to lack energy to stir, and pathos to touch 
 the hearts of his hearers. In fact he delighted to stand 
 upon the firm basis of proposition and proof, and to sway 
 his audience by the force of logic and testimony, rather 
 than by appeals to their sympathies, their passions, or 
 their prejudices. Like Paul, he "reasoned of righteous- 
 ness, of temperance, and of judgment to come," and when 
 he finished his argument the Felixes trembled and felt that 
 it must be so. His poetic imagination enabled him to make 
 a good exhoi'tation, and, when excited, his descriptive 
 powers were very fine. 
 
 He was most amiable in disposition, eminently sociable, 
 and by no means destitute of humor. Though slightly 
 inclined to melancholy, he relished an innocent joke, and 
 often indulged in a hearty laugh. In attachment he was 
 strong as David ; in friendship as true as Jonathan ; and 
 in death as unfortunate as righteous Abel, cut down at 
 the altar of God. 
 
 "How beautiful it is for man to die 
 Upon the walls of Zion ! to be call'd 
 Like a watch-worn and weary sentinel. 
 To put his armor off, and rest — in Heaven!"
 
 NORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY 
 
 BY A. R. BENTON, PRESIDENT OF THE FACULTY. 
 
 ITS ORIGIN. 
 
 The idea of founding an institution of learning of the 
 highest order was entertained, for many years, by leading 
 minds in the Christian Church, before the work was con- 
 summated in the founding and organizing of the North- 
 western Christian University— a view of which is pre- 
 sented in this volume. 
 
 It was plainly perceived by the prominent men among 
 the Christian brotherhood in Indiana, that the prosperity 
 of the Christian cause, as intrusted to their hands, was 
 very intimately blended with the cause of education ; 
 hence, this subject was much discussed in the earlier 
 Indiana State Meetings until the October Meeting in 1849, 
 when definite action was taken in regard to the enterprise. 
 
 That meeting, aiming at the establishment of an insti- 
 tution of learning of the very highest grade, adopted the 
 following resolutioji : 
 
 " That a Northwestern Christian University be founded 
 at Indianapolis, as soon as a suflBcient amount of funds 
 can be raised to commence it ; and that a committee of 
 seven be appointed by this meeting to take the preliminar} 
 steps in reference to the founding and endowing of sucl. 
 :in institution." 
 
 Such was the unostentatious origin of the University, 
 wliich is evidently destined, under the favor of God, to 
 take rank among the first of the noble educational esta- 
 blishments of our country. 
 414
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
 
 TVORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY. 415 
 
 To that State Meeting, acting under the impulse of 
 Christian liberality and zeal for education and religion, 
 we owe the inception and inauguration of this enterprise. 
 
 ITS HISTORY. 
 
 The Committee appointed by the State Meeting, in 
 accordance with the foregoing resolution, obtained from 
 the Legislature of the State an act of incorporation, 
 liberal in its character, and which contemplated a Uni- 
 versity, composed of colleges of literature and science, 
 law and medicine. The charter was approved, January 
 15, 1850, and thus became a law. 
 
 On the 5th of the ensuing March the commissioners 
 named in the charter held their first meeting, and appointed 
 a Board of Commissioners, whose duty it was to make 
 prompt and efficient provision for procuring stock, in order 
 to build and endow the University. Under the auspices 
 and direction of this Board, the work of procuring sub- 
 scriptions for the stock of the University was vigorously 
 prosecuted until June 22, 1852. At this time, it appearing 
 that seventy-five thousand dollars had been subscribed — 
 the minimum amount named in the charter — an election 
 of directors was ordered, as provided by the charter, and 
 the commissioners adjourned sine die. The first Board 
 of Directors was elected July 14, 1852, and convened on 
 the 2'7th of the same month for the transaction of business. 
 
 The site of the University building was selected in 
 September, 1852, and the contracts for the building were 
 let in July of the following year ; and at the May Meeting, 
 1855, the building was reported to the Board as completed. 
 
 On the 9th of April, 1855, a preparatory school was 
 opened in the University under the direction of Professor 
 A. R. Benton, and continued until it was incorporated
 
 416 NORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 with the college, which was ordered to be opened on the 
 1st of November, 1855. 
 
 The Faculty at the opening of the College was com- 
 posed of Professors John Young, A. R. Benton, and J. 
 R. Challen, to which number G. W. Hoss was added the 
 following year. At the meeting of the Board of Directors 
 in June, 1858, John Young having resigned his professor- 
 ship, R. T. Brown was chosen to fill his place, and S. K. 
 Hoshour was elected President of the Faculty of the 
 University. 
 
 In January, 1859, Madison Evans was elected Principal 
 of the Preparatory and English School, in place of J. R 
 Challen, who had resigned. Up to this time, and until 
 the Summer vacation of 1861, the Principal of the English 
 Department was assisted at different times by Mr. and 
 Mrs. L. H. Jameson, Mrs. E. J. Price, and Mrs. N. E. 
 Burns. 
 
