Volume 85;
RALEIGH, N. C.f WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1889.;
Number 6.
The Biblical Recorder.
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY..
.. ' OFFICE : :- l-
; Corner Hargett and Salisbury Fts., Raleigh, N. C
; . . . Terms of. StmsaimoN ; .
One copy, one year.,..,.. .......,.$ 2.00
Onecopy.six mcnths........ ........ 1.00
Clubs of ten (copy extra to sender).... v.;..., . 20.00
Remittances mast be sent by Registered Letter,
Postoffice Order, Postal, Note, Express or Draft.
-payaoietw me oraer oi tne rcousner.
t Obituaries, sixty words long, are Inserted free of
charge, wnen they exceed this length, one cent
for each word most be paid in advance.
Additional Facts Durina mv Connec-
Hon wtih the tttecorder." Embrac
ing a Period of Three Years. ::
- Having written more than I expected to
'.write about the early history of oar organ,
and matters connected therewith, and hav
ing complied a well as I coald with the
call made on me, I mast draw these com
munications to a close by stating in a more
summary way, what other facts I may have
to give. It was not so proposed, nor have
I any intention, to follow its history, farther
than to the close of my connection with It.
There are now living several ex editors who
succeeded me, better prepared to follow up
its history, if thought desirable. While I wag
editor l naa tne numbers . oi each year
. boand lor preservation in my family,
bat when I transferred the paper to Bro.
- Hufham, if I remember, rightly, at his re-
; quest I left the volumes with him..- The
war came on; I made no 'application for
them, and when the Northern army entered
Raleigh the Recorder office suffered loss:
bat by some means, the said volumes were
carried to Wane Forest. Since then, in an
interview with President Taylor in Tegard
to them, he advised me to allow them to
remain in the College Library, which I de
cided to da I mention . this in case any
reference should be desired to that period
of the Recorder history. ,
In my last article I brought the facts up to
the close ox my third year. 1 will now say
of the three following years, that the paper
went on with many marks of satisfaction
to its readers, and as our denomination eon'
tinned to grow in numbers and strength.
. th Recoiieksi bath aided 'and shared in
the progress. .- During this period one of the
most stnslng events that. 1 can now : re
call was the return of Dr, Yates and wife
to this country, after a number of years of
toil in China. They visited Raleigh, spend
ing a week or more. , The welcome they re
ceived seemed to cheer their spirits, and
Dr. Yates gave several public lectures of
. much interest. -.His visit to his native State
revived among his brethren, to a consider
able extent,' the spirit of missions. .
- The next fact I give is, that during this
period I bought the remaining shares of the
Recorder stock, l mention this because
I am informed that'there Is some misunder
standing," and consequent misrepresenta
tion of it, and that of a public character.
The statement in substance is, that I never
owned the Recorder, and that the Con
vention had an interest in its stock; As to
the Convention, it never owned a dollar of
the stock within my knowledge, - nor did it
- ever appropriate any of its funds in its aid.
At its nnrni.i meeting a committee was
appointed r who - reported in - .favor of,
and urged the claims of the Recorder
to a more extended patronage. ... . This was
the sum of what the Convention did, and.
was the only relation it held toward the
paper, which was ever and always an indi
vidua! enterprise. : As to my never owning
the Recorder, it must be of little conse-
qence, after "-. the ! lapse - of nearly thirty.
vears. whether JL or some other person
owned it. and those who feel an interest
in so interesting a matter would do well
' to inform themselves as to the facts, so as
not to misrepresent them. The facts are,
that I owned the Recorder complete and
r entire, not only once, but twice, having at
one time taken in a partner, on condition
he would take of me half the stocs. wmcn
he AsrtteA to do and. did. and afterwards
I bought back this half. I have simply to
add. for the benefit of .those interested in
t.hA nidtw r.h&t when I first came to the
office I could have bought the recorder
uau x ucbu ev ufF; r
was for sale (which I did not), and when l
lv a t v. ma J nnAcari anH nan crnAWfl ir.
