USA > Alabama > Memorial sketches of the lives and labors of the deceased ministers of the North Alabama conference, Methodist Episcopal church, South (1870-1912.) > Part 14
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James L. Coleman was the son of the late Judge Daniel Coleman, who lived and died in North Ala- bama, a man of legal learning, a jurist of marked ability, and, above all, an upright, perfect man, after the pattern of a Bible Christian. In this last par- ticular the son was the successor of his father. He was educated at La Grange College, a Methodist school on the mountain near Leighton. While there he was engaged one day in wrestling with a fellow student as a matter of pleasantry, when he fell and permanently injured his knee joint, which crippled him for life and resulted some years lated in the am- putation of his leg. After graduating from La Grange he attended the Medical College of Ken- tucky, at Louisville, and took the degree of M.D. He was well educated in literature and medicine, and at the time of entering the itinerant ministry of the
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Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was heir to much wealth and had the promise of great usefulness and success in secular pursuits. He counted all things but loss if he could do good in the Master's vine- yard, and in 1853 he joined the Tennessee Annual Conference and traveled circuits and districts and filled stations until physical infirmities a few years since forced him to take a superannuate relation, which he held in the North Alabama Conference when he died.
In 1857 Brother Coleman married Miss Kate Les- ter, of Giles County, Tenn. Like her husband, she descended from a noble ancestry, and was educated, pious, and wealthy. In all their married life she honored her husband, adorned his home, and made his life one of sunshine and happiness.
Dr. Coleman was a faithful and conscientious preacher and pastor. His sermons did not abound in the tinselry of rhetoric or the beauty of metaphor. but they were closely studied, well arranged, and comprehensive and convincing. Nor was he, in the general meaning of the phrase, an attractive pulpit orator. He furnished his hearers with something to think about afterwards. His sermons were pro- found and scriptural, and if published in a book would read well. He was a pure-minded man, and kept himself unspotted from the world. His words were chaste and correct, his manners plain and im- pressive, his habits modest and discreet. Wherever he preached he left a good name, and is affection-
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ately remembered by all. He was pastor in Decatur in 1880-81. After that he was presiding elder on the Tuscaloosa and the Huntsville Districts. Dur- ing his career as an itinerant preacher no com- plaint on account of unfaithfulness, neglect of duty, administration of Church law, or immorality was ever lodged against him. He went in and out be- fore us as a man of stainless character and upright life.
Now that he has gone, and gone no doubt to the realms of light, we write this in remembrance of him. We knew him somewhat intimately for forty years, and his life, gauged by the Bible stand- ard of Christianity, was as nearly faultless as that of any man. We never knew him to deviate from the straight and narrow way; we never heard his good name railed against. He was a man of faith, prayer, charity, and good deeds. He was not perfect here ; but beyond the reach of afflictions and the conflicts of this life, where we trust he lives, he is perfect in all that makes a citizen of heaven perfect.
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REV. WARREN DAVIS NICHOLSON.
R EV. WARREN D. NICHOLSON, son of William R. and Jane Nicholson, was born in Pickens Dis- trict, S. C., April 21, 1828; and died July 28, 1897. He was converted and joined the Methodist Church in early life. In 1850 he was married to Miss Julia A. Graham, of which union six children were born, four of whom preceded the parents to the grave. Their mother died in 1886. In 1888 Brother Nich- olson was again married, this time to Miss Cary Caroline Burgess, of Scottsboro, Ala. Of this mar- riage three children were born, all of whom preceded the father to heaven.
Brother Nicholson was licensed to preach in 1852, and joined the Alabama Conference the same year. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Andrew in 1854, and elder by Bishop Kavanaugh in 1859. He served the following pastoral charges : 1853, Sand Moun- tain Mission; 1854, Tuscaloosa Circuit ; 1856, Town Creek Circuit ; 1857, Lookout Mountain Mission ; 1858, Asheville Circuit; 1860, Lebanon Circuit ; 1868-70, Wedowee Circuit; 1871-74, Pinckneyville Circuit; 1875, Scottsboro Circuit; 1878, Pinckney- ville Circuit; 1879, Valley Station; 1882, DeKalb Mission ; 1883-84, South Hill Circuit ; 1885-86, Dan- ville Circuit ; 1887-88, Bellefonte Circuit; 1888-89, Asheville Circuit.
REV. WARREN DAVIS NICHOLSON. 28I
From the above dates it will be observed that his years of service were not uniformly continuous, which fact is accounted for by ill health. In 1889 he was placed on the superannuate roll. He made his home at Langston, Ala., for about four years, and then removed to Dawson, Ala. Here he lived, suffering great bodily pain, for five years, and died on the date given above.
It is customary to say of a deceased preacher that he was a good preacher. Such may be said of our brother without its being fulsome praise. He was a strong, lucid, impressive speaker; his soul was in what he said, and the Holy Spirit gave unction and power to his words. He served his day and generation well, and was a faithful toiler in his Mas- ter's vineyard.
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REV. HENRY P. TURNER.
R EV. HENRY P. TURNER was born in Northamp- ton County, Va., February 3, 1814; and died of paralysis in Madison County, Ala., March I, 1880. He was converted when quite young, licensed to preach at the age of twenty-two, and joined the Tennessee Conference. His first appointment was as junior preacher on the Madison Circuit. In 1837 he was sent to the Limestone Circuit, and in the lat- ter part of 1838 was married to Miss L. H. Harris, of Madison County. In 1846 his wife died, and in 1848 he was again married to Miss Lucy T. Powell.
Brother Turner's life was one of deep devotion to the Church. His convictions of duty were strong and clear, and his energies untiring in following them out. He knew and loved the doctrine and discipline of his Church. His sermons were both doctrinal and practical, to the point, clear, and forci- ble. The Bible was his principal textbook, and he studied it well. He studied our Discipline closely. He visited his closet daily with the regularity and earnestness of a devoted Christian. He was punc- tual and exact in meeting his business obligations ; he was generous, liberal, and charitable in the use of his means. The poor always found in him a friend ; the suffering, bereaved, and distressed, a ready syn- pathizer. For many years, in consequence of bodily
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affliction, he was a supernumerary, during which time he labored to the best of his ability. His labors since 1858, when he became effective, were on the Elkton, Limestone, Madison, and Elkmont Circuits and the Scottsboro District. After he was stricken with paralysis he was unable to perform ministerial du- ties ; but from then to the day of his death he de- .voted his time with characteristic energy to the dis- tribution of good books, visiting the sick and sor- rowing, and pouring the oil of consolation into troubled hearts. The day before his death he ex- pressed a willingness to bow in humble submission to the will of Providence. He wished the Master to do with him as he saw best. He was ready to go or stay, to do or suffer, as it pleased him to direct. Thus closed a life of personal piety, zeal, and devo- tion to the Church.
REV. B. F. LARRABEE, D.D.
R EV. B. F. LARRABEE died in Albany, N. Y., at the residence of his brother, October 27, 1880. He was fifty-four years of age. He was born in the North and educated at Wesleyan University, Mid- dletown, Conn. He came South in 1851 to perform the work of educator in the Centenary Female Col- lege, at Summerfield, Ala. Here he taught with marked success for several years, after which he removed to Columbus, Miss., where he taught a flourishing school for young ladies till the breaking out of the war. In January, 1860, he graduated forty young ladies in one class and claimed to have the largest patronage in the South. After the war he removed to Tuscaloosa, Ala., and took charge of the Tuscaloosa Female College, un- der the control of the North Alabama Conference. Owing to financial embarrassment, growing out of the war, the college failed, and Brother Larrabee entered the regular pastoral work in the North Ala- bama Conference, and for three years in succession was appointed to the Lafayette Station. In the win- ter of 1879 he was appointed to the Florence Sta- tion, upon which work he entered with flattering prospects. But soon his health began to fail. The most skillful medical aid was secured. His affec- tionate wife, devoted sister-in-law, and solicitous
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charge awaited prayerfully the issue; but the dis- ease defied the skill of physicians and the patient nursing of family and friends. Subsequently there was some improvement, and he visited his brother, who resides in Albany, N. Y., hoping that the brac- ing atmosphere of that climate might restore him. Soon disease of the heart took hold upon him with unrelenting grasp; his aspiration for worldly activ- ity subsided; the pageantry of the world passed in view before him. When devout friends visited him and were asked to pray with him, he charged them : "In praying for my recovery, pray: 'Thy will be done.'" His sufferings were intense and prolonged, but he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. He passed away from earth as a summer cloud.