 At the July session of the Board, 1861, in view of the 
 condition of the country, and the necessity of retrench- 
 ment in the expenses of the University, it was decided to 
 diminish the number of instructors, and consequently a 
 partial reorganization of the Faculty became necessary. 
 In accomplishing this change A. R. Benton was elected 
 President of the Faculty, which now consisted of S. K. 
 Hoshour, R. T. Brown, G. W. Hoss, A. C. Shortridge, and 
 the President-elect. 
 
 This organization of the Faculty continues at this time. 
 
 The attendance at the University has always been very 
 creditable in numbers and in the character of its students. 
 The average yearly attendance in the Literary Depart- 
 ment has been nearly two hundred, and in the Law De- 
 partment about thirteen annually. The whole number of 
 graduates for seven years has been forty-two. Thus it 
 will be seen that the University has enjoyed a remarkable 
 degree of prosperity in tlie influence it has been enabled to
 
 NORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY. 41T- 
 
 exert; aud uothiug is now wanting but the return of peace- 
 ful times aud the continued co-operation of its friends, to 
 give it a pre-eminence among similar institutions. 
 
 LAW DEPARTMENT. 
 
 The propriety of establishing a Law Department was 
 discussed very early in the history of the University, and 
 several classes were instructed by Professor John Young 
 previously to its being organized in its present form. 
 
 As at present constituted under the Professors, S. E. 
 Perkins, LL. D., Judge of the Supreme Court of the State,^ 
 and David McDonald, LL. D., it bids fair to become a val- 
 uable and popular department of the University. It de- 
 signs to furnish as thorough and as extensive a course of 
 legal study as any college in the West, together with a 
 practical application of the things taught. 
 
 BUILDING AND ENDOWMENT 
 
 The University building has been projected on a scale 
 of unrivaled magnificence for a college building, thus in- 
 dicating the enlarged and comprehensive designs of its 
 projectors and founders. 
 
 Its location in the northeastern part of Indianapolis, in 
 a campus of twenty-five acres of primitive forest trees, is 
 unsurpassed for beauty, and convenience to the citizens of 
 this State and of the Northwest. 
 
 The building is modeled after the Collegiate-Gothic 
 style of architecture. It is made of brick, with the quoins 
 and coping of stone, and constructed in the most artistic 
 and durable manner — a fit type of its prospective career 
 in the noble work to which it has been consecrated. 
 
 The west wing of the edifice is completed, and furnished
 
 418 NORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 with accommodations for aljout three hundred students. , 
 The remainder waits for the liberaHty of its friends to 
 bring it to completion. 
 
 The endowment of the University is projected on the 
 basis of a joint-stock-company, in shares of one hundred 
 dollars each, one third being paid over to the Company, 
 and the remaining two thirds at the option of the sub- 
 scriber, being retained as a permanent loan from the Com- 
 pany, the interest of which is to be paid annually. 
 
 According to this plan, funds enough have been obtained 
 to erect a building, and to constitute the nucleus of a per- 
 manent endowment fund. 
 
 With the increase of this endowment will come an in- 
 crease in the number of professors, and provision of the 
 materiel of education in every department of study. The 
 finances of the corporation are managed by the President 
 of the Board of Directors, which responsible position has 
 been successively filled by Ovid Butler, Esq., Elder Elijah 
 Goodwin, and Jeremiah Smith, Esq. 
 
 NAME AND DESIGN. 
 
 The adopted name — Northwestern Christian Univer- 
 sity — was designed to be descriptive rather than geo- 
 graphical, and intended to stamp on its front its peculiar 
 characteristics. 
 
 It is not unusual to give a local name to an institution of 
 learning, as being most convenient in order to distinguish it 
 from others, and to fix its location. In the name adopted 
 for the University it was intended doubtless to embody 
 its spirit and design, rather than to give it geographical 
 distinction. 
 
 It is a truth recognized by all correct ob.servers, that 
 nature, society, and experience, as well as books, arc
 
 NORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN T:NIVERSITT. 419 
 
 powerful instructors. Thus while the University aims to 
 give literary culture to all, East, West, North and South, 
 yet it would imbibe and communicate that spirit of en- 
 largement in which it was originated, and which is most 
 aptly symbolized by the broad savannahs and the sweep of 
 majestic rivers in the Northwest. Besides, that seething 
 activity and ardor of enterprise, so peculiar to these States, 
 devoted to individual freedom and development, is the 
 spirit in which the University is designed to work, and 
 which is indicated by its characteristic name. 
 
 It is not pretended that new ideas, with respect to the 
 routine of college study, have been originated ; for the 
 course of literary study in the University is essentially the 
 same as in other institutions of a similar grade — a course 
 which is the result of the cumulative experience of the 
 past, and in accord with the power and wants of the human 
 mind. 
 
