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 5
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Dr. Gregory was a modest man. He had con- victions and held to them tenaciously, but never boastingly thrust them upon others. He was deep- ly pious, but sometimes rather gloomy and de- spondent. This may be attributed to his poor health. His friends say that he never was known to indulge in levity, yet he was delightfully com- panionable. His words and conduct were always chaste and pure. Sycophancy and fawning he de- tested. He was not a place seeker, but always ac- cepted with fidelity the lot that fell to him and did his work the best he could under the continual bur- den of poor health. He was preeminently free from malice, guile, and hypocrisy. He lived and died without reproach and left to his family the rich inheritance of a good name.
As a preacher Brother Gregory was above the average. In the administration of the affairs of the Church he was conservative but firm. He nev- er attempted the sensational in the work of the Church.
Perhaps Dr. Gregory's most successful year's work was at Decatur. The splendid new church house in which that congregation now worships was enterprised and built during that year. On receiving his appointment to the Tuscaloosa Dis- trict he entered upon the work with cheerfulness and hope. But, alas! three short months ended his min- isterial career. From the district parsonage in Tus- caloosa his gentle spirit went to God who gave it,
REV. JOHN B. GREGORY, D.D. 87
and his dust sleeps in Oak Hill Cemetery, in the city of Birmingham.
Dr. Gregory was married to Miss Sue Cain on
DR. JOHN B. GREGORY.
April 7, 1875. Of this union nine children were born, eight of whom were living at the time of his death. The degree of D.D. was conferred upon
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Brother Gregory in 1889 by the Southern Univer- sity at Greensboro, Ala. He wore the title with modesty. It made no difference in his bearing toward his brethren of the ministry or the people. By some Dr. Gregory was thought to be afflicted with hypochondria, but he was a sick man all the time. He was nearly seven years in completing the course of study prescribed for young ministers, because of the heavy burden of real affliction that he had to carry. These heavy afflictions finally carried him into a premature grave. If his physi- cal strength had been equal to his mental capacity, he might have stood in the front rank of intellec- tuality with the great men of his day. But with all of his disadvantages he was faithful to duty and died at his post leading the hosts of Israel to battle.
REV. JOHN W. CHRISTIAN.
T HE subject of this sketch was born in Meri- wether County, Ga., and was nearly thirty- eight years old at the time of his death. He was converted in early manhood and brought into the Church under the ministry of Rev. L. R. Bell; licensed to preach by the Quarterly Conference of the Pinckneyville Circuit on October 17, 1868; or- dained deacon by Bishop Doggett and admitted on trial into the North Alabama Conference at Tus- caloosa November, 1872; ordained elder by Bishop McTyeire at Decatur in December, 1876; and elect- ed editor of the Alabama Christian Advocate in 1881. His first appointment was the Fredonia Cir- cuit, where he remained three years, doing faith- ful and successful work. While here, on December 23, 1874, he was happily married to Miss M. F. Hines. In 1876-77 he was stationed at Montevallo, and in 1878-81 he served the Birmingham Station. This ended his pastoral work. Then, over his pro- test, he was elected editor, and only accepted the responsible position on the earnest solicitation of his brethren. In this, as in every other trust com- mitted to him by the Church, he was faithful and successful; and though burdened with the weight of many physical infirmities, he met with great ac- ceptability the demands of his new position, until
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he "ceased at once to work and live." The con- finement of editorial work was not suited to his frail constitution, and he had determined to retire from this office at the meeting of the Committee of Publication on October 17 and return to regular pastoral work. It was in the pastorate that he had been eminently useful; this was his loved em- ploy, and he longed to be in the field again. He liked to preach the gospel, and was a noble type of the Methodist ministry. As a preacher he was plain, practical, logical, earnest. He was thorough- ly Arminian in doctrine, and had the profoundest convictions of the truth of the gospel and of min- isterial responsibility. He believed and therefore spoke. Hence he was fearless in denouncing error and faithful in defending the truth. If men ap- proved, well; if not, he was at peace with himself and his Master, and none of these things moved him. No vexatious questionings disturbed his mind or troubled his heart. His perfect equanim- ity of mind and spirit shone with marvelous beauty and singular constancy. This was all the more beautiful because he was of a nervous tempera- ment, and it was only by the most manly self- discipline, by the grace of God, that he became the embodiment of self-possession and deliberation. When it is remembered that he was severely afflict- ed with asthma from childhood, it would not be surprising if he had been gloomy and morose. But not so. He had a cheerful face and a happy heart,
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and never burdened his friends with the sad tale of his sufferings. Like the true Christian philosopher that he was, he understood his mission in the world to be the ministry of light and joy and hope to hu- manity, and nobly did he serve his generation in this regard. If "greatness of character is capacity for pain," then he was great, and all the more so in that he kept his sufferings in his own bosom. The honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Hiwassee College. This distinction was worthily bestowed and worn with humility.
