CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15,
VOL. LIIL
NO. 36.
RHODE ISLAND CITIZEN REVIEWS
HISTORY OF THE ISLAND
By Olive L. Jeter
Students of American histo
ry as it relates to New England
during the slave period and lat
er years will find interesting da
fa about “Negroes on the
Island of Rhode Island" in a
recent pamphlet under that ti
tle, by Charles A. Battle. The
author has been a citizen of
Newport for many years I and
active in the city’s political, re
ligious and educational life. His
interest in the publication of
this information was stimulat
ed by the fact, little known, he
says in his preface, that for
over 200 years white and black
people on the Island have lived
and worked together for the
common good of their land.
This interracial aspect traces
itself back to the days of the
large plantations when the
slave-holders, although under
the law of the colonies with re
spect to the slave trade, were
more inclined toward the con
victions of their own conscience
against the evil. Their indul
gence of their slaves brought
a more humane policy of treat
ment and education for the
blacks than was known any
where elsfe in the colony. This
gave to the slaves a certain
, personal independence of spir
it with some effort toward self
government within their own
circles; the organization of a
police force duly sworn in by
group elections; a judicial de
partment consisting of a gov
ernor, magistrates, and judg
es; the Slaves Thanksgiving
Service (held every April) yrith
their own PrbclamationHwere
a^aties*- outbid
self-governing boay.
While the city of Newport
“saw some of her merchants
wax fat through trafficking in
human flesh,” in that same city
was “planted the seed that
caused slavery’s overthrow.”
Eminent Congregational min
isters in the early 18th century,
upon assumii^g . pastoral re
sponsibilities in the city, waged
war against the evil. Perhaps
the first action of its kind in
New England was the vote of
one of these Congregational
churches in 1770 to exclude all
slave-holders from its member
ship. By legislative Acts from
1784 down through 1830, when
there remained only 17 slaves
in Newport, the system was
abolished and slave trading was
transferred Southward, history
{recording a company . of over
7,000 slaves being landed in
Charleston, S. C., from vessels
by Rhode Islanders between
1803 and 1807.
The valiancy of Rhode Island
Negroes in the wars of the Rev.
elution is cited, with mention
made of two Negro regiments
created by Act of the Rhode
Island Assembly, which were
“the first in the history of the
nation to be received and ac
cepted into the armed service
of the country on terms of
equality with Other soldiers.”
Records of the African Union
Society (still intact) give the
names of the enlisted men, 210
in all, slaves and free. Com
ments from General Sullivan on
the behavior of Negro soldiers
in the Battle of Rhode Island
(1778) were to the effect that
“a large share of the honors of
the day must go to Col. (Chris
topher) Greene’s Negro troops.”
That regiment was extinguished
in the Battle of Point Bridge,
N. Y., in 1781.
The first organization for the
moral and material welfare of
colored people of Newport was
the African Union Society, or
ganized in the home of Abra
ham Casey in 1780. Emphasis
was laid in their program on
education and the acquisition of
homes, and the Constitution
stressed the importance of mor
al conduct, “that you can refute
the objections which have been
made against you as rational
and moral ereatures, and re
move many of the difficulties
which have occurred in the gen
eral emancipation of such of
our brethren as are yet in bond
age." • * -.
There were earnestness and
conscientious efforts in educa
tion for the Negroes. Among
some masters there was a sys
tem of regular instruction for
their servants. In 1763 a school
for colored children, accommo
dating 30, was formed with in
struction given to the boys in
carpentry, blacksmithing, ship
caulking. Financial reverses
closed the school, but it was re
opened in 1808 under the Afri
can Benevolent Society. The ef
forts of this Society in the edu
cational field were no longer
necessary after the admission
of Negro children into the
schools of the city. But this was
achieved only after a long fight
led by George T. Downing who
enlisted the interest and influ
ence of Col. Thomas W. Higgin
son and other noted New Eng
landers.
| A section oi tne religious
progress of the community
gives due mention to the influ
ence of the ministers who held
long pastorates in Newport,
notably Dr. Mahlon A. Van
Horne and the Rev. Byron
Gunner, scholarly gentlemen of
*he Congregational faith, both
deceased; the Rev. Henry T.
Jeter, who pastored Shiloh
Baptist church for forty-two
years is the only surviving
charter member of the New
England Baptist Convention;
a&Fthe
present at Mt. blivet Baptist
church. Individual sections are
given to such pioneers of the
Island as Newport Gardner,
Isaac Rice, Quarco Honyman,
Hannibal Collins, and to later
day citizens of prominence, in
cluding George T. Downing,
Mrs. Josephine Siloane Yates,
E. P. McCabe, Benjamin J.
Burton and Edward M. Bannis
ter, the noted painter.
While some reference is made
to other parts of the Island, the
sketch confines (itself largely
to Newport; deservedly so,
when consideration is given to
the history of the place from
the early days of its settlement
in the 17th century. Such land
marks as America’s oldest Jew
ish synagogue, built by Abra
ham Touro; the old Stone Mill
in Touro Park left by the
Norsemen; George Washing
ton’s pew in Old Trinity church
are among the several historic
spots, reminders of the part
Newport and “Little Rhody”
played in our early civilization,
in it all the Negro was present
from the first and still remains.
COULTER MEMORIAL ACAD fr
EMY, CHERAW, S. C.
Coulter Academy, Cheraw,
S. C., began its scholastic year
for 1932-1933 on Monday, Sep
tember 5, 1932. The three re
placements on the teaching
staff included Miss Jean Jack
son, of New Brighton, Pa.p
Miss Olethea Wilson, Charles
ton, S. C.; and Miss Marie L.
Grant, Roanoke, Va. Misses
Jackson and Grant are in the
High School department. The
entire faculty includes H. L.
Marshall, Jean Jackson, J. G.
Benson, Virginia E. Lowery,
Viola E. Funderburk, Alene
Grier, Wilhelmina Gillespie,
Olethea Wilson, Marie Grant,
Mrs. Wilson and Dr. and Mrs.
G. W. Long.
The faculty was formally in
troduced to the school and com
munity Sunday evening, Sept.
4th After the usual registra
tion on Monday 5th classes
opened for work Tuesday, Sep
tember 6th, at which opening
(Continued on page 4)
EDUCATOR-POET
- f „ : an :
Prof. John Riley Dungee, an
elder and one of the founders
of Marks’ Memorial Presbyteri
an church, Norfolk, Va., passed
away at his residence, 910
Wood St., Tuesday, September
13th, at 11:30 P. M. His death
was the culmination of a long
and tedious illness.
Prof. Dungee was born near
West Point, King William
County, Va., April 16, 1860.
Ills elementary education was
obtained under the Freedmen’s
Bureau. He received his higher
education at Hampton Insti
tute and Howard University,
leading his classes in both of
these institutions. He was ad
mitted to the bar in his native
county of King Wililam, practic
ing there and in Roanoke, Va.,
until forced by the prejudice
then existing, to abandon the
law profession for that of
teaching, which latter profes
sion he followed for 43 years
and up to the time of hisi death.
As a churchman Prof. Dun
gee saw a long and noble ca
reer. Converted while a student
at Hampton Institute, he was
baptized by Dr. Frissell, then
chaplain of the Institute, who
later succeeded General Ann
strong as Principal. He united
with the Institute church, from
which he transferred his mem
bership^ to the Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian church, of Roa
noke, Va., upon me ving to that
city to practice law.
In 1911 Prof. Dungee re
moved his family to Norfolk,
Va., where his career as teach
er and churchman was contin
ued with the same zeal which
characterized it from the start.