 In this respect no useful originality of plan is claimed, 
 and if possessed of any superiority, it must be in the exe- 
 cution of its plan. 
 
 Whatever originality of design there may be, pertaining 
 to the institution, it will be found in its provisions for 
 Biblical study, and for female education in the classes of 
 the University. 
 
 Its motto is, "the Bible the best classic," and its aim is 
 to consecrate the vigor of enterprise and fervor of spirit 
 peculiar to our time to the Lord. Hence, the Institution 
 has the name Christian, by which, while it seeks to make 
 no invidious distinction between itself and others, it recog- 
 nizes its obligations to teach the Christian religion in the 
 morality, facts and promises thereof. This, by the terms 
 of the charter, is made an imperative duty, and in practice 
 is effected by instruction in regular classes of the Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 Thus the Bible is made a text book — ignorance of which
 
 420 NORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 is a foul reproach to gTiuluates of Collcgvs, in a laiul of 
 Christian civilization iind iiifhirnco. 
 
 Without it, iuii)iilso and passion may prevail with un- 
 controlled sway, but with it alone, jjrincipleti of action, 
 originating in a sense of duty, are best inculcated and 
 enforced. 
 
 This daily contact of Divine truth, this personal and 
 direct approach to the heart, is unquestionably the most 
 potent means in forming character after the Divine model, 
 and in fixing as principles of action the precepts of the 
 Bible. 
 
 Another design of the University is somewhat novel, 
 though by no means untried and impracticable. 
 
 The charter of the University opens it to both sexes, 
 to be taught in the same classes, and to be graduated 
 with the same honors. 
 
 This plan cannot be regarded altogether as an experi- 
 ment, for in the High Schools of our country it is found 
 practicable, and not attended with the evil consequences 
 so much deprecated by those with whom this system has 
 found little favor. It is a deplorable fact, that female 
 education, in those branches that especially invigorate 
 and strengthen the mind, labors under the reproach of 
 inefficiency ; and every effort to remove this opprobrium 
 should be hailed with joy by every friend of sound 
 scholai-ship. Hence for many years the most judicious 
 educators have been devising plans, by which the moral 
 restraints, the intellectual competition, and the refining 
 influence of the sexes, may be reciprocally enjoj'ed in the 
 Bchool-room. 
 
 With sound philosophy on its side, and no countervail- 
 ing experience to dissuade from the attempt, the Uni- 
 versity proposes to give to both sexes the advantage of 
 the most enlarcred and liberal culture.
 
 NORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY. 421 
 
 ITS WOKKS AND ITS WANTS. 
 
 It has already been shown from the statistics of the 
 University, that the Institution has enjoyed a large mea- 
 sure of popular favor and patronage. Its growth has been 
 healthful and uniform, with nothing to disturb its disci- 
 pline or to mar its internal peace. The liberal spirit in 
 which its administration has been conceived and con- 
 ducted has conduced to this result. 
 
 Whatever of external agitation may have prevailed, 
 the harmony and peace of College operations have never 
 been disturbed. If, too, we compare the prosperity -of 
 the University with that of other Colleges, we have no 
 cause of discontent or discouragement. 
 
 The number to be educated at College is limited by 
 the educational spirit and pecuniary means of our people. 
 For its past prosperity its friends have much reason to 
 be thankful. This is due, in a large measure, to the 
 liberal and enlightened policy of its Directors, which, as 
 it is better known, will be more heartily approved. 
 
 From the partial praises we have thus bestowed on 
 the University, we would not have any one infer that it 
 has no wants. It does need a larger Endowment fund, 
 in order that it may have a larger Chapel building and a 
 greater number of Professors. In order to give this 
 University that prominence which was contemplated by 
 its founders, it will be necessary to increase its Endow- 
 ment fund. In addition to the chairs of instruction 
 already provided, there is pressing need of a Professor of 
 Biblical Literature, who shall make that work a specialty, 
 with reference to the wants of young men entering the 
 ministry. This, with another Professor in the Literary 
 Depai'tment, and with greater materiel of education in 
 the Library, Apparatus, and Cabinet, will place the Insti-
 
 422 NORTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 tilt ion ill the very front rank of Colleges. A Medical 
 Department, too, is demanded, and is under consideratioij, 
 to be organized, it is presumed, before the lapse of many 
 years. 
 
 The public men, the incidents of whose religious lives 
 are here recorded, together with many brethren in private 
 life, who have labored even more eflicientlj than the 
 former in carrying the University thus far toward com- 
 pletion, here see the culmination of their efforts in the 
 cause of education in this State. It remains for their 
 later contemporaries, and for their children, in the same 
 spirit of Christian liberality and faith, to carry forward 
 the work which has been so auspiciously begun. 
 
 Indianapolis, October 4, 1862.
 
 tXXIIS-OIS mSTOItlCAJ. ou^rx..
 
 ILLINCJr. niSTORICAL SURVEY 
 
 oO«D eT:' 
 
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