As a man Brother Christian possessed all those virtues than enter into the character of true man- hood. In him were blended the tenderness and af- fection of a woman and the courage and fortitude of the hero. His spirit was perfectly transparent ; he would not flatter you, and he was incapable of deception. To know him well was to love him; and if any did not love him, it was because they did not know him. But it was in his Christian life that he stood preeminent among men. Here he magnified the grace of God. He was not very emo- tional, but the strong undercurrents of salvation that flowed through his soul could not be hid. You could not come in contact with him without being impressed with his great spirituality. His sublime faith, profound humility, great patience, gentle- ness, purity, love-all marked him as a man of God, "an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no
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guile." It is no matter of wonder that such a man was ready when the summons came. Among his last utterances touching his spiritual condition were words like these: "As to the future I have no care, no fear. I am assured that I will get to heav- en. I have no doubt on the subject." And with em- phasis he added: "I have attained unto the grace of assurance."
Some months before he died he had a very seri- ous spell of sickness, and those who were watch- ing by his bedside thought he was really dead. But they administered a stimulant in the hope of re- viving him, and so it did. On returning to con- sciousness he exclaimed: "What have you done it for? I had gotten to the beautiful gate, and I heard Sister Sack call Sister Clem and say: 'Jim has come.'" These two sisters had previously died. This incident was told to the parents of Rev. J. F. Sturdivant, D.D., who lived near the home of Dr. Christian's parents. Verily, heaven's gate is near to the dying saint. Brother Christian died in Bir- mingham, Ala., October 7, 1882.
REV. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN LEA.
B ROTHER B. F. LEA was born in Wilson County, Tenn., March 17, 1832. His parents were devout Christians, and there were two daughters and four sons born to them. Frank, as he was called, was the oldest of the boys. He embraced religion in the fall of 1844 at Walnut Grove Church, near Lebanon, Tenn., and joined the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church with his parents. His father died, and his mother moved with her chil- dren to Indiana, where he united with the Metho- dists in 1854, and was made class leader, which of- fice he filled well till he entered the pastorate. In 1855 Brother Lea returned to Tennessee and be- came a citizen of Nashville and a member of the Elysian Grove charge. Here in 1858 he was li- censed to exhort by Rev. William Large, preacher in charge. He was licensed to preach on August 4, 1860, by Rev. A. S. Riggs, presiding elder. He was ordained a deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, by Bishop McTyeire on October 28, 1866, and in 1871 was set apart to the office of an elder in the Church of God by Bishop G. F. Pierce in Florence, Ala., at the request of the North Alabama Conference.
During the Civil War Brother Lea was in the army three years and six months, battling for what
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he thought to be his country's honor and rights. Eight months he suffered in a Northern prison. In 1865 he was recommended to the Tennessee Con- ference by his Quarterly Conference. But a hard spell of sickness prevented his entering upon the work of an itinerant preacher till 1867. His first charge was the Coffeetown (now Langston) Cir- cuit, and his second was the Larkinsville Circuit. On these two charges he remained till the North Alabama Conference was formed. His lot fell in this last-named body, and here he did for us twenty- one successful years' service, to the joy of the charges served by him. Madison, Meridian, Dan- ville, Somerville, Jones's Valley, and Jonesboro Circuits had his useful services, and were great- ly blessed. His last two years' work was in the Fayette Station. Nowhere did our dear brother impress himself on the Church more graciously than in this station. Though greatly reduced in strength by affliction of his throat, yet such was his earnest devotion to his work and deep solici- tude for the salvation of his people that all loved him dearly.
Brother Lea was not a classical scholar such as the schools make; but he was a man who read much and thought more. He understood the scrip- tural plan of salvation and taught it so plainly. that many were induced to embrace it and be saved by it. His sermons were clear, forceful, and edify- ing. His language was pure English and his ser-
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mons were highly scriptural. So familiar was he with the language of the Bible that in sermon, prayer, and conversation he used the divine words so well that one felt that he lived in the holy, scriptural at- mosphere. He was not a genius, but he was a skill- ful workman. He also excelled in song. It would not be exaggerating to say that Brother Lea sang more people into the Church and up to heaven than most of us are able to save with all other agencies. As a pastor he had few equals. He saw all, knew all, and visited all in his charge, Metho- dists and all others. All loved and honored him. So pure was his spirit, so devout his life, and so true his deportment that all saw in him a copy of Christ and acknowledged it.