As a teacher he served as Prin
cipal of the Abraham Lincoln
schools and as a member Of
;he Booker T. Washington
EJigh School faculty. Soon after
:oming to Norfolk, he became
i member of the First United
Presbyterian church and was
July elected Clerk of the Ses
sion. This church which had
jxisted as a mission connected
vith the old Norfolk Mission
College, was dissolved when
he college was discontinued in
1'916. Thereupon, Prof. Dun
dee with Dr. S. I. Moone, an
ther elder, and the majority
)f the disbanded congregation,
>rganized the Bethany Presby
erian congregation which was
July set apart as a church by
;he Presbytery of Southern Va.,
>f the Presbyterian Church in
he U. S. A. Prof. Dungee
served the Bethany church,
low the Mark s Memorial
ihurch, with untiring devotion
as Clerk of the Session, Super
intendent of the Sabbath school
and in various other capacities,
from the moment of its organi
zation until he became incapac
itated by his final illness.
At the last meeting of the
Presbytery of Southern Virgin
ia Prof. Dungee was unani
mously elected lay commission
er to the General Assembly
meeting in Denver, Colorado.
It was while in attendance upon
this meeting that he suffered
the attack which resulted in
his death after an illness of
three and a half months’ du
ration.
On August 27th, 1896, Frol.
Dungee was married to Miss
Flossie Belle Wingfield, of Roa
noke. To this union eight chil
dren were bom of whom the
following survive: Rev. John
Riley Dungee, Jr., of Ridge
way, S. C.; Prof. R. B. and
Miss Doris Dungee, of the fac
ulty of Boolker Washington
High School, Norfolk; Mrs.
Helma Walker, a social worker
of New York City, and Miss
Carolyn Dungee, a senior at
Virginia Union University,
Richmond. He is also survived
by his faithful and devoted
wife, a brother, the Rev. Wm.
D. Dungee, and a sister-in-law,
Miss Carrie E. Wingfield.
His value as a church work
er was soon recognized by his
election and ordination as el
der. He wad also quickly chosen
as Superintendent of the Sab
bath schoo| in which capacity
he served Its long as he re
mained in Roanoke.
The funeral of Prof. Dungee
was held at Marks’ Memorial
Presbyterian church, of which
the deceased was a founder,
Friday afternoon, September
16. 1932.
The church was filled to over
flowing with throngs of citizens
of all walks of life who came to
pay their , final tribute to one
whose career had been one of
a life-long, devoted service to
his fellowman. Many floral de
signs of almost indescribable
beauty and scores of messages
cf condolence from widely sep
arated sections of the country
bore testimony of the esteem
in wh ich the deceased was held.
The sefvices likewise were
beautiful though simple and
dignified, corresponding closely
with the life of the deceased.
The paster, Rev. F. D. Nance,
was master of ceremonies. Af
ter the choir had sung, “0 Love
That Wiljfc Not Let Me Go,” the
invocation was made by Rev.
J. A. Young, D. D., pastor of
St. John A. M. E. church. The
Scripture was read by Rev. R.
H. Bowling, D. D., pastor of
Bute Street Baptist church. A
solo, “Have Thine Own Way,”
was ve!ry touchingly sung by
Miss Nannie V. Hughes. The
Obituary was read by the Rev.
H. N. Fuller, after which sev
eral of the numerous resolu
tions and messages of condo
lence were read by Rev. J. M.
Rollins, pastor of Carver Me
morial Presbyterian church, of
Newport News, Va. Among
these were resolutions from the
^Norfolk County Chapter of
Hampton Institute Alumni, the
Norfolk ^Teachers’ Association,
Virginia and Fairfield, the fac
ulty of Booker T. Washington
High School and the Y. W. C. A.
A long list of other messages
was also read.
Glowing tributes to the de
ceased as a citizen, a church
man, an educator, poet, hus
band, and father were paid by
Rev. B. B. Evans, pastor of the
First United Presbyterian
church.
Dr. S. I. Moone, Editor P. B.
Young, of the Norfolk Journal
and Guide, Mrs. Bessie B. Lee,
Prof. Winston Douglas, Princi
pal of Booker T. Washington
High School, Rev. G. W. Wat
kins, D. D., pastor of Bank St.
Baptist church, and Rev. F. D.
Nance also paid tribute to the
deceased. These remarks were
interspersed with the reading
of two beautiful poems by
Mrs. 0. C. James. The poems
entitled, “Meditation,” and
“My Final Prayer,” were se
lected from “Random Rhymes,”
a volume of poetry composed
by the deceased.
The pall bearers were Mtf*. J
W. Anderson, Secretary of the
Y. M. C. A.; Prof. M. J. Greene,
Principal of Booker T. Wash
ington Intermediate School;
Dr. S. I. Moone, Mr. G. W. C.
Brown, Mr. H. J. Griffith and
Mr. George Collete. Interment
was in Calvary Cemetery.
EAST TENNESSEE SYNOD
St. Mark’s Presbyterian
church, of Rogersville, Tenn., is
to be the host church of the
East Tennessee Synod and the
fWoman’s Synodical Missiona
ry Society. Commissioners and
representatives of the above
named groups are hereby ad
vised to apprise Rev. J. M. Ew
ing, D. D., of their election, se
lection or intention to attend
the meeting.
Synod will convene on
Wednesday evening, October
19, 1932, at 7:30 o’clock and
the Synodical on Friday, 21st,
at 10 A. M.
Dr. Ewing’s present address
is Rogersville, Tenn.
S. A. DOWNER,
Stated Clerk.
CATAWBA PRESBYTERY IN
H ALL JXLCiJb/i'iMu
By n,ev. a. tx. Prince,
Permanent uert
Catawba rresbytery con
vened lor its stated ran meet
ing, inursoay evening, Sep
tember a, at 1:30 o ciock, with «
tne Vzooa riope Presbyterian -
Lxtiurcn, Kings Mountain, JS. C*
ibe opening sermon was ■
^reached by ihe retiring Moo- j
orator, Dr. C. JN. Jenkins, xrom
tne text, Matthew 10:3. A
great piea was made to Chris
tians to heal the broken, sin- ■
sick souls of men and women. <
After the sermon the Presby- <
eery was constituted with pray- ,
er. hilder it. L. Douglass was j
unanimously elected Moderator <
and Dr. L. B. West, temporary i
Clerk.
Welcome addresses were j
given by Mr. John Kibler for
the Good Hope church; Rev. it,, i
J. Davidson for the churches
in Kings Mountain and Mayor
Mauney for the city. Each gaye
a very warm and cordial wel
come to the accommodations
and hospitalities of that section
and its people. The*' response
was made for the Presbytery
by the Rev. J. M. Alston.
The Rev. C. 0. St. John, of
the Presbytery of Chicago, and
Rev. R. J. Davidson, of the
Ebenezejr Baptist Association,
were accorded seats as corre
sponding members.
Presbytery transacted its
business with positiveness.
A call was made to the Presby
tery from the Woodland churcn
for the Rev. R. Z. Beatty to be
come its pastor. The call was
deemed valid and Presbytery
appointed Dr. H. Wilson, Rev.
I. H. Gamble and Elder C. E.
Graham to install Rev. Mr.
Beatty, Sunday, October 23rd.
Hlvs. R. l>. Mooire~‘alftfTriSr
West were elected principal min
isterial commissioners to the
next General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church, U. S. A.,
and Elders S. H. Harris, of
Bellefonte church, and I. D.
Fox, of Woodland church, were
elected principal lay commis
sioners to the next General As
sembly. The Rev. Drs. H. Wil
son and Charles N. Jenkins were
elected alternates with Elders
R. B. Miller, of the Wilson St.
church, and C. A. Holmes, of the
Murkland church, as alternates.
Presbytery heard with inter
est the report of progress from
the committee on regrouping of
churches in its bounds.
A new church was organized
by Presbytery’s committee in
the interim of Presbytery. The
church is known as the Pee Dee
Presbyterian church at Pee
Dee, N. C. Rev. J. H. Cowan is
stated supply.
Mr. Clyde L. Clark and Mr.
Fred D. Battle were examined
as to their piety and motives
and were taken under the care
of the Presbytery as candi
dates for the ministry to pur
sue their courses of study at
Johnson C. Smith University.
Presbytery recommended for
aid from the Board of Chris
tian Education in the pursuit of
the ministry, Messrs. Edward
W. Jones, Robert L. Jeans, C.
W. Boyce, Murray Kearns, C.
C. Crawford, Edgar Walker and
Moses Belton.
Standing Committees
The reports from the Stand
ing Committees were full and
comprehensive and were full of
thought and information. The
report on National Missions
was made through the Rev. Li
onel B. West, chairman. Dr.
West spoke on the report with
earnestness and clarity.
The report on Foreign Mis
sions was made through the
Rev. Robert Z. Beatty, who
made a strong appeal for more
generous support to the foreign
field.
Christian Education was pre
sented by the Rev. Chas. H.
Shute, D. D. Dr. H. L. McCro
rey spoke at length, on this re
port, giving full information
—^ui, me wotk wxucu ja
-wue uuu cue jHaiia ua uud
auwa iw: cue WiMjc u± tue beuu
utuj ituu cuuege ui donusua u
oiuhu university.
■tue report on tike Board ox
reunions was made rnmugu
*.ae committee cnairman, rtev.
u. £4. banners. Tne rtev. (J. u.
a. douu, representing tnis
.ooara, spune to toe report, su
tne reports ciaimea tde closest
ai.ieuuon, received earnest sup
port, and were approved ana ad
recommendations adopteu.
Jttevs. w. A. urigg and A. H.
Prince and miners W. tu. hill
ana 1. j. van lianouigham,
commissioners to tne last Gen
eral Assembly, made their re
ports to the presbytery. The
reports were very enthusiasti
cally received ana the commis
sioners were discharged with
thanks for their informing re
ports.
Mr. Paul Davis, of the mid
dle class of Johnson U. Smith
lneoiogicai Seminary, was ex
amined and licensed to preach
the gospel by the Presbytery.
Tne entire session of presby
tery was full of interest and nne
association of ideas and ideals
for the new day just ahead,
pine weather prevailed
throughout the session. Un
limited hospitality abounded
from the people of all de
nominations in Kings Moun
tain. Rev. Seth Van Landing
ham, the Stated Supply of the
Good Hope church, made every
cne feel at ease as to his
comfort and entertainment.
The Presbytery adjourned
with the Apostolic Benediction
to meet with Westminster Pres
byterian churcih, Concord,
Wednesday after the first Sun
day in January, 1933 (mid-win
ter meeting) and with Shiloh
Presbyterian church, Waxhaw,
the first Wednesday in April,
1933 for the Spring ineetagi
THE jVjAjCATlOJN UMUKCH
SCHOOL AT COTTON PLANT,
ARK.
In Cotton Plant things are
not only said, but done. This
was proven when the members
of Westminster Presbyterian
church did their best to make
the V. C. S. go over the top
this year.
On Monday, August 22, our
school opened with Miss Castle
Williams as principal. Of course
the enrollment was not so
great that day, but each one
present began to tell some one
else until finally our number
reached 217.
The instructors were as fol
lows: Miss Castle Williams,
principal; Revs. H. M. Stinson
and Stokes, adult department;
Mrs. R. E. Mahon, seniors;
Misses T. B. Stinson and M.
Smith, intermediates; Mr. C.
Guinn and Miss Davie Arber,
juniors; Mrs. L. Stinson and
Miss R. Evans, primaries; Miss
G. Arber, Secretary. With our
Missionary Rev. C. N. Shrop
shire, inspiring us with his
earnest good wishes and pleas
ing personality, we were able
to put over a very successful
session.
Each day was full of new in
terests from the reverent devo
tional period to the wide awake
activities of the smaller chil
dren.
The class taking the sud
ject, “Thinking With God,"
proved to be interesting by
greatly stimulating the
thought of God's nearness to
us. The Habit Talks under our
principal were very effective.
Music Hymnology, under Mrs.
Mahon’s direction, taught us
how to better appreciate our
hymns that we so often sing.
After our classwork, every
one was refreshed with jollity
good sportsmanship and amuse
ments which the play period af
forded; and you may rest as
sured that it w*y with no de
gree of satisfaction that the
boys surrendered the final vic
(Continued on page 4)