bought the hall mterest VVJ
couia pave uoujsm uu. tions of the city, when they were com para -without
serious inconvenience. : v-- . I tively cheap, economizing his means, and
Mt next remark is in reference to the city I . ' nMn.rt. nntii ita rnin
of Raleigh, where the Recorder has been
TttihiinnArt snm i.mriv-uve ur auht
in whirth T rpuided w hile its editor. What I
hnva tn SAT haa reference to the period dur
ing which I lived in it; that is, from 1854
to 1861. when the war broke out. - When I
hAAQlTlA fa. iH Tpn -)f onr eaoital. 1 was a
stranapv tn its neotile. except a few breth
ren who had met me in Convention. I had
nn latinna fir family connections within
many miles. ': Of course I felt the need of
Christian sympathy and co-operation ; but
rrnth a in r.h fact testifies the remark that
with n faxo nnhiA TPPrti.ns. I never, felt
my indebtedness to the Baptists of Raleigh
fnr nrosMuA nr favor of anv other kind.
Some of the male members acted as though
thev didn't know there was such a paper as
the -Bidlical Recorder, ciuch lesa that it
had an editor. I will here give an instance
or two of the courtesy shown me by some
oi the Raleigh members. I have a reason
for it.
Boon after I went to the office happen
ing in Raleigh I was specially invited to at
tend a session of the church, " which was
to convene on a certain night for impor
tant business". Wishing to show my appre
ciation of the courtesy, I arranged to be in
the city at that ' time, and - was present in
tha meeting. I soon discovered that old
church debt was to be the subject of discus
sion. After an excited and somewhat
angry contest between the members holding
diverse views, I asked leave to interpose a
remarK, witn a view to conciliation and
harmony. - When I took my seat, I received
from one of the parties a rebuff, such as I
naa not met witn oeiore. wetting ex
cused I left the meeting to take care of
itself. -
On another occasion a , member dic
tated to me what course to pursue, and in
timated that if I did not, the Raleigh sub
ec fibers . would drop the Recorder : to
which X replied, that if the name of every
subscriber in Raleigh was striken off, my
eiers would hardly recognize the fact in
mailing tne paper. When members of a
city church refuse to take the organ of the
denomination, they are more likely to be
come clogs than help to the church : and
the same is true In the country as well. But
trod be thanked a new era finally broke
in on the church, and the clogs were either
dropped or left behind In her endurance. I
never joined the Raleigh church, but pre
ferred to be united to one in the country.
But my design was to say a few things
about Raleigh as a community while I
lived in it.v As my business transactions
brought me in contact with the merchants,
shoppers and others, and I formed their
acquaintance, I found myself In a very
pleasant community. Indeed, I had never
lived in any other place I liked so well. My
business relations were conducted on the
cash principle, and if I owed any man in
Raleigh a dollar when I removed from the
city, I don't know it. I had no occasion to
complain of the people.' but very much en
joyed any opportunities I had for social in"
tercourse, Raleigh did not then have the
wealth and physical development she has
now, bat for intellectual and moral culture,
and a felicitous quietude of living, the
gain from that day to this has probably
not been so great. The people did not live
so much to make money as they seem to
do now, realizing? the fact that there are
some other things connected with man's
welfare of more rvalue than dollars and
cents. . J. J. Jakes.
Yancey ville, N. C.
Old Baptist Preachers of Virginia,
BI B. RXTiABD.
, Another Omnibus.
There is another class of ministers with
whom I took sweet counsel in Virginia, and
who deserve to be classed, not among the
old men, but among the men of the present
generauou, uiougu iuey uave paaoeu wj.
.. . . 11 . 1 . L .1.. -J , ,
J. B. Jeter stands at the head of the col
umn. . w. .tiacener nas written so copi
ously and s justly of him,. that I. need not
commend his book to your numerous read-:
era. I will only say that from the begin
ning of his career, he did his own thinking.
and his sermons and writings were strictly
the product of his own brain. .This is say
ing a great deal in an age or policy and
Dlacriarisui. It he acquired Knowledge, i.e
the thoughts of other men, he compounded
and digested it until it was assimilated to
his own mental nature and became a part
of himself. He never asked some leading
member of . his church or sodality what bis
opinion was and then voted with him to
gain his favor. lie was an independent
and honest man.
James B. Taylor, first the working pastor
of the Second, and then oi Grace street
charches of Richmond, for along time Mod
erator of the General Association, ldenti
fled, from the origin of the Southern Bap
tist Convention, with its Board of Foreign
Missions as Corresponding Secretary, the
compiler of the vast fund of facts which he
wrought into the History of the Baptist
Ministers of Virginia; will always stand as
a conspicuous figure in the history of Vir
ginia Baptists, tie was quiet, pruaenc,
vnflerv&tive ,nd successful. As his son,
"I T tfl V. n ntfrAn i a b m Am r m Vifa 1 1f A
I o . - .
I will only add that he had a talent for busi-
' iftfwl him from novertv to afflu
ence. B nying Jots in the Improving por-
enhanced, he accumulated an
AsrAta c,i ji nnnareu uiousauu uouarts. ah
this time he was generous in his donations
to good causes and laborious in his official
duties. ' But tne oest contnouuou ue uiaue
to nosteritv is his three sons r-George B.
Tavlor our missionary to Italy; James B.
Taylor, pastor of the Lexington Baptist
church, and Charles E. Taylor, President
of Wake Forest College. Verily he has not
lived in vain. t :
Valentine M. Mason, an editor of a secu
lar Da per In Lexington and a well read and
diligent pastor of adjoining churches, lit
erally wore out his subsequent life in plead
ing the cause of Christ as an agent of the
(ieneral Associauon. mxvb jnuueuoa viw
ployed many preachers who, but for him,
would have been relatively useless, lie in-
troduced them to feeble churches and des
titute regions that would have remained
unhelped but for his agency. He collected
funds, awakened dormant churches, corre
eponded with judicious brethren, and was
for years the animating spirit of all the do
mestic interests of the Old Dominion. The
world will never know the self denial, the
hard ' work, the persistent energy of this
Bterling man until the day of final retribu
tions. They that sowtn tears shall reap in
joy. ., . , , s ,
Daniel Witt, mentioned in a previous ar
ticle, was the life long friend and corre
spondent of J. B. Jeter. Their faithful love
was like that of David and Jonathan. It
lasted longer than life, for Jeter, the sur
viving partner, wrote a tasteful and tender
'sketch of his friend's character and minis
try. When they started out on their boy
ish mission, people differed as to their rela
tive promise. Jeter was tall, gawky cold
and unsophisticated. Witt was below the
medium size, easy and accessible in man
ners and somewhat ased to society. .... In the
pulpit, Jeter was slow between the words
of a sentence, methodical in arrangement,
select in his terms, and until warmed by his
Bubject, rather heavy in discourse. Witt
leaped at once into his subject, and making
a pause before each sentence, as if to think
it out, dashed through It with a rapid but
lucid diction, and then resting a moment,
as if to give his hearers time to take it in,
he ruBhed forward again,- his black, piercing
eye meanwhile adding force to his thought.
Jeter was ambitious of leadership, and placed
in favoring circumstances! studied bard to
the close of life, and, ever improving, rose to
high distinction as a thinker and writer.
Witt, seemingly Indifferent to fame and de
clining all agencies and calls to higher
posts, simply stuck to his rural pastorate,
and closed a long and beautiful life not far
from the place where he began his work.
Both men were needed in this complex
world and both were excellent in their dis
tinct spheres.
Many anecdotes have been related oi tnis
twin-like couple, some founded on fact and
some on fancy. I give only one, well au
thenticated,' as illustrative of their disposi
tions. They were riding along together
and came to a church on the roadside,
where a minister who had been cried np by
his people as a "big gun" was to hold
forth. It was a week day, but the audience
was large. , Hitching their horses, they went
in and respectfully listened -to the sermon,
and then continued their journey. They
rode some distance before silence was bro
ken. At length Jeter said, " Witt, what
do you think of the sermon?" " Well," re
plied Witt, I think by the help of the
Lord, I could preach as well myself." " I
know l could," tqueated his mend, " help
or no helpr .
Addison Hall was a cultivated gentle
man, tne pastor oi cnurcnes in tne region
between the Rappahannock and Potomac
rivers, usually known as the Northern Keck.
By his first marriage he was the father of
Mrs. Jehu L. Shook, and, I think, of Mrs.
Tobey, who went as missionaries to China,
He had also promising sons, one of whom
has written a neat biography of his father.
He was, by the unsolicited vote of the dis
trict, a member of the Virginia Convention
that passed the Ordinance of secession. (At
the time of . his election,' the entire State
was radically opposed to that measure, but
it was drawn into its adoption by the ex
tremists of the North and South). Mr. Hall
was a fluent and correct speaker, and though
of a husky voice, stood high among the
churches - and general public. His latter
days were clouded by a domestic Borrow as
unexpected as it was terrible. Marrying a
young lady from the North who was teach
Ing scnool in tne county, ana woo, being a
Baptist, of rare accomplishments and of
engaging beauty and manners, ' promised
him a life of serene comfort after a long
and dreary widowerhood, he found, to his
utmost horror, after a few years, that she
was unfaithful! She and her guilty para
mour went off to parts unknown and have
never been heard of since. Although the
beloved brother received the widest and
deepest sympathy, yet the burden was too
heavy to bear. He withered and mourned
ana cuea ot a Drosen neart. , uni wnat a
fearful reckoning awaits that wretched pair
at a future day! Is there not oui there
not to be a hell somewhere in the universe
for the punishment of saeh crimes?
A. M. Poindexter pursued a partial course
of study at the Columbian College and be
gan a epienaia career oi u-eiuiness as a
pastor in Ualuax county. As a preacher
and platform speaker, he had no superior in
the State. He united in beautiful symmetry
the analytical power of mind with an exact
and tenacious memory. He once assured me
that after haying composed and thoroughly
memorized a sermon, he could at any time
and with the shortest notice, preach that
sermon again word for word. . I think that
remark was true in respect to all his acqui
sitions. With great force of argument and
a chaste and earnest declamation, he was.
however, aeucient in imagination and pa
thos. - ue rarely neld up a word picture to
the delight of an audience, and I have never
seen an assembly melted into tenderness by
any of his grand discourses. He was fear
less in denouncing all the forms of sin and
In urging the fullest consecration of soul
and body and purse to the service of God.
It could hardly be expected that so ready
and able a speaker should be allowed to
continue in the quiet functions of the pas
tor. He was accordingly invited to act
alternately as the Corresponding Secretary
of the Foreign Mission Board with James
B. Taylor and as the financial agent of
Richmond College. - In both these relations
he displayed consummate energy. How
much he effected for both these great Inter
ests time will never disclose, r He lived
through the stirring scenes of war, lost one
of his sons amid its vicissitudes, resumed
his labors for the College, burled -an excel
lent wife, another son and an only daugh
ter npon the return of peace, and soon fin
ished his eourse, possibly realizing tnat ute
is a great disappointment.' He was emphat
ically a Btrong man. . ' , 4 a . '
It is in keeping with my plan to oner a
few strictures on his methods. In soliciting
funds, he urged people beyond the limits of
propriety.' Being quite deaf, he continued
ti argue after the inaudible "No" was
uttered. Many went beyond their means
and never paid what they subscribed under
severe pressure utners regrettea alter
wards what they had pledged to do, and if
they ever redeemed their pledges a rare
event they felt an inward grudge against
the object to which they contributed. All
this Is wrong. - Giving is a Christian duty
a means of grace, and loses all its beauty
and fragrance if extorted by brow-beating
importunity. Andrew Fuller would not
receive a contribution to foreign missions
unless it "came from the heart.'' The
cause of truth and of God does not need
such wheedling as is sure to give rise to the
remark,' "O, he wanted my money more
than my love and my prayers."
Again. 1 1 did not approve of the foreign
secretaries acting as pastoxs when they bad
l a - J I 1 .1 U 1 ,3
t pieutj iiu uu iu vieiLiug cuurcuei wiu
rousing them to benevolence. Their sala
ries were fully equal to the average pastor's,
and I stood up against the softness of the
Board in permitting the double officer But
it was an unpopular attitude. This policy
has long been discarded. I disapproved
also of some measures of the College Agent,
but had not force of character enough with
the Trustees to accomplish my purpose.
When two men differ, one being conscien
tiously obstinate and the other obstinately
conscientious, a collision will always occur.
which calls for divergent paths of activity
in the future. Dr. Richard-Fuller has left
a glowing eulogy of A. M. Poindexter.
Cumberland George was born April 15,
1797, was brought to a saving knowledge of
Christ in his lath year, and was ordained
at the request of the Fredericksburg church
on the 12th of March, 1819, by a presbytery
composed of Semple, Bryee, Henly and
James. Up to 1845, he tells us. in a small
note-book, he had preached over four thou
sand sermons in connection with his sev
eral churches. - As he lived- over fifteen
years beyond this date, it is presumable
that be preached about 6 307 sermons dur
ing his entire ministry. If we include the
studying, the pastoral calls and the horse
back rides over four hilly counties eonneo
ted with these sermons not to, mention
the work on his farm we will have some
idea of his busy life. Mr. George 'was a
fine specimen of manhood. He was large,
but not corpulent bad a bald forehead
an honest look, and a benignant visage.
Cheerfulness was his most prominent trait.
He was opposed in bis work by byper-Cal-vinlstic
views that were not only scattered
among his people, but were embodied in
organized churches near him. and it is very
difficult when the leaven is difiased, to get
people to take hold on the cause of Christ.
Christians are afraid of taking the Lord's
work out of hfs hands and sinners are too
orthodox to be reasoned into repentance.
But his influence was always wisely direo
ted and his labors were greatly blessed.
His spirit may be seen in the words which
he wrote on the fly-leaves of his books.
Take a specimen ; " Forever blessed be the
name. of the Lord for his goodness and
mercy to me. Preached Saturday -from
Acts Acts 20 : 26 had an affecting time ;
on Sunday from Acts 20: 24 a solemn.1
melting time. :. My soul was fall and my
tongue at liberty. Sometimes could hardly
give utterance to my thoughts for weeping.
0 my God, crown the poor labors of thy
unworthy servant,, and forgive, for Jesus'
sake, his many imperfections. " May, 1838."
1 heard him preach at the meeting of the
General Association at Richmond in 1835
from "Have faith in God.1' Mark 11: 22.
Of that sermon, 'Dr, Wm. S. Plummer, a
great Presbyterian minister, said in my
hearing, " It kept me in tears all the time."
- ' I have only one criticism to make on his
style. Men of slow speech should use short
sentences." Men of rapid delivery may use
long ones, I thought Mr. George was so
deliberate and yet constructed such long
sentences, that his hearers were apt tJ for
get ,at tfreir close how they began. He was
at times too indifferent to apparel. Meet
ing him in the yard of the church at an
early hour of the assembling of the Trien
nial Convention in Baltimore with an old
hat on his head, I took him aside and bade
bim go straight to the store and buy him
a new one, and be obeyed.- The incident
shows the - intimacy of our friendship and
the absorption of his mind in hiarher sub
jects. In the summer of 1863, amid the
carnage and tumult of war, his spirit1 was
taken to his home of eternal rest. It is
probable that his noble nature, like that of
many oiners, was so oppressed by the
scenes around him as to have hastened his
departure,
Wm.F. Broaddus, a pastor In Culpepper
and contiguous : regions a co-worker of
Cumberland George in opposing the Hard
shell : Baptists ' and revolutionizing public ?
sentiment in that vicinity, was a conspicu
ous man. ' He removed to. Kentucky and
combined school-teaching and pastoral work
in Shelby ville and Lexington. After sev
eral years, he returned to Virginia and col
lected funds for the Columbian College and
served the charches at Charlottesville and '
Fredericksburg. During the war he was
taken by the Federal authorities and con
fined several months in the old Capitol in
Washington. Feeling that he was on justly k
treated, he determined to avenge himself
In a strange manner, v Being asked by the " -officer
what the F. in his name stood for
and in what county he. was born, he pro-,
fessed entire Ignorance on both these points, ;
nor could any persuasion or menace or rep-
answer from the mysterious prisoner. At :
last when .he had exhausted the patience of
his interrogator and amused his fellow cap
tives to bis heart's content, he told him'
that his father had put two F's. in his name, -and
that he had, for convenience, left out
one of them, but had never concluded
which one it was, and therefore could not
say; positively what family the F. now in
his name represented. As to his native :
county, he explained that he was born in
what was once known as Culpeper, but
that Rappahannock had been cut off from -it,
and the dividing line ran so near his -father's
house, that no one had determined
on which side he was born. Released from -prison
about the conclusion of the war, he :
returned to Virginia and collected funds for
the. relief of the widows and orphans of
Confederate soldiers. Under what organ!- :
zation and with what success .he labored, I
have ' never , been informed.. I only know
of several instances in which material and
needed help was administered. My im
pression Is that bis life was never so useful
as it was in his first labors in Virginia. He
was a self-made man, agreeable in private
circles, an ornament to the pulpit, and ex
erted a wide and wholesome influence in
the State standing in the front rank of
the ministry. He was afflicted from his
youth with a strange Idiosyncrasy a fear
of cats. The presence of the . harmless
creatures threw him into such a state of
nervous agitation as, if continued,' would
have doubtless proved fatal. Such a phe
nomenon, I believe, has never been ex- .
piamea.
It grieves me to add that the closing
months of his life were darkened by hope- -
less insanity. " He was married three times,
and in each case was happy in his domestic
relations. He had an interesting family of -children,
but they are all removed beyond
the limits of my acquaintance.
av. i Errata in the Issue orioly 10.
tiFor "the word creak so as "read "the
word break so as." 1
..For "as the scene changes"
read
as
the scene changed." , , .
- For received same number " read re
ceived the same number." , - - R.. R.
Has. God Made a Mistake? '
Has God made a mistake in opening up -these
fields for the missionaries of the Cross! 1
Can God fail in his great purpose in giving
his only Son for the salvation of the world?
To doubt for one moment is-sin.: Toques
Hnn nnp nhilitv in nnHAliaf in an nvo rrn I in or .
Providence. Hesitation in an hour like this
is criminal. To refuse to act is the eoncen
trated essence of rebellion. ' God's hand is
in these movements of the last: quarter of
t.hft ninatApnth rtAntnrv OnnnrfrmiriAfl nn.
paralleled confront the church of Christ to
day.' God does' not bring about such op
portunities for Christian effort without
knowing that there is in the church the ,
necessary, elements for carrying on the
work men and money. ' ' God has done his
part in removing the barriers about heathen
nations which seemed so insurmountable.
One of the human elements necessary to
meet this crisis in missionary effort has been
supplied ; for more than twenty-five hun
dred young men and women within fifteen
months have said that they are willing to
go wherever God may lead. " How shall
they teach except they bt sent?" How shall
they be . sen t without money ? - Can it be
possible that the Christians of to-day, view
ing with wondering eyes, and contempla
ting with joyful hearts, the, marvellous In
terposition of God's hand in all these things,
will shirk the responsibilities incumbent
upon them? No, thrice noi Money, this
last element in the crisis, shall be forth
coming. How. do tou ask? By returning
to the old apostolic plan : " Upon the firet
day of the week let every one of you lay by
him in store, as God has prospered him."
When " the chufch of the living God" once
more: becomes " the pillar -aoid ground of
Luis pxiuuipie ui sjsiemauo rouevoience,
the present evils and troubles in our church
finances will become things of the past. It
is a weekly system, but not a weak system,
for God himself stands behind it. Rev.
Geo. Merriam, in Baptist Missionary'
,-. Religion is in its esence an inward and
spiritual holiness. Outward actions can
be considered bat two ways; either as the.
means and instrument, or else as the fruits
and effects of holiness Lucas.
' Prayer is the pulse of. the renewed soul,'
and the constancy of its beat is the test and
measure 1 of the ' spiritual life Octavius
Winslow.