Brother Larrabee possessed superior classical at- tainments, and his mind was richly stored with gen- eral information. As an educator he attained a very high rank and did his work conscientiously and faith- fully. Hundreds of young ladies in Mississippi and Alabama have received the training of their minds from him. That it was well done, their social po- sition and personal influence abundantly attest. As a friend he was sincere, amiable, and true. He was a man of earnest piety and indomitable energy. Purity of motive, accompanied with persistent ef- fort, constituted the salient points of his character. Those who were the most intimately associated with him cherished for him the highest appreciation.
Brother Larrabee was licensed to preach in 1855.
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He labored as a local preacher until he was admit- ted into the North Alabama Conference at Gads- den in 1870. The transition from the halls of edu- cation to the pastorate is, indeed, striking; but he readily and successfully adapted himself to this new relation. As a preacher he was more profound than eloquent, more argumentative than persuasive ; yet his soul often expanded and grew warm under the fervor of the truth he proclaimed, when he was both persuasive and eloquent. He grew rapidly in social and religious favor among his brethren. and prom- ised much to the Church. His last hours were crowned with great peace and spiritual triumph.
REV. WILLIAM ROBERT KIRK.
R EV. WILLIAM R. KIRK was born August 26, 1834, in Wilcox County, Ala .; and died at Jackson- ville, Ala., October 20, 1893. He was licensed to preach by Rev. J. W. Starr, presiding elder of the Summerfield District, Alabama Conference, in 1860, and admitted into the itinerant connection by the same Conference in 1861. His first circuit was the Choctaw, and his second Snow Hill.
In 1866 he was stationed at Jacksonville, and afterwards filled the following charges successively : Talladega Station, Talladega Circuit, Talladega Dis- trict, Huntsville District, Decatur District, Fayette- ville Circuit, Oxford Station. He was then super- annuated one year on account of ill health. Then he served- Lafayette Station, Gadsden Station, Alexander City and Dadeville, and Avondale. This was his last pastoral charge.
Brother Kirk was for many years a great sufferer, being afflicted with rheumatism. Most men would have surrendered to the affliction and discontinued active work, but such was our brother's zeal and en- ergy that he labored on in great pain of body rather than be idle in the vineyard. Often he had to be assisted into the pulpit when he could scarcely walk at all and could not even kneel to pray.
As a preacher he stood high in the estimation of
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his congregations where he ministered. His deep sincerity often caused him to dread the responsibili- ties of his ministry, but he never shirked duty, not- withstanding its responsibility. He had a warm, generous heart which made him a companion for the good and qualified him to reach and save many erring ones to the Church and heaven. His intel- lect was vigorous and well trained, fitting him to fill acceptably all appointments assigned him with credit to himself, for the good of the Church and the glory of the Master.
Brother Kirk was once a member of the General Conference. In the pulpit he was clear, forceful, and logical. Among us he ranked as more than an or- dinary preacher. His spirit was sweet, his character spotless, and his life blameless. As a husband and father he was a model. In the midst of his years and usefulness he left us. He fell with harness on and bright with use. He has only gone up home. He is not dead, but sleepeth. Just a little while before sweeping through the gates he looked Dr. Walker in the face and said: "Yes, I will trust God if the heavens fall." Soon he fell asleep and waked up in heaven. He has gone to his reward- gone to reap joy and wear the crown and robes of royalty. While we mourn his departure from our ranks, the white-robed immortals saved by his min- istry shout him welcome to his reward in the skies,
REV. MOSES L. WHITTEN.
R EV. MOSES L. WHITTEN, son of Mason and Nan- cy Whitten, was born on October 20, 1832. In early life he was converted at Cypress Camp Ground, near Florence, Ala., and joined the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South, in the communion of which he lived and died, at Town Creek, Ala., in the parsonage on May 14, 1893. He was married to Miss Lizzie Hinton on May 4, 1854 ; was licensed to preach by Rev. John Sherrill in 1855. That fall he was sent to the Wartrace Circuit as a sup- ply. In 1856 he applied for admission into the Ten- nessee Annual Conference, was received, and sent to Russellville, Ala. In 1857 he was sent to the Madi- son Mission, was ordained by Bishop Early on October II, 1858, and was sent to Dover. In 1859 he was sent to Yellow Creek, and was ordained eld- er by Bishop Early on October 16, 1859, at Colum- bia, Tenn. In 1860 he was sent to Rogersville and Driskill's Chapel. In May, 1861 he went to Rich- mond, Va., and was commissioned chaplain of the Ninth Alabama Regiment, which position he held till the close of the war. In this position he was truly efficient, and was instrumental in the salvation of many brave soldiers. 'In 1865, after his return from the army, he was sent to the Limestone Circuit, where he was eminently successful in reorganizing
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the work. In 1866 he was appointed to the Court- land Circuit, which embraced all the territory from La Grange to Hillsboro, and remained on that charge
PROF. AARON WHITTEN AND REV. MOSES L. WHITTEN.
for three years; thence to Danville for one year, and was returned by request to the Courtland charge, remaining there two years, 1871-72. In 1873 he was sent to the Talladega Circuit. In 1874 he was
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REV. MOSES L. WHITTEN.
appointed presiding elder of the Lafayette District, which he filled for four years to the satisfaction of all. In 1878 he was appointed presiding elder of the Huntsville District, which he served one year; 1879, Meridianville Circuit ; 1880, Roanoke Circuit, filling that charge three years; Talladega Circuit, 1883-84; thence to Carrollton Circuit, which he served four years; thence to Gaylesville Circuit, which he served two years; thence to Daviston Cir- cuit, one year; thence to Town Creek, 1891-93, where he finished his earthly career.
Brother Whitten was eminently social, endowed with a cheerful disposition. Being naturally amia- ble and with a heart full of love for everybody, his society was sought and appreciated. Artless in manner, candid and frank in his utterances, and with a heart full of tender sympathies, his wit had no sting, his irony no depression. One prominent factor in his character and life was that he never spoke unkindly of anybody. Intellectually, he was richly endowed. His perception was quick, and such was the power of his mind that he could mas- ter the grave problems of his day. As a minister of the gospel he was unpretentious, natural, and dignified in manner. He selected subjects that would interest and edify his congregations. His invention, analysis, and logical arrangement were peculiarly his own. Argument was his forte. True, he could deal in the descriptive or hortatory; but he regarded argument as the instrument by which
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conviction takes hold of the hearts and consciences of sinners. He was often truly eloquent in the best sense of that much-abused word. He had the grace of patience to a degree that few men have. None but his most intimate friends knew his deep trials, but through the afflictions and asperities of life he became more assimilated to the life and character of his Lord. While abounding in labors, happy in his work, and hopeful as regards the fu- ture, paralysis took unrelenting hold upon him, and he passed away as gently as a summer evening breeze. He sleeps quietly in the cemetery at Chat- tanooga, Tenn.
REV. JOHN HENRY ANDERSON.
R EV. JOHN HENRY ANDERSON was born in Giles County, Tenn., August 8, 1850; joined the Church in 1862; was licensed to preach in 1865; was married to Miss Bernie Moran at Tuscumbia, Ala., in 1872; and died in Giles County, Tenn., September 14, 1876. He was admitted into the Tennessee Conference in 1867; ordained deacon in 1869; ordained elder in 1871. He was connected with the Tennessee Conference three years. He transferred to the North Alabama Conference in 1870 and filled the following appointments : Tuscum- bia Station, three years; Talladega, two years. In 1875 he was sent to the Courtland Station, but was unable to do much work on account of failing health. Brother Anderson possessed distinctive points of character, which gave originality and special force to his preaching and pastoral work. He was a young man of decided talents and a brilliant intellect, and gave promise of a splendid future. He was well edu- cated and knew how to use his talents and education for the edification and help of others. He laid all of his native and acquired gifts on the 'altar of service to his Master. He had a proper estimate of his high calling and the dignity and responsibility of an "elder in the Church of God." His preaching was pointed, terse, and forcible. His life possessed
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a good savor and shed a light all around him. His cheerful disposition sweetened the cup of life's sor- rows with many a soothing word and hope-inspir- ing thought. He carried a cheerful heart and smil- ing face amid the ravages of disease and in the presence of death. He lived happily and died tri- umphantly. He toiled on to the last. Though faint and weary, he would still struggle to preach one more sermon or say one more word for his blessed Saviour.
REV. GREEN B. WILSON.
R EV. GREEN B. WILSON was born in Perry Coun- ty, Ala., June 18, 1833. He professed reli- gion at eleven years of age and joined the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South. He was licensed to preach in the autumn of 1870. He was admitted on trial into the North Alabama Conference in No- vember, 1871, and was appointed to the Kennedale Mission. He was appointed to the Bexar Circuit in 1873-74, to the Sheffield Circuit in 1875, to the Luxapalila Circuit in 1876, on which work he died, October 20, 1876. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Marvin at Talladega, November 23, I873.
Brother Wilson labored six years in the itinerancy without interruption from any cause, and bade fair to make one of our most efficient and useful preach- ers. He was faithfully engaged in his labors up to the short sickness which terminated in death, be- ing taken ill at the camp meeting on his own work, in which he seemed to be unusually spiritual. Though it is well to leave dying testimony that all is right, it is the record that marks the history of the good man's life and is the guarantee of his safety in eternity. His life, characterized by a deep piety and zeal for his Master's cause, by his consistent example adorning the profession he made
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and the doctrine he preached, is the evidence upon which we base our hope of his everlasting happi- ness with his God. Living testimony in health, amid trials and sufferings, labors and duties, is the evidence upon which we look, and, looking, cannot doubt.
Brother Wilson was greatly beloved by the peo- ple among whom he labored. We are informed that he labored more successfully in building up the Church and impressing the truths of the Chris- tian religion upon the minds of the people the last year of his life than in any previous year of his min- isterial history. It was remarked repeatedly dur- ing the last Quarterly Conference on his charge that it seemed mysterious. that he should be taken from them amid so much usefulness. His presid- ing elder was earnestly requested to procure a preacher qualified to follow up the good work he had begun.
REV. EDWARD B. M'CLELLAN.
R EV. EDWARD B. M'CLELLAN was born in Frank- lin County, Tenn., December 9, 1831. His parents being Christians, he was surrounded in early life by religious influences, and was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, when but a youth. He was licensed to preach on the Talladega Circuit on October 15, 1854, Rev. Wal- ter H. McDaniel, presiding elder. He joined the Alabama Conference on trial at its session in Tal- ladega in December, 1854, and was received into full connection at the session of this Conference at Selma in December, 1857. He was ordained dea- con at the same time and place by Bishop Soule, and was also ordained elder by Bishop Early at Greensboro in December, 1861. The following list shows the charges Brother McClellan served and the relations he held while connected with the Con- ference : Pickens Circuit, 1855; Columbus Circuit, 1856; Autauga Circuit, 1857; Black Oak Circuit, 1858; New Lexington Circuit, 1859; superannu- ated, 1860; Green Circuit, 1861; Blountsville Cir- cuit, 1862; supernumerary, 1863-66; Lineville Cir- cuit, 1867; Marianna Station, 1868; Pensacola and Navy Yard Station, 1869; superannuated, 1870-71; supernumerary, 1872-73; local, 1874; supernumer- ary, 1875-76. During the years of the war, from 1862 to 1865, the care and protection of his orphaned sisters devolved upon him, his brothers being in the
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Confederate service. For many years his health was greatly impaired, which somewhat interfered with his work and efficiency as an itinerant preach- er. During the years in which he held the supernu- merary and superannuate relations he preached as regularly as opportunity offered and his health would permit. He was a man of intellectual breadth, sound judgment, and comprehensive views. He was well read in literature, loving especially the standard poets, and was esteemed by his brethren as a superior theologian. He held the form of sound words and sound doctrine. His range of intelligence was too extensive and his knowledge too thorough to be carried away by silly and idle parade about science, so called. His mind could not be perverted nor his faith impaired by the misty mazes of what is termed the advanced thought of the age. He was a man of great moral worth and integrity. His character was without re- proach. His piety was steady, and he liked to re- flect upon the talk about the clime, fadeless and pure, where the saints see God as he is, "nor sin nor sorrow know." He died at his home in Ashe- ville, St. Clair County, Ala., July 15, 1876, in great peace and quiet, assured of a blissful immortality. His obsequies were performed on Sunday after his death, in the presence of a concourse of kindred, friends, and neighbors, at the very hour that he would, according to his regular appointment, have been preaching to the congregation at that place.
REV. EUGENE HARGROVE HAWKINS.
R EV. EUGENE H. HAWKINS, son of Rev. V. O. Hawkins, D.D., and Mrs. Belle Hawkins, was born in Lowndes County, Ala., October II, 1870. He was converted and joined the Methodist Church at Weaver's Station in his eleventh year. In the fall of 1886 he entered the Southern University at Greensboro, Ala., and graduated with the mas- ter's degree in June, 1890: He was licensed to preach by the Quarterly Conference of First Church, Birmingham, Ala., in 1889. After finishing his course at Greensboro he entered Vanderbilt Uni- verity, where he took a postgraduate course in the Literary Department, at the same time taking the regular course in the Theological Department, and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1893. -
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