Brother Lea was married to Miss Elizabeth Re- becca Blankenship in 1852. She was a good wom- an, sent of the Lord to bless his life and aid him in his work of saving souls. Two daughters and two sons remain but to follow on after him. A few weeks before his death he sent for a special friend, Rev. A. G. Copeland (now deceased), in order that he might deliver to him his dying message to his brethren of the Conference. When Brother Copeland entered his room, he embraced and even kissed him affectionately and said: "I am glad you have come. I have prayed to see you and give you my last message to my brethren of the Confer- ence. Tell them that when they meet next I shall
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be in heaven. Tell them that the gospel I have preached these many years sustains and comforts me now as I am nearing the last river. Christ is mine and I am his. Glory to his name! Tell them I love them fervently with a pure heart. I shall watch and wait for them at the beautiful gate. God bless them every one!" Brother Lea died Au- gust 7, 1891.
REV. DANIEL S. M'DONALD.
R EV. D. S. M'DONALD was born in Clarke County, Ala., January 13, 1836; and died at Madison Station, Ala., December 22, 1895. He joined the Alabama Conference at Selma, Ala., in December, 1857. During the next year he was junior preach- er on the Village Circuit, Mobile District. In 1859 he served the Pikeville Mission, in the Blounts- ville District. At the end of that year he was re- ceived into full connection in the Conference and ordained deacon. In 1860 he served the Jasper Circuit; 1861, Montgomery (colored charge). At the session of the Conference of that year he was ordained elder at Selma, Ala. In 1862-63 he served the Snow Hill Circuit; 1864-66, Oak Hill Circuit; 1867-69, Harpersville Circuit; 1870-72, Shelby Iron Works; 1873, Jasper Circuit; 1874-76, Northport Circuit. He then located; but nearly or quite all of the time he was in the local ranks he served as a supply on some charge near where he re- sided. He was readmitted in December, 1879, and during the following year ( 1880) he was in charge of the Fayette Circuit: In 1881-84 he served Car- rollton Circuit ; . 1885-86, Gordo Circuit; 1887-88, Valley Station; 1889-91, Town Creek; 1892-94, Cullman Station. In 1895 he was appointed to Madison Station, and discharged the duties of a
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pastor there until May, when his health failed, and for many long and weary days he suffered and declined. On Sunday morning of the date above given he passed quietly away. His dust reposes in the cemetery at Madison, in Madison County, Ala.
Brother McDonald was a man of very pleasant manners, sweet Christian spirit, cheerful disposi- tion, firm principles, a true friend without guile or malice. He led a pure life, maintaining a reputa- tion above reproach and suspicion. He was a good shepherd, giving attentive heed to the flock of which he was overseer. He set things in good order by a careful administration of the affairs of the pas- toral charge to which he was appointed. He preached righteousness and taught the people the pure system of salvation.
REV. GEORGE JACKSON MASON.
R EV. GEORGE JACKSON MASON was born in Cas- well County, N. C., July 21, 1816. In his boy- hood his parents moved to Smith County, Tenn., and in 1838 to Shelby County, Ala., where he died in. 1908. On August 7, 1839, he was married to Celia A. Williams. They lived happily together for more than half a century. From this union two children were reared-I. D. Mason, who for many years was an honored lay member of this Confer- ence, but whose decease preceded that of his fa- ther by several years, and Mrs. Wood, with whom he spent the last years of his life.
Brother Mason was licensed to exhort in 1842, and was licensed to preach in 1850. He joined the Alabama Conference at Talladega in 1854. Dur- ing his active ministry he served the following charges : Asheville Circuit, 1855; Hanover Mis- sion, 1856; Coosa River Mission, 1857; White Plains Circuit, 1858; Scottsville Circuit, 1859; Big Sandy Circuit, 1860; Jones Valley Circuit, 1861 ; Oak Mountain, 1862-63; Montevallo Circuit, 1864- 65; Oak Mountain Circuit, 1866; Socapatoy and Chandler Springs, 1867-69; Chandler Springs, 1870-71. With the exception of the latter part of the year 1866, when his health failed and he had to give up his work, he spent seventeen consecutive
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years in the itinerant service. At the close of the year 1871 he was disabled because of throat trou- ble, so that he was placed in the superannuate rela- tion. In this relation he remained to the end of his life.
The Mason family was of Welch ancestry. Brother Mason's father, David Grooms Mason, was a carpenter and a weaver.
From the records that we have it appears that four months' schooling was the limit of Brother Ma- son's educational advantages. But by hