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Uncle John Metzger’s Home at Lordsburg, Cah 
 
A MODEL LIFE 
 
 • e.OR. 
 
 Uocle Jobo Metzger od Earth. 
 
 “Hear, O my son , and receive my sayings; and the 
 years of thy life shall be many." — Prov. 4 : 10. 
 
 “ O Lord\ thou art my trust from my youth P — Ps. 7/ .* j. 
 
 By M. M. ESHELMAN. 
 
 Mount Morris, III.: 
 
 BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE. 
 
 1898. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 https://archive.org/details/modellifeoruncleOOeshe 
 

 5" O f X. 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 A MODEL LIFE 
 
 ...OR... 
 
 Uncle John Metzger od Earth. 
 
 i 
 
 ft 
 
 Here, on the oft-washed sands of the great 
 blue Pacific Ocean, so near the dashing, splashing 
 white waves which, in their spreading, almost 
 touch my feet, while far away, toward the West 
 and South and North, awed by the grace and 
 power of our Creator, I sit and breathe the sweet¬ 
 ness and vigor of “the great deep,” and think of 
 that dear lovely soul who often looked upon what 
 I now see, and caught the fervency 1 now enjoy, 
 
 “Our sympathies across the wave, 
 
 Touch noble souls beyond the grave,” 
 
 here, in full view of some of the great and won¬ 
 drous works of God, I love to write of that 
 good and holy man,—Uncle John Metzger, who 
 made men, women and children better by his be- 
 ing among them. This little record of some of 
 
 o o 
 
 his good deeds, given him by our Heavenly Fa- 
 ther, is sent out to help every boy and girl who 
 wants to go on up and up to a nobler and higher 
 
6 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 and sweeter, purer life. To know something 
 about a man who had a big heart,—a heart large 
 enough to love everybody, though it lived in a 
 frail little house nearly eighty-nine years, must 
 be helpful to all who love good things, good peo¬ 
 ple, and a happy home. 
 
 If there had been no child Jesus there could 
 have been no man Jesus; and if there had been no 
 noble, manly Jesus, there could have been no Un¬ 
 cle John Metzger, as he was. Because there is 
 One, “fairest among ten thousand,” “a Prince of 
 Peace,” “full of favor and truth,” Uncle John 
 Metzger was able to become what he was, and 
 now is. Plence, in looking at him and seeing his 
 loving life, you must look beyond him and see 
 his Model and our Model. 
 
 “ Faithful, hopeful, wise in charity— 
 
 An angel-watered lily, that near God 
 Grows and is quiet.” 
 
 A party once climbed to the top of a high 
 mountain and had a guide to show them the way. 
 Coming to a dangerous place, where each one 
 had to put his foot into the guide’s hand, to be 
 lifted over the perilous spot, one of the party was 
 slow to risk it, when the guide said: “This hand 
 never lost a man.” The traveler then trusted the 
 guide and got safely over. So Jesus helped Un- 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 7 
 
 cle John over all the hard places. He never los¬ 
 es those who trust him . 
 
 At a time when America was almost all wilder¬ 
 ness yet, and when Indians were owners of the 
 country from the Ohio River to the Pacific Ocean, 
 and millions of eyes in Europe were looking 
 westward to America as the land of free homes 
 and true liberty, grandfather and grandmother 
 Metzger were among the number. They lived in 
 Holland, Europe. They made up their minds to 
 come 
 
 ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN 
 
 to America. There were no United States then, 
 for there were no States to unite. This was in 
 1758. But Uncle John Metzger’s grandfather and 
 grandmother had no money to pay their ship’s 
 fare. However they went on board the vessel, 
 and, after long sailing, came into port at Balti¬ 
 more,—then but a small place. There were no 
 friends to meet them and welcome them. There 
 was no one to help pay their fare, and bid them 
 to a cheerful fireside. The laws of the land were 
 such that if a passenger could not pay his fare he 
 had to be sold to some one and work it out, 
 hence the husband, whose name was John, was 
 sold to one man, and his wife to another. By 
 steady, hard work and receiving larger credit 
 
8 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 than his wife, he soon paid his debt, or fare; 
 then, like a good, kind husband, went to work to 
 earn money to pay that of his wife’s, and then 
 they were able to live together again. This is 
 how they began life in America. 
 
 At that time, dear children, the central and 
 western parts of Pennsylvania were thinly set¬ 
 tled. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and other States 
 west were not known. They did not exist as 
 States. There were vast stretches of woods on 
 hills and in valleys, where the red men, with their 
 squaws and pappooses lived. Deer, turkeys and 
 pheasants and fish and berries was their food. 
 
 If you have studied history you will know that 
 when Uncle John’s grandfather and grandmother 
 went 
 
 FROM BALTIMORE TO BLAIR COUNTY, FA., 
 
 General Washington was a young man, and a few 
 years before was with General Braddock, who 
 was beaten by the Indians in a great battle, not 
 far from where Uncle John’s grandfather made a 
 home for himself and family. 
 
 These were times of trouble. The white peo¬ 
 ple wanted the lands to make homes and the 
 Indians wanted the country for themselves, and 
 for their deer and wild turkeys. These opposing 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 9 
 
 wants brought hatred, and hatred brought strife, 
 and strife brought murder, and burning, and ruin. 
 The love of money was the root of this evil. 
 
 When Uncle John’s grandfather and grand¬ 
 mother got to Blair County, Pennsylvania, they 
 went to work to make a home in the new world, 
 far from the old homestead in Holland, “ across 
 the deep blue sea.” 
 
 There were big trees to fell and cut up and 
 burn; ground to plow, houses to build, and many 
 other things to do, to make a home. But they 
 were workers,—real good home-makers, so they 
 got along quite well. 
 
 Herein “ the Cove ” was born to them a boy 
 and they named him Jacob. This boy was 
 brought up on the farm, was taught to work, and, 
 like a wise man, in due time, loved Jesus, gave his 
 heart to Him, and when he got a house of his 
 own, opened it to the preachers to preach Jesus. 
 He married Mary, the daughter of Henry Butter- 
 baugh, of Hagerstown, Maryland. She died Oct. 
 12, 1852, full of hope in Jesus. She was the 
 mother of our Uncle John Metzger, who was born 
 in the Cove, Blair County, Pa., Dec. 20, 1807, or 
 about ninety-nine years after a few pious men 
 and women, with prayer and holy feelings, 
 agreed, in Schwarzenau, Germany, to love and 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 I 3 
 
 obey Jesus, as made known in the New Testa¬ 
 ment. 
 
 Some of these good people had come to Amer¬ 
 ica, settled in Eastern Pennsylvania, and from 
 there sounded out the Gospel westward and 
 southward. It had reached Jacob Metzger’s 
 house before his son, John, was born. 
 
 In 1812 the war between Great Britain and the 
 United States took place, and, though John was 
 only five years old, he did not forget, in old age, 
 that his parents were very much scared, on hear¬ 
 ing the roar of the cannon, far distant at Wash¬ 
 ington. 
 
 o 
 
 W hen quite young, a wedding took place at his 
 father’s house; for his parents’ home was open for 
 religious meetings and the worship of God. As 
 
 WEDDING CEREMONIES 
 
 then were very different from those now, some 
 description of the old-time method is here given. 
 
 Everything being ready, the people came into 
 the large room to witness the marriage. The 
 preacher’s name was Conrad Martin, an old man, 
 having; long white hair and beard, and a face 
 
 o o 
 
 which showed a warm heart of love with good¬ 
 ness to all. Two verses of a German hymn were 
 sung; the third chapter of the first epistle of 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 II 
 
 Peter was read; and about thirty minutes given to 
 prayer and talk to all present. Next the young 
 couple stood up, answered some questions, made 
 promises to be true and faithful to each other, 
 and were then pronounced husband and wife. 
 The people were not near so much in a hurry 
 then, in their religious work, as some people are 
 now. In those days they had long marriage cer¬ 
 emonies, preached long sermons, sang long 
 hymns, made long prayers, and were long on 
 nearly everything good. Then they travelled 
 from place to place on foot, or on ox-carts, or on 
 horse-back, and went about their work without so 
 much rushing and hurrying. They took time to 
 pray, to sing, and to exhort. Now people are 
 carried about by steam and electricity, on bi¬ 
 cycles and swift horses, hence they want to be 
 married quickly, listen to short sermons, sing 
 short hymns fast, admire short prayers, recite 
 short lessons, follow short methods, and, as is 
 sometimes the case, come out with short comfort, 
 short religion, short blessings, short life. 
 
 Such men in Uncle John’s boyhood days as 
 David Ulrich, George Brumbaugh, John Hoover 
 were held in high esteem for their works of love 
 in preaching Jesus. He spoke of his sincere re¬ 
 gard for these and other good men, who did so 
 
12 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 much to shape and mould his life in the Gospel. 
 W hile little has come down to us as to the good 
 deeds of those early missionaries, who went 
 through valleys and over mountains and into des- 
 ert places to preach the Gospel “ without price 
 and without money,” yet the many large church¬ 
 es and Sunday schools, all over the United States, 
 west of New York, are so many fruits of their 
 early planting. Without those right and faithful 
 beginnings there could be no true and great con- 
 tinuings. 
 
 “ Tis heaven alone that is given away, 
 
 ’Tis only God may be had for the asking.” 
 
 \ ^ ,f| !* I H i . 
 
 When John was twelve years old, in 1819, his 
 parents left the old home in Pennsylvania and, in 
 wagons, moved over the mountains and 
 
 OUT THROUGH OHIO 
 
 to where the u National Home for Soldiers,” near 
 Davton, now stands. There were but two stores 
 in what was then little Davton. One was owned 
 by Mr. Philips, the other by Mr. Akers. 
 
 These two stores with a few^ dwellings were the 
 only buildings in Dayton nearly eighty years 
 ago. The Brethren or “Dunkers” had no 
 churchhouse to meet in, no Sunday school foi 
 old and young to learn about Jesus, no buggies to 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 13 
 
 ride in, no railroad cars to swiftly carry them 
 over the country, hence nearly all walked to town 
 and to church services; and it was common to 
 walk five or six miles to meeting and return. 
 Sometimes the old people would ride horseback. 
 
 During the winter months there were religious 
 services nearly every week in a simple manner, 
 very much as meetings are now held. The peo¬ 
 ple lived plainly, talked plainly, ate plain food, 
 dressed plainly and had 
 
 SIMPLE, EASY CUSTOMS AND HABITS. 
 
 In this way they met and worshipped God. 
 There were no parties, no old people who flocked 
 by themselves in a room, and no young folk who 
 did not want old people with them, in another 
 room. All were as one together,—the old in the 
 zeal and energy of youth and the young in the 
 faith and wisdom of the aged. Those were 
 happy days because all people were common and 
 helpful to each other. 
 
 Soon after settling in Ohio, Elders Daniel Gar¬ 
 ber, John Elory, John Cline and John Wine came 
 from Virginia hundreds of miles on horseback to 
 preach the Gospel of Jesus in the wilderness of 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 There were no helpful committees then to 
 
14 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 smooth out the rough places for them, no large 
 and wealthy assemblies to clothe and purse them, 
 but these 
 
 SELF-SACRIFICING MISSIONARIES 
 
 met the poor and needy,—the plain people with 
 whom they were not ashamed to associate. 
 
 When these and other Godly men came into a 
 
 j 
 
 place the glad news was carried about by chil¬ 
 dren from house to house, telling people when 
 and where the new preachers would preach; and 
 so long as these preachers staid, the people would 
 follow them from place to place, to hear them 
 gladly. Do you think any of the boys and girls 
 then, or any of the members of the church, got 
 “convenient headaches” or an excusable tire¬ 
 someness about meeting-time? Do you think 
 they felt well enough to work in the field or shop 
 all day and then suddenly got sick about meet¬ 
 ing-time and got just as quickly well as soon as 
 meeting was over? Uncle John says he never 
 knew of such homemade (?) diseases in those 
 days. They are of recent growth, and seem to be 
 spreading as well as catching. 
 
 July 31, 1828, Uncle John was married flan- 
 nah Ulery, in Montgomery County, Ohio. Soon 
 after this they both 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 15 
 
 GAVE THEIR HEARTS AND LIVES 
 
 to Jesus and became members of the Brethren or 
 u Dunker ” church. Uncle John said he was glad 
 he gave himself to Jesus at the age of twenty-one 
 years, but would be happier still if he had begun 
 a Christian life when younger. 
 
 What a brilliant example to young men who 
 are yet out of Christ, — out of His kind grace, His 
 wisdom, His loving goodness! As you read this, 
 do not fail to think how you might honor God 
 and his Christ by a long life, given to Him in 
 praise and purity. 
 
 After spending six years of their married life 
 near Dayton, they made up their minds to be 
 among the 
 
 FIRST SETTLERS IN INDIANA. 
 
 As pioneers the Metzgers were usually foremost. 
 Uncle John’s grandfather was among the first sel¬ 
 lers in Blair County, Pa., his father an early set¬ 
 tler in Ohio, and now himself a beginner in Tip¬ 
 pecanoe County, Ind., not far from where Gener¬ 
 al Wm. Henry Harrison conquered the Indians 
 under the command of the famous chief, Tecum- 
 seh. 
 
 They got to their new house in 1834. Other 
 members of the church also made their homes in 
 
i6 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 the same place. A church was soon built up, 
 and in 1835 L'ncle John was chosen to the minis¬ 
 try, having been elected a deacon the year be¬ 
 fore. The gifts given him by the Lord were at 
 once used. 
 
 HE STUDIED THE BIBLE 
 
 to learn of Jesus; therefore he preached Jesus, 
 lived Jesus, and won souls for Jesus, died in Je¬ 
 sus. The calls were at once many and urgent; 
 for in many parts of Central and Northern Indi¬ 
 ana new settlers came in and were calling for 
 Gospel manna. The old-time religion was in de¬ 
 mand. There was no need for this young preach¬ 
 er to rust or to regard home duties superior to 
 mission work. He did his “ home work ” well, 
 trusted God for the all-things and “went every¬ 
 where preaching the W ord.” He would not hide 
 his “pound,” but did his best to increase it “ten 
 pounds.” Do you not think he did? 
 
 The country was marshy, the roads were rude 
 
 and manv were the 
 * 
 
 HARD PLACES 
 
 to eet over. There were funerals to attend, mar- 
 riages to perform, sick to visit, councils to at¬ 
 tend, unruly members to disentangle, sinners to 
 seek and teach,—many were the duties of the 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 17 
 
 pioneer preacher which were met at his expense. 
 But you must remember there were fewer peo¬ 
 ple then than now, hence fewer meetings were 
 held, fewer sermons preached, so that much time 
 was spent on the farm. 
 
 People who were married by him would insist 
 on him taking money for his services. He al¬ 
 ways took it from the groom, but with a great, 
 warm heart in him he could not keep it, for he 
 knew that in many cases the young married 
 couple needed money to begin life with, hence, 
 when the time came to say good-bye to the new¬ 
 ly-married pair, he kindly put the money into 
 the hand of the bride, with a blessing. As long 
 as he lived he kept up this custom. Surely God 
 was with him to the end! 
 
 In White County, Indiana, he preached 
 
 HIS FIRST SERMON 
 
 in a saw-mill. He had six hearers. It is said 
 that the noise of the waters almost hushed his 
 voice. But he kept on preaching, and, in due 
 time, he had the joy of seeing souls won to Je¬ 
 sus, and a church organized. There were eight 
 sisters and two brethren. 
 
 Oyman and Patton became their pastors. 
 They were fluent talkers, hence soon had a large 
 
i8 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 circle of friends and hearers. However, their 
 brilliancy led them out beyond the spirit and 
 genius of those with whom they had agreed to 
 walk, and, instead of “ peace,”’ there was jarring 
 and confusion. They set up a “new order ” of 
 things and called it “reformation,” or old things 
 made new or better. This ended in failure and 
 the scattering of the flock. This grieved Uncle 
 John very much, because he always used his 
 voice for peace in Jesus and not for discord. His 
 plea was always for union on sound words, even 
 the words of Jesus, among families, among neigh¬ 
 bors, in churches and among the people. 
 
 No man, dear youth, can be in Jesus, assume 
 high, Gospel ground and hold forth a life of 
 purity without becoming a “ shining mark ” for 
 “ the fiery darts of Satan—the object of slander^ 
 hatred, envy and every evil thought.” Eld. 
 Metzger had his full share of trials and 
 
 “ PERILS AMONG FALSE BRETHREN.” 
 
 He not only met the raging creeks and rivers, 
 the cold wintry storms and summer heat, but 
 the “ gainsayers ” who opposed themselves by 
 false doctrines, and the ugly, envious spirits who 
 were less loved than himself You may expect 
 
A MODEL LIFE. IQ 
 
 the same if you live up through manhood and 
 womanhood. 
 
 The more you are loved by Jesus and the good 
 men and women in this world, the more you will 
 
 7 J 
 
 be hated by Satan and the mean, ugly, twisty, 
 envious spirits who watch your every step to 
 catch something that they might make you ap¬ 
 pear black. Such people will try to make 
 straight appear crooked, and white, black. 
 Trust. God, as did Uncle John, and not a hair of 
 your head shall be harmed. 
 
 One time Uncle John preached and many 
 hearts were touched, and a man and his wife 
 were turned unto the Lord. This aroused the 
 anger of their brother-in-law, so he breathed out 
 
 HARD THREATS 
 
 against the man who would baptize them. Aft¬ 
 er some consultation by the members of the 
 church, it was agreed that Uncle John should 
 immerse the penitent believers, hence all parties 
 went to a stream of water near by,—the preach¬ 
 er and penitent believers and all lovers of Jesus, 
 with joy and gladness in their hearts, and the 
 angry brother-in-law, with boasting in his soul. 
 At the waterside a hymn was sung, Scripture 
 read, prayer offered just as if there was no wrath 
 
20 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 near; then Uncle John took off his shoes and 
 coat, in order to go into the water to baptize 
 the man and his wife. The angry man also took 
 off his coat, turned up his shirt sleeves as if he, 
 too, would do some great work. Uncle John 
 gave no heed to this kind of show, but took the 
 man into the water and baptized him. The an¬ 
 gry man stood on the shore and looked on, just 
 like the other people. 
 
 Next the wife was immersed. The angry fel¬ 
 low still looked on. Uncle John came up out 
 of the water, put on his shoes and coat. The 
 angry man put on his coat too, and then every 
 one went to his home; and the preacher was not 
 disturbed either. 
 
 GOD TOOK CARE OF HIS SERVANT, 
 
 Uncle John Metzger! 
 
 A short time afterwards Uncle John had oc¬ 
 casion to visit a neighbor, so he started on horse¬ 
 back, and his way led through a long, narrow 
 lane with a high rail-fence on either side. As 
 he entered the lane he saw a man on horseback 
 come in at the other end, and, as they came 
 toward each other, Uncle John saw that it was 
 the man who had threatened to whip him at the 
 baptismal scene. He made up his mind that 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 21 
 
 now, if the man was sincere, he would surely 
 fall upon him and carry out the threat, but the 
 preacher resolved to use kindness, as it usually 
 wins, so, when the man came up, Uncle John 
 said: “Good morning, sir. Are you well?” 
 The man turned his horse into a fence corner and 
 looked another way. “How is your family?’’ 
 said the preacher, “ are you all getting along 
 nicely? ” By this time the “ fighter’s ” heart 
 failed him, and he turned about and spoke a few 
 kind words in reply; then rode on. The preach¬ 
 er was victorious through the power of God’s 
 grace and kindness. This is another infallible 
 proof that love and goodness and kindness are 
 stronger than wrath, and muscle, and evil works. 
 
 Once there were seven applicants for Chris¬ 
 tian fellowship. Among them was a woman 
 whose husband was bitterly opposed to his wife 
 becoming a disciple of Jesus. Uncle John went 
 to see him and reasoned with him on the good 
 way of the Lord. 
 
 THE MAN WOULD NOT YIELD 
 
 but became very angry, declaring that his wife 
 should never be immersed. His wife, however, 
 determined to do as her Savior did, and was 
 baptized with the others. Shortly afterwards 
 
22 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 her husband wrote Uncle John a very unkind 
 
 letter and invited him to come to his house. 
 
 Uncle John sent him a very kind letter in reply, 
 
 and some davs after went to visit him. He 
 
 * 
 
 found the man sullen and very slow to speak; 
 so he began by asking the man if he had re¬ 
 ceived the letter. He replied that he had. Un¬ 
 cle John then began to talk to him, quoting the 
 Scriptures and showing the great blessings in 
 store for all who love the Lord Jesus and his 
 appearing. Soon the anger of the man gave way 
 and the beams of light began to shine through 
 his smiles, and a heavenly calm filled his mind. 
 In two weeks from that time the man was also 
 baptized. One more witness of the power of 
 loving-kindness over anger. Another victory for 
 Jesus! 
 
 In the early history of the States of Indiana 
 and Illinois, the members of the church lived 
 far apart, therefore the appointments were not 
 near each other. This caused 
 
 MUCH TRAVELING, 
 
 and when the creeks and rivers were running 
 over their banks and filling the low lands with 
 water, it required no small degree of courage to 
 brave the dangers and do the work; but Uncie 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 23 
 
 John had strong faith in God, and would go to 
 his fields of labor, though he had to swim the 
 streams with his horse, or ride through deep 
 water in the marshes. 
 
 When the railroads were built, matters did not 
 improve much for him, for he lived twelve miles 
 from the railroad station, and often would leave 
 the depot at 8 P. M., and walk from ten to twelve 
 miles in water and mud, sometimes wading 
 streams up to his shoulders. That was enduring 
 unto faithfulness, worthy the following of any 
 one who loves the Lord above all else. In those 
 days our brother was poor, and walking was his 
 only means of getting about. 
 
 He preached many 
 
 SERMONS ON THE TIPPECANOE BATTLE-FIELD 
 
 where Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison defeated the 
 Indians in 1812. Several years ago, when Ben¬ 
 jamin Harrison was President of the United 
 States, Uncle John went to see him, while in 
 Washington. During the talk with the President, 
 he told him that he had often preached on the 
 Tippecanoe battle-ground where the President’s 
 grandfather had routed the red men. The Presi¬ 
 dent seemed pleased and said he was very glad 
 that Uncle John had called to see him. 
 
34 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 Of course just as Uncle John was busy about 
 his Master's business, so Satan was busy in his 
 devices and tricks to defeat the servant of the 
 Lord. 
 
 Once, at the close of a warm and earnest ser¬ 
 mon, a woman was very anxious to take up the 
 call of the Lord and join the church; but her 
 husband said she should not. Her troubled soul 
 found 
 
 NO REST OUTSIDE OF JESUS, 
 
 so she heeded the Lord’s call: “Come unto me 
 all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will 
 give you rest.” She went to church-meeting and 
 was there immersed and put on Jesus, being re¬ 
 ceived into fellowship with great gladness. On 
 her return home her husband met her at the gate 
 and bade her go on, saying, “ You cannot stop 
 here. Move on! ” O what pain to hear a hus¬ 
 band say: “You cannot come in here any more! 
 Go on.” But the patient wife heeded not his 
 angry words, but, getting down from her horse, 
 tied him and went into the house. Think of her 
 sorrowful heart for her husband! She had free¬ 
 dom in Christ, but her soul was full of feeling 
 for her companion. For two weeks the angry 
 husband poured out abuse upon his wife, and all 
 that time she bore it with great patience. Seeing 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 25 
 
 that he could not move her from her holy pur¬ 
 pose, he halted, and, seeing the noble way of 
 God, he also was converted. Like the penitent 
 child, seeking relief, he found peace with his 
 Father in heaven. What a lesson on patient en¬ 
 durance! 
 
 / * 
 
 In 1849 Uncle John and his family took up 
 their residence in Clinton County, Ind., and his 
 sphere of work was greatly enlarged, having 
 been ordained to the bishoprick in 1843. With 
 these new duties, new trials and severities opened 
 up to him, but with all these came new grace, and 
 it “ more abundantly.” 
 
 One time, during the winter, he preached with 
 his usual vigor and warmth, as many of our read¬ 
 ers will remember his great earnestness. After 
 services a kind brother and sister took him to 
 their pleasant home and gave him 
 
 “A COLD BED ” 
 
 to sleep in. No doubt the covers were neat, 
 the bed arranged very nicely, and all things tidy, 
 but everything was very cold. The preacher 
 was very warm,—had labored until he perspired 
 freely, so he coidd not get much comfort out of 
 a cold, cold bed. God had done his part well, 
 had made trees grow that could be used to warm 
 
26 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 houses, had given man power to make brick or 
 cut out soap-stone and warm them and put them 
 into cold beds, to chase the cold out; but those 
 dear, kind, people did not likely think about 
 this. Uncle John tried to sleep, but could not. 
 He went to bed warm, but was not warm enough 
 to heat up a cold bed. He got up, dressed him¬ 
 self, went out on the road and ran up and down 
 on it in the snow, until he got himself warm 
 again. Then he went back into the cold nest, 
 but no sweet sleep came to him. There were no 
 “ downy pillows ” and fine parlors for him that 
 night. 
 
 Having a heart full of love for Christ and man¬ 
 kind, he could not narrow himself in any good 
 thing or work, nor place his earthly affairs above 
 those of his Master. He, therefore, made up 
 his mind that when he would build a house to 
 live in, he would also set aside a room in which 
 people might gather and hear the good old story 
 of Jesus. In those days there were no planing- 
 mills, no shingle factories and other handy mills 
 to make straight and smooth boards, so as to 
 build neat houses quickly. Like his neighbors, 
 Uncle John went into the woods, cut down trees, 
 fitted the “ logs,” gathered them together and 
 built him a house. It was 25 by 40 feet and had 
 porches added. He had to go some distance 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 27 
 
 THROUGH SNOW AND COLD 
 
 for those 80 logs. When the logs were ready 
 to be joined together he went more than 100 
 miles to Dayton, Ohio, for some needful hard¬ 
 ware. On his way home the melted snows and 
 much rain had made the creeks and rivers so 
 deep that he could not cross them with his 
 wagon, so he left his wagon on the way and went 
 home on horseback, swimming the streams 
 through floating ice and cold, chilly waters. 
 Then, when the waters got low, he went back for 
 his wagon. When the house was ready to live 
 in, he set a time for preaching. The people 
 came from far. and near, and the room set apart 
 for Jesus, and the porches, were filled with men, 
 women and children, to hear the “ good news ” of 
 heaven and happiness. 
 
 In a new country like that in which he lived 
 there were 
 
 MANY INDIANS. 
 
 Often Uncle John traveled along Indian paths 
 and came to the Indian villages, but, like Wm. 
 Penn, he always acted kindly toward them, and 
 then they were kind to him. If Indians, who 
 knew not Jesus, could be great by being kind, 
 how much greater should those in Christ be 
 who know so much about the kindness of Jesus? 
 
28 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 To be harsh and severe to each other is not of 
 Christ. 
 
 Uncle John had five dear children. The 
 youngest died when a babe. One, Barbara 
 Shively, went “ home ” in 1895. John W., a min¬ 
 ister of Jesus, and Mary Shively live in L ords- 
 burg, Cal., , Catherine Shively lives in Cerrogordo, 
 Ill. 
 
 Wh ile living in Indiana, and when John W. 
 and Mary were yet quite young, he and these 
 two children were 
 
 BITTEN BY A MAD DOG. 
 
 Knowing that this might result in an awful death, 
 he took them in a wagon through the thick 
 woods, over one hundred miles to a doctor at 
 Dayton, Ohio. O think of that father’s and 
 mother’s feelings in all that time, as they rode 
 through those lonely woods! Only Jesus in the 
 soul, the hope of glory, could give comfort. Full 
 of faith and trust they went on and on, and, after 
 several days, reached the doctor’s home, were 
 treated successfully and then went back the same 
 way. The good Lord helped them all out of 
 this great danger, and Uncle John was more than 
 ever in earnest, in preaching the glad tidings of 
 a glorified Jesus for sinners. 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 29 
 
 In 1861 he left his home in Clinton County, 
 Inch, and began a new one near Cerrogordo, Ill., 
 to do his part in building up a new country. 
 Here Jesus should also be preached. Uncle John 
 was at hand for the good work with others. 
 
 The great and exciting political campaign was 
 over, and the time was near at hand for 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 to go to Washington City to rule the nation. 
 The tones of coming war could be heard in many 
 places. About two weeks before the time for 
 Mr. Lincoln to start to Washington, Uncle John 
 and his son-in-lav/, Eld. Joseph Hendricks, 
 were in Springfield, Ill. Some one said: “Let 
 us go up to see Mr. Lincoln. He will soon leave 
 home and we ought to visit him.” At once they 
 started for the Lincoln home. Knocking at a 
 door a servant opened it and invited them in. 
 Mr. Lincoln was upstairs and, on being told that 
 two old men wanted to see him, he came down 
 and warmly shook their hands and welcomed 
 them. Seeing that they were dressed in “ Ouak- 
 ker ” fashion, he asked their profession and was 
 told that they were members of the Brethren 
 or “ Dunker ” church. “ O, yes,” said he, “ I 
 have some knowledge of the ‘ Bunkers.’ Am 
 quite glad to see you.” 
 
30 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 Uncle John said: “ I have been on the farm 
 you helped to make, and where you split rails 
 when you were a young man.” “Well,” replied 
 Mr. Lincoln, “ I did not do very much farming. 
 I drove the oxen and helped to clear ten acres 
 the first year and made some rails, and the 
 second year we cleared ten more acres and made 
 rails. That is about all the farming I ever did. 
 I went to studying law after that.” 
 
 “Do you not,” asked Uncle John, “think it 
 very unsafe to go to Washington now? ” 
 
 “Yes, I do,” replied Lincoln, “but I shall go, 
 and if I arrive safely I will do my whole duty 
 to all the people. I shall know no North, no 
 South, no East, no West, but one country and 
 all the people.” 
 
 As they were about to leave, Mr. Lincoln asked 
 them with much warmth of feeling and tears in 
 his eyes, that they should pray for him and 
 the. country. Uncle John answered: “We al¬ 
 ways pray for rulers that God might bless them 
 and give all men good government.” 
 
 Mr. Lincoln said that he wished God to bless 
 them and him, for he knew he could do nothing 
 well except God should be with him. 
 
 You must not forget, dear children, that at that 
 time there was 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 31 
 
 GREAT TROUBLE. 
 
 The South and the North were about to go to 
 war on account of slavery, because in the South¬ 
 ern States negroes were sold and bought just as 
 men sell and buy cattle and horses now, and 
 the Northern States were opposed to this, so 
 the bad feeling led to hard words, and hard 
 words to loss of love, and loss of love led to 
 war, bloodshed and great ruin in many places. 
 The people of the South thought Lincoln would 
 set their slaves free, hence they went to war. 
 He had no power then to do that and would 
 not have done it, if they had not set up war. But 
 after the war had gone on a few years he did 
 set the slaves free. No doubt God sc willed it 
 to be, for God is supreme and rules the nations 
 as he pleases. 
 
 And now, for a little while, let us hear Uncle 
 John tell us cf his labors and joys in the Lord, 
 in his own way, from a letter before me. 
 
 “ On arriving in Illinois, I found 
 
 A LARGE FIELD 
 
 for doing good, since members of the church 
 had begun to settle in various parts of the State 
 and they called for preaching, and the faith and 
 practice of the Brethren were little known. I 
 
32 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 wanted to do all I could for Jesus and the church. 
 Wife and I went in private conveyance from 
 Cerrogordo, Ill., to Lafayette, Ind., frequently, 
 and I preached in every town and schoolhouse 
 between those places, and sometimes in ware¬ 
 houses. 
 
 “ Before starting I sent word that I would be 
 at certain places on certain dates and when we 
 arrived the appointments had been made, and 
 people came to hear the Word of God. I be¬ 
 came well known all along the Wabash Railway. 
 Gnce, in traveling along this line, I preached 
 the funeral sermon of a Baptist lady, and after¬ 
 wards her husband was by me received into the 
 church. Sometimes we would be out three 
 months on such a journey and then I was preach¬ 
 ing almost every night. 
 
 “ We went as far as Dayton, Ohio, with a team. 
 At this place I saw McAfee hung, standing near 
 him at the time. It was 
 
 AN AWFUL SIGHT. 
 
 O that man would always love his God, do good 
 and not evil, then all would be happy. At an¬ 
 other time, while stopping at Crawfordsville, 
 Ind., a man was hung and twice the rope broke 
 and let him fall to the ground before they sue- 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 33 
 
 ceeded in taking his life. These were fearful 
 examples of reaping what was sown. 
 
 “ I heard Lorenzo Dow preach once in Day- 
 ton, and once in Liberty, Ohio. Lorenzo was 
 a minister in the M. E. church and was called 
 a great missionary in his way and day. He was 
 the most singular man I ever saw. He wore 
 long hair down over his shoulders, and parted 
 it on the top of his head. Peggy, his wife, 
 dressed plainly also, and wore a white cap on 
 her head like the sisters now do in the Brethren 
 church. Lorenzo Dow advised young people 
 to 4 get religion ’ or, rather, let Christ’s religion 
 get them, saying that if they love God they 
 will surely love each other, hence could always 
 have a paradise at home. He said that about 
 the first two things that some parents taught 
 their children was to lie and to be deceitful. 
 Perhaps the mother is going out to a party and 
 her children want to go, too, and even cry to go 
 along, but, as the children would be in the way 
 of a fashionable party, she first scolds them to 
 stay at home, but the children will not be quiet. 
 Next she promises them candy or ‘pretties,’ 
 and when mother comes back she brings neither 
 candy nor ‘ pretties,’ and now the children have 
 lost confidence in mother and cry. Mother says: 
 
34 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 ‘ If you don’t hush I will whip you,’ but the chil¬ 
 dren cry on and the mother no more whips than 
 she brought ‘ pretties,’ so a lie is added to the 
 deception and the children think if mother can 
 lie and deceive they can lie and deceive too. 
 This soon makes a house of liars instead of a 
 home of truth-tellers. 
 
 “ For twenty years I put in much of my time 
 
 TRAVELING AND PREACHING, 
 
 seeking new fields to work in, visiting the poor 
 souls in jails and other prisons and talking kindly 
 to them. I remember a visit to the jail at Marys¬ 
 ville, Mo., in 1894. . Here I saw a boy only elev¬ 
 en years old. Poor boy! Somewhere and some¬ 
 how he did a wrong and got on the road that 
 leads to prison. Perhaps he had a bad father or 
 a bad mother and so was not to blame for being 
 bad himself. Likely that little boy was away 
 from school or told a lie to begin with, or tried to 
 deceive some one. Perhaps he could say, ‘ I nev¬ 
 er had anybody to tell me how to be good; I 
 never was properly brought up; no one ever 
 cared for me. I should like to be like good 
 boys, but nobody ever showed me how.’ 
 
 “At another place I saw a little boy in jail for 
 saying he would kill his mother. Ah! this little 
 
 bov laid 
 
 ✓ 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 35 
 
 A POOR FOUNDATION. 
 
 However good you build the walls of a house, if 
 you set the building on a sandy foundation the 
 walls will soon crack, and then some one will say: 
 'There is a crack; the foundation is poor.’ So, 
 no matter if a boy or girl be given strong, health¬ 
 ful bodies, there will be broken places in their 
 lives if the foundation,—moral, good, Divine 
 principle,—is not sound and sure. Well may 
 such poor souls, after living long in sin, when 
 they come to die, say: ‘ Gather up my bad deeds 
 and bury them.’ But, dear children, as well 
 might you try to tie the winds, Qr chain the 
 waves of the deep, or make a wall against a sand¬ 
 storm, as to gather together the bad influences of 
 a life in ruin and misery. Only the love of Jesus 
 can make all the crooked paths straight. Only 
 the blood of Jesus can wash away the sin-stains. 
 
 “When I see these poor erring creatures in 
 prisons and hear men and women try to make 
 better people out of them, I do not think any one 
 should complain on account of having taxes to 
 pay. 
 
 “Two men charged with murder were put in 
 jail. They sent word for me to call at the prison 
 to see them. I went. We conversed long about 
 Jesus and his power to save. They both listened, 
 
36 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 and read the Bible. They soon learned that 
 where they had been, Jesus was not; so the only 
 thing for them to do was to go to Jesus. They 
 therefore believed the Gospel, received it and I 
 then baptized them. Both were afterwards 
 cleared of the charge of murder by the law. 
 
 “ Hearing that there were some members living 
 
 IN DOUGLASS COUNTY, ILLINOIS, 
 
 I got the name of one of them, wrote him a letter 
 and informed him that I would visit them, and, 
 if a door would be opened, I would preach to 
 them. Thev answered that I should come to 
 them, and I went. The first night the meeting 
 was in a schoolhouse and the next evening in the 
 Methodist church. I was a stranger, but word 
 went out that a 4 Dunker ’ was there, so people 
 turned out through curiosity. One man said he 
 had never before seen a ‘ Dunker,’ so he had 
 come to see what kind of a creature I was. He 
 said to me afterwards: 4 I was born on the ocean, 
 educated on the sea, and taught to be a Roman 
 Catholic. I at last tired of the sea, and quit, and 
 came to America. Your preaching was all new 
 to me; but some things you said I never could 
 get over.’ He finally came to Cerro Gordo and I 
 baptized him. I also immersed into Christ five 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 37 
 
 other Catholics, one railroad man and his wife, 
 and preached the funeral of a railroad conductor. 
 
 “ I also visited the State School at Terre Haute 
 where 700 pupils were in attendance, and also 
 many other institutions of learning. 
 
 “ Wherever I went I told the people I was 
 ready to preach to them, and they soon found a 
 place of worship. I found it much more success¬ 
 ful to go out and hunt open doors than to sit 
 down and wait until some one would call. Jesus 
 says: ‘Go, and preach the Gospel to every crea¬ 
 ture.’ 
 
 “ Five times I visited and preached 
 
 IN PHILADELPHIA, 
 
 and learned to know old Brother Fox, who knew 
 Alexander Mack. I spoke in the Germantown 
 meetinghouse,—the first house built by our peo¬ 
 ple in America. When standing by the grave of 
 Bro. Mack I was deeply impressed with a sense 
 of his work in this country and how he had toiled 
 and labored for the Lord and his people. Then 
 I went to the old elm-tree where William Penn 
 made a treaty with the Indians, who never broke 
 that agreement. It seems to me those were great 
 seasons of good; for God blessed the peaceful ef¬ 
 forts to the good of all, 
 
38 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 “While in Baltimore, looking after some rela¬ 
 tives, I met some of my relatives that I never 
 knew before, and the pleasant associations were 
 always remembered by me. The fourth time I 
 visited Washington City, my wife was with me, 
 and we went to the top of Washington Monu¬ 
 ment, in an elevator. It took twenty minutes to 
 go up 666 feet and twenty to come down, and we 
 had twenty minutes to stay on the top, and look 
 out over the country, city and river. 
 
 “ I have been 
 
 IN TWENTY DIFFERENT STATES, 
 
 and in all the principal cities between the Atlant¬ 
 ic and Pacific Oceans and preached in nearly all 
 of them. 
 
 “ Some years ago my daughter, Mary, and I, 
 were sent to Texas to spy out the land. Others 
 had gone on before and reported well of the Pan¬ 
 handle country and some members had moved 
 there. I could not see the bright prospects there 
 for the future, as some others seemed to see, and 
 I so reported. 
 
 “About twenty years ago I learned that there 
 were some Brethren north of Paris, 111 ., but I 
 failed to get their names. Finally I got the 
 name of a brother and wrote him I would be 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 39 
 
 there at a certain time, and if they wanted 
 preaching I would do what I could. I went, and 
 the first meeting was in the Methodist church, 
 and as our Brethren had never before been heard 
 there, the news spread quickly, and 
 
 LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE 
 
 came together. An old man and his wife, who 
 attended the first meetings, became so interested, 
 they followed me about to all the other meetings. 
 The people south of this place, on the Indianapo¬ 
 lis and St. Louis Railway, heard that a ‘ Dunker ’ 
 was preaching eight or ten miles north, so they 
 sent me word to come to their place. I went and 
 held meetings in the Methodist house at 3 P. M. 
 The house and yard were filled with attentive 
 hearers, and we had a good meeting. 
 
 “After services a man and woman came up and 
 said: ‘ We want another meeting.’ I left an ap¬ 
 pointment for Tuesday evening. When this 
 meeting was over a man came to me and said: 
 ‘I was here when you came in last Sunday even¬ 
 ing and saw you walk up the aisle and upon the 
 platform. I thought I knew where you be¬ 
 longed, but after hearing you preach, I could not 
 place you. This evening when you came in at 
 the door I saw you again and I thought I knew 
 
40 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 where you belonged; but after hearing you 
 preach, I could not place you; now will you be 
 kind enough to tell me what church you belong 
 to?’ I told him the Brethren or * Dunkers,’ as 
 they are vulgarly called. ‘Ah!’ said he, ‘I 
 thought when I saw you dressed in a plain uni¬ 
 form you were a “Dunker,” but when you 
 preached 
 
 HEARTFELT AND EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION 
 
 I was puzzled; for I heard a “ Dunker ” preacher 
 in Ohio, some years ago, and the way he put the 
 matter I got the idea that the “ Dunkers ” do not 
 believe in experimental religion.’ I informed 
 him that I knew of no church that believed more 
 firmly in heartfelt religion; for we teach that 
 Jesus must be in the heart, and the man must de¬ 
 velop from within out. 
 
 “ To ministers who love the Lord, permit me 
 to say, Never fail to preach your first sermon in a 
 new place on the heartfelt religion of Jesus , our 
 Lord. So much depends on starting just right.” 
 
 In going over a life so full of good deeds and a 
 heart so Christed with love for Jesus and human 
 kind, one can but exclaim: “ Thank God that Un¬ 
 cle John lived and will live forever; for he passed 
 through the world with gracious, grateful dignity 
 and faithfulness. While replete with faith and 
 joy there were 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 41 
 
 for 
 
 WAY-MARKS OF PAIN AND SORROW; 
 
 “ Into each life some rain must fall, 
 Some days must be dark and dreary.” 
 
 “ In the world ye shall have tribulation ” is the 
 message of heaven. To him the morning was 
 “just over the hill,”—the eternal boundless life,— 
 where he longed to go, and has gone. 
 
 In the midst of his religious and family duties 
 in his new home in Illinois, his dwelling was 
 burned to ashes and with this all his papers and 
 records which would now be valuable in making 
 up this brief sketch of a busy life. But 
 
 FIRE AND FLOOD 
 
 did not crush his great heart: he built again,—not 
 alone for himself, nor yet wholly for his family, 
 but for all who needed shelter the roof of his 
 dwelling was like the roof of his heart, a shelter 
 for poor and rich alike. 
 
 Having completed the building he set a day to 
 go to Decatur, to purchase household goods. 
 The day thus set apart having dawned, a call 
 came to attend a funeral and comfort the be¬ 
 reaved and preach to the living. He went. 
 That night, after returning from the services, 
 some one broke into his house, carried out a 
 chest, broke it open and stole all his money, 
 
42 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 about $200. Had he loved this present world 
 more than he loved Jesus, he would have gone 
 for furniture rather than to a funeral, and thus 
 had the use of his money. But Christians must 
 forsake all for Jesus and learn the worth of self- 
 denial. The more the servant of the Lord works 
 to hinder Satan getting hold of hearts, the more 
 Satan will try to destroy that servant. 
 
 For some time he was the only ordained elder 
 in that part of Southern Illinois, and 
 
 TRAVELED OVER LARGE AREAS 
 
 in search of isolated members and preached to 
 them. He preached the first sermon in Cham¬ 
 paign County, Illinois. While in Indiana he 
 heard that there was a brother living near Ur- 
 tana in that County, by the name of Geo. Dilling, 
 so on his return trip made inquiry for him. One 
 evening, about sundown, he stopped at a place to 
 remain over night, and when, upon inquiry from 
 his host, he learned that Bro. Dilling lived near 
 by, he was glad. After supper the man sent 
 his hired hand with the preacher to find the home 
 of brother Dilling; but the timber being abundant 
 on the ground and the hired hand not being well 
 informed as to the way through it, they did not 
 reach the sought-for home until 9 o’clock at 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 43 
 
 night. Of course there were several glad now,— 
 not only the missionary preacher, but brother 
 and sister Dilling also. Arrangements were 
 made for a meeting in a schoolhouse near by, a 
 month from that time, and on his return he was 
 greeted not only with a house full of hearers, but 
 with almost a yardful, so eager were the people 
 to hear the Gospel. In mingling with the peo¬ 
 ple, he learned that everybody spoke highly of 
 Bro. Dilling; so he thought it would pay to 
 preach there, since Bro. Dilling had lived out his 
 profession. Regular meetings were held there¬ 
 after, and soon there were additions to the 
 church. The preaching was acceptable, and the 
 labors of our subject continued to spread. The 
 Baptist minister of the town of Champaign invit¬ 
 ed him to preach in the Baptist house, which he 
 did. 
 
 During the late war Uncle John traveled a 
 great deal and had many 
 
 CURIOUS EXPERIENCES. 
 
 One time he preached the funeral discourse of a 
 drunkard at a place near Peru, Indiana, and while 
 some were curious to hear what he would say of a 
 drunken man, he simply preached Jesus to the 
 living and said nothing about the dead man. 
 
44 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 Afterwards he was called to Edgar County, 
 Ill., to preach the funeral of a man who had been 
 shot by soldiers. This man was in sympathy 
 with the Southern cause and was very outspoken 
 in his views. There were some Union soldiers at 
 home on a furlough, and they told the man that 
 he would be much better oT if he were to quit 
 talking against the United States and especially 
 since he lived under the Union flag and enjoyed 
 all the blessings of a free country. But he heed¬ 
 ed not this advice but was bold to speak evil of 
 his rulers, of which bad deed God does not ap¬ 
 prove. The talk of this man stirred up the old 
 soldiers and the angry feelings ran so high that 
 the soldiers shot eleven bullets through the 
 Southern sympathizer. 
 
 Now, as there was a dead man on hand, a funer¬ 
 al must take place, hence the wife of the dead 
 man sent for Uncle John to do the preaching. 
 
 Uncle John listened to the call. 
 
 THE EXCITEMENT RAN HIGH. 
 
 The people were eager to hear what Uncle John 
 would say about the dead man. They thought as 
 they were partisans, so he must be a partisan in 
 the same sense. But Uncle John was a partisan 
 of Jesus, and Jesus teaches his followers “to be 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 45 
 
 at peace with all men” and “do violence to no 
 man.” Therefore Uncle John did not take sides 
 with either party, but stood by the teachings of 
 his Chief Captain. He simply preached to the 
 living, not to the dead, pointing his hearers to 
 the King of kings, and the Kingdom of joyous 
 righteousness. The people were pleased with 
 his discourse. He did not meddle with their dif¬ 
 ferences. 
 
 After the services a preacher, who was pastor 
 of another people, invited Uncle John to his 
 home. While there, Uncle John gave him some 
 reading matter, containing some of the leading 
 principles of the Brethren church, and after read¬ 
 ing it carefully, that preacher said, “ Well , it is all 
 true .” 
 
 He was also called to preach the funeral of Mr. 
 Barnhart, a conductor of the Wabash Railway 4 
 who was killed in a railway wreck at St. Charles 
 Bridge, Mo. Uncle John was 
 
 QUITE A FAVORITE 
 
 among railroad men up to the time of his death, 
 and quite a number have made inquiries as to his 
 last days. 
 
 One time in his travels in Indiana, he was 
 asked to preach in a hotel. He preached. Some 
 
4 6 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 time afterward a drunken man, some distance 
 from this hotel, died and his wife wanted a 
 preacher to preach who did not know the kind of 
 life lived by her companion. A gentleman told 
 her he had heard a curious old man preach a 
 good sermon in a hotel, so she sent for Uncle 
 John. Again some wondered what he would say 
 about a man who died by strong drink, but he 
 told “the story of the Cross” to the living and 
 left the dead alone, which was a great relief to 
 the widow. Here is another lesson that can be 
 learned by those who most need it. 
 
 In nearly every instance he 
 
 MET HIS OWN EXPENSES 
 
 in his long and successful preaching tours 
 through Indiana and Illinois, and always paid his 
 expenses to Annual Meeting. These self-sacri¬ 
 fices always brought to him their full measure of 
 joy and peace. A husband that could go eighteen 
 or twenty miles to meeting with his wife, on 
 horseback, along Indian trails, each carrying a 
 child, knew how to enjoy “ the peace that passeth 
 understanding,” and build up members of Christ’s 
 body in fear and true holiness. But no one can 
 have a cup of continuous joy. It will be dashed 
 to the ground, and so it was with Uncle John. In 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 47 
 
 May, 1887, while Annual Meeting was in session, 
 his companion, who so long shared his love and 
 trials, went over into the new world, full of years 
 and blessing?, 
 
 DYING AS SHE LIVED, 
 
 faithful to her God and his Son, Jesus Christ. 
 She was nearly eighty years of age. 
 
 As a pioneer missionary not many have done 
 more in America. Sixty-one years going about 
 seeking the poor and lonely, giving words of 
 comfort to old and young, building up churches, 
 caring for the weak and helping in every way to 
 do good, must bring great joy in heaven to 
 angels, and “spirits of just men made perfect/’ 
 For some years his helper was Eld. Joseph Hen¬ 
 dricks, a man of great love and power in the Gos¬ 
 pel. He sleeps in Jesus now. During their first 
 year of Gospel missionary work in Illinois, they 
 received 120 persons into the church, — a number 
 quite close to that of the prayer-meetiqg in Jeru¬ 
 salem,—Acts 1: 13-15. 
 
 In his efforts to find isolated members, he of¬ 
 ten traveled long distances and 
 
 o 
 
 OVERCAME MANY DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 He heard that there were “ Dunkers ” in Fulton 
 C^i'v.ty, Illinois, so he and his wife set out to find 
 
48 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 them, but knew the name of no one. When they 
 got across the Illinois River, they saw a cabin on 
 the bank, and some women there. He went to 
 them and asked them if they knew any “ Bunk¬ 
 ers” in that County. They smiled and said they 
 did. One of them briefly told him which way to 
 go, and, after driving twelve miles, they came to 
 the house of Eld. John Fitz and met with great 
 rejoicing. 
 
 Perhaps one of the most interesting and far- 
 reaching incidents of his life occurred during the 
 war of 1861-5. The first church member drafted 
 in Illinois lived thirty-five miles from Cerro 
 Gordo, and was well known by Uncle John. 
 
 Uncle John accompanied by another member of 
 the church took $300 and went to Jacksonville, 
 Ill., to commute for 
 
 THE DRAFTED BROTHER. 
 
 They went to the Provost Marshal’s office, and 
 stating their mission to him, he said there was no 
 such law that a man could pay $300 and be ex¬ 
 empt from military duty. Uncle John had a 
 copy of the law with him and gave it to the Mar¬ 
 shal to read. He read it with surprise, saying he 
 never before knew such a law. They all three 
 next went to see another man, and when the Mar- 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 49 
 
 shal told him of the case he, too, said there was 
 no such law. The Marshal said he himself had 
 thought so, but these “ Dunkers ” were better in¬ 
 formed and had brought a copy of the law with 
 them, and he had read it, and requested the man 
 to read it also, which he did; and he, too, said he 
 had not known of such a law. They now went to 
 a lawyer and he, too, denied there being such a 
 law, but the Marshal showed him the book with 
 it in, and he was convinced. The next question 
 was, who had authority to receive the money. 
 They sent the two brethren to Springfield to see 
 the man who could take the money and receipt 
 for it. This man asked many questions, and as 
 Uncle John had taken the precaution to carry 
 with him copies of the Annual Meeting decisions, 
 both in English and German, they were found to 
 be invaluable aids in the solution of this problem. 
 They were asked whether the drafted brother had 
 so far been a consistent member, and had lived up 
 to the rules of the church. 
 
 Fortunately for the drafted man on that occa¬ 
 sion, he had lived consistently, and after the two 
 had affirmed to this, the money was taken and 
 the brother relieved of any further duty under 
 
 that draft. 
 
 On arriving at home Uncle John told the mem- 
 
50 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 bers of the church of the incidents of the trip, 
 and that if they would be consistent members he 
 would gladly share all he had to help them from 
 going to war to shed blood. If they would live 
 right, something could be done for them if they 
 were drafted, and if they did not live right noth¬ 
 ing could be done to keep them out of the army. 
 This incident should impress every member with 
 the high duty of living up to the profession of 
 true principles on all questions and not to be¬ 
 come entangled with the strifes and difficulties of 
 mankind. 
 
 In the year 1878, Uncle John 
 
 BUILT A MEETINGHOUSE 
 
 at his own expense, in Cerro Gordo, Ill., and 
 gave it to the Lord and his people. Luke 7: 4, 5. 
 A nice picture of this house is shown on page 51. 
 
 Now in those days there were few Sunday 
 schools among the people of his choice. While 
 he was putting up the building the children who 
 loved him so dearly, when meeting him on the 
 street, would ask: “Uncle John, when the meet¬ 
 inghouse is built will you let us have Sunday 
 school in it? We want to go to Sunday school. 
 
 o j 
 
 Won’t you have one?” 
 
 This touched his warm heart, for he very great- 
 
Meetinghouse Built by Uncle John Metzger at Cerrogordo, Ill. 
 
 s 
 

A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 53 
 
 ly loved children. It made a deep and lasting 
 impression on his mind, for often he talked to 
 children in public and always noticed them wher¬ 
 ever he met them. 
 
 When the house was finished he told the 
 church she could have it, use it, enjoy it and 
 praise the Lord in it, providing she would organ¬ 
 ize and conduct 
 
 A SUNDAY SCHOOL 
 
 for the help of the children, teaching them the 
 truth of Jesus in all simplicity. To this the 
 church agreed, and that was a happy day to Un¬ 
 cle John and the children, when a Sunday school 
 was organized and the truth was taught to the 
 young in a manner that they could understand it. 
 Some of those who were then boys and girls are 
 now men and women, and, no doubt, will read 
 this with joy, remembering the happy hours in 
 Uncle John’s m6etinghouse. 
 
 In 1881 there was a strong tide of feeling for 
 
 CITY MISSION WORK, 
 
 and he shared this feeling. Going to St. Louis 
 and finding no place to hold services, he went to 
 the Salvation Army hall. The leader of the 
 meeting saw him and urged him to speak, and as 
 the rules limited the speakers to five minutes, he 
 did his best in that time. 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 The next day being Sunday he was invited to 
 be present a 3 P. M. and preach; he could have 
 all the time he wanted. In the forenoon he went 
 out to the Park and seeing many people there, he 
 began to preach to them. Next he went to the 
 river bank where he spoke about twenty minutes 
 to about five hundred people, and then invited 
 them to the Hall where he preached, as per his 
 appointment. 
 
 In the evening he again attended the Salvation 
 Army services, and the leader requested that he 
 should go out on the balcony and preach to the 
 people, which he did. In this way and upon ev¬ 
 ery occasion he declared the Gospel of Jesus as 
 the power of God unto salvation to all them that 
 believe. In a week there were four applicants 
 for baptism, in a month four more; and at nearly 
 every meeting some were added to the church. 
 He spent much time 
 
 VISITING FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE 
 
 and talking to the people concerning Jesus. 
 
 These efforts resulted in the need of a church- 
 house, hence contributions were asked for through 
 the church papers, and the responses were num¬ 
 erous. At the Annual Meeting at Ashland, Ohio, 
 in 1881, a collection was taken up for this pur- 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 55 
 
 pose and all the means given to Uncle John to 
 erect a house of worship in St. Louis, Mo. He 
 determined not to build until sufficient means 
 came to hand, and in 1883 he began work. All 
 the care and labor fell to him, and, perplexing as 
 it was, he went through it successfully and kept 
 an accurate account of all money received and 
 paid out, which is yet carefully preserved. 
 
 An incident, in the building of said house of 
 worship, occurred, which is worthy of record. 
 When the building was almost finished, the work¬ 
 men 
 
 DEMANDED A “TREAT,” 
 
 declaring that they would not finish it unless he 
 would “treat.” He insisted he could not give 
 them strong drink, which they asked for, and 
 they were equally determined not to go on with 
 the work unless he did “treat.” Now, when two 
 men or two parties set themselves so firmly op¬ 
 posite to each other, they are not apt to get to¬ 
 gether unless one of them will yield. Uncle John 
 could not and would not deal out beer or whis¬ 
 key, but he was equal to the occasion. He could 
 “ treat,” and so he carried to them a lot of fine 
 watermelons. These did not make drunk, but 
 they satisfied the wishes of the workmen, and the 
 house was soon completed, honorably to all con- 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 36 
 
 cerned. All of the accounts and work were care¬ 
 fully gone over by a committee chosen by Annual 
 Meeting ana found to be correct and satisfactory. 
 
 Uncle John filled 
 
 A WIDE FIELD OF USEFULNESS 
 
 in his day. He was a member of the Standing 
 Committee of Annual Conference sixteen times, 
 and attended all the Annual Meetings, except a 
 few, since 1848. He was chosen as a member of 
 a Committee, to visit local churches, by twenty- 
 three Annual Meetings, besides being a member 
 of a Committee in a special case in Tennessee. 
 He was Moderator of the District Meeting in 
 Southern Illinois for many years, but, believing 
 in putting others to work and especially encour¬ 
 aging the younger to greater activity, he then 
 urged that others take the lead and give him re¬ 
 lief. 
 
 Th roughout the length and breadth of the 
 Brotherhood, Uncle John was well known, and 
 only known to be loved for his devotion to God 
 and His cause, and his willingness to aid in the 
 building up of truth and mercy. 
 
 Feb. 26, 1889, he was married to Permelia 
 
 Wolf, of Adams County, Illinois. This marriage, 
 as his first one was, proved to be a happy union; 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 57 
 
 for Aunt Permelia is a pure and noble-hearted 
 woman, and knew how to make home sweet and 
 beautiful for Uncle John and herself. She gave 
 out sunshine and bright words to all around her, 
 and helped her husband in all that was good and 
 pure and noble. 
 
 ‘‘The bird that soars on highest wing 
 Builds on the ground her lowly nest; 
 
 And she that doth most sweetly sing 
 Sings in the shade when all things rest.” 
 
 They began making a home 
 
 IN LORDSBURG, CALIFORNIA, 
 
 in the autumn of 1890. The picture in the first 
 part of this book shows only a part of his place. 
 It was not long until it was noted for its sweet 
 and ever brilliant flowers and shrubs and trees. 
 It is one of the prettiest places in town, for Un¬ 
 cle John and Aunt Permelia knew how to hurry 
 on the flowers and green grass. By this time 
 Uncle John was getting quite old, and as he did 
 not travel so much, he spent a good deal of time 
 taking care of things on his place. He made a 
 nice fountain in front of his house, and in this he 
 put a number of gold-fish. He loved to see them 
 swim and play in the clear water. He put a pile 
 of stones in the pool for the fish to hide under. 
 
 In the spring of 1891 Uncle John planted 
 
58 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 peach, plum and prune-trees. The peach-trees 
 bore some fruit the same year. And when he 
 planted orange-trees that same year,—1891,— 
 some said he would not live to eat fruit from 
 them. Well, he lived to eat oranges that grew 
 on his trees in 1893, 1894, 1895, an d in the spring 
 of 1896 sold twenty-three boxes of oranges. His 
 ground measures 75x130 feet, yet on that little 
 patch he and his wife raised more fruit than some 
 young men would from an acre. The sweet, fra¬ 
 grant flowers, the delicious fruits, the neat, all- 
 the-year green grass, the clean walks, the climb¬ 
 ing roses make one great, grand picture of two 
 soul-cleansed souls in true happiness. 
 
 Uncle John was no learned man, but he was a 
 knowing man, did not love ignorance, and always 
 tried to look at the right side of education. True 
 and useful knowledge had its charms for him. 
 
 When the Lordsburg College was started, in 
 1892, he and his wife sought and obtained permis¬ 
 sion to plant on the west or sunset side of the 
 stately building a bed of pretty carnations. 
 They set the plants so as to read, in large letters, 
 
 “ GOD BLESS OUR SCHOOL.” 
 
 These plants grew and for several years were 
 very beautiful. How fitting that they should 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 59 
 
 laden the sunset zephyrs with their fragrance, 
 since that hand that planted them was then sink¬ 
 ing low down in the horizon of life. 
 
 The meaning of words, the laws of language, 
 principles of mathematics he could not impart in¬ 
 side the building to youthful brain, but here, out¬ 
 side, the loving hands of these two old people 
 could leave a constant reminder of their respect 
 for sanctified truth. 
 
 By the people who knew him in California, as 
 well as those in the East, he was 
 
 GREATLY ESTEEMED 
 
 for his steady goodness. Always were his words 
 listened to by sincere hearts with great respect. 
 At the District Meeting of California and Ari¬ 
 zona, in Glendora, Cal., March 29th, 1896, there 
 took place a touching scene which will long last 
 with those who were present. All day Uncle John 
 was a good listener to the thoughts of those who 
 spoke in advocacy of higher life, and he seemed 
 to enjoy the services more than usually. But his 
 little body was feeble. His eye, however, was 
 not dim, nor his hearing weak, nor mind un¬ 
 steady. At the close of the day, just before the 
 members were about to separate and go to their 
 homes, to renew the warfare against self and sin, 
 
6o 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 Uncle John was asked to talk to the large audi¬ 
 ence once more. The scene was impressive. 
 This, likely, would be the last District Meeting 
 for him on earth in the flesh. He arose with dif¬ 
 ficulty. Supported, as was Moses in his great 
 struggle on the mount, he spoke in clear voice 
 and with deep emotion of his love to God and 
 the church. He counseled peace and love among 
 his dear brethren, urged them on to faithfulness 
 and endurance, while sobs and weepings seemed 
 to fill every soul present. This was his last pub¬ 
 lic talk, and, perhaps, the most feeling one ever 
 made by him. 
 
 “To him sweet odors from that isle were blown, 
 
 And all the yearnings of his soul were there.” 
 
 Like the setting sun, with a mild light, shed 
 ding his parting rays over a lovely earth, that 
 harmless, purified soul spoke a sweet farewell,— 
 a hallowed “do well,” with 
 
 A BLESSING TO EVERY ONE 
 who loves Jesus. 
 
 “ He sets as sets the morning star, 
 
 Which goes not down behind the darkened West, 
 
 Xor hides obscured amid the tempests of the sky, 
 
 But melts away into the light of heaven.” 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 6l 
 
 While Uncle John lived in Illinois he was use¬ 
 ful to members of the church in many ways. He 
 usually made arrangements with railways for low 
 rates to the yearly Conference. One of his es¬ 
 teemed friends was Mr. Kirtland H. Wade, who 
 was, for many years, identified with the Wabash 
 Railway. In 1889 Mr. Wade became General 
 Manager of the Southern California Railway, 
 with headquarters in Los Angeles. Uncle John 
 made himself useful in many ways to Mr. Wade, 
 and, up to the time he left California, did many 
 kind acts for the Brethren in such lines as he 
 could. It is significant that his old friend, Mr. 
 Wade, should also leave this earth so soon after 
 Uncle John. He died of apoplexy in Los Ange¬ 
 les, Cal., March 17, 1897. 
 
 Railway people, who knew Uncle John, greatly 
 respected him. He made fourteen trips over the 
 Rocky Mountains and across the desert to and 
 from California. He was known as “Uncle John, 
 —the good man from Lordsburg.” 
 
 The last time he was at our home, he said to 
 the writer: “I am ready to go into another 
 world,— 
 
 READY TO GO HOME 
 
 to my Savior; but the love of my dear brethren 
 and sisters is strong and I can hardly give them 
 
62 
 
 A MODERN LIFE. 
 
 up. O, I love the Brotherhood; I have had so 
 many pleasant seasons with those I love. It 
 seems like tearing away from them to go, but I 
 cannot stay with them much longer, I must go! ” 
 
 In May, 1896, he and his wife, son and wife, 
 and his daughter Mary, left Lordsburg, California 
 for Cerro Gordo, Illinois, his old home. Quite a 
 number of dear friends went to the depot, to bid 
 him farewell, knowing they should see his face no 
 more, nor grasp his hand in friendship, nor hear 
 his voice, nor sit with him in Divine worshio. 
 
 The journey of two thousand miles over moun¬ 
 tains and prairies, by flowing streams and lowing 
 herds was made in all patience, though the body 
 was very, very weak. He was met at his old home 
 by many friends. They still loved and respected 
 him. But the home of his soul was in the great 
 beyond,—he sought a house not made with hands 
 in the City of our living Lord. 
 
 Think of the many ten thousands who heard him 
 with strong voice, with sound words, with pure 
 heart and sincere mind, urging them to love Jesus 
 and obey Him. In church work he united the two 
 traits, the 
 
 TWO POWERS OF SUCCESS, 
 
 kindness and firmness. He was not a one-sided 
 man. He loved all the time he said no, just as 
 
A MODEL LIFE. 6 3 
 
 well while he was saying yes. Patience possessed 
 
 him. 
 
 But once in all our labors with Uncle John did 
 we hear him complain. For doing his duty at a 
 church meeting, a man possessed with demons 
 got very angry at him and often tried to do him 
 harm. On one occasion this bad man pulled him 
 by his beard and tried to injure him, but the peo¬ 
 ple took away the maniac. After being in Cali¬ 
 fornia a few years, that same wicked fellow wrote 
 he was coming to Lordsburg, Cal. Uncle John 
 felt that if the man came he would again be 
 attacked and abused. “1 have labored long and 
 hard for the church, and now I do not seem to be 
 protected from this wicked man,” 
 
 “Well,” said I, “God helping me, I will try to 
 shield you.” I wrote the man a kind letter and 
 stated that, since he had written me concerning 
 railroad fare, route, etc., 1 thought he better not 
 come; for if he came to California and would 
 abuse Uncle John here as he did East, I could 
 not guarantee that the young men vvouid not do 
 him bodily harm, for they loved Uncle John and 
 would protect him. This kept the man with de¬ 
 mons out of California, and Uncle John had con¬ 
 tinued rest. 
 
64 
 
 A MODEL LIFE. 
 
 “Our hearts can know no resting, 
 
 Except in Thee; 
 
 Our barks the waves breasting 
 On life’s rough sea; 
 
 Body, and soul, and spirit, are daily warm with care, 
 
 The covert of the wing is sought—the needed rest is there; 
 
 And though the toil cease only 
 When life is won; 
 
 In Thee our rest remaineth, 
 
 O Christ, the Son.— Rev. 14: ij. 
 
 But the end was at hand. The summons to go 
 out of the clay house and be hid with Christ in 
 God (Col. 3: 3), was here, and he could not diso¬ 
 bey; therefore, in his old home in Cerro Gordo, 
 Illinois, surrounded by his family, he fell asleep 
 calmly, peacefully in Jesus, at 9: 30 A. M., May 
 25th, 1896, aged eighty-eight years, five months 
 and five days. 
 
 “For all the saints who from their labor rest, 
 
 Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, 
 
 Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.” 
 
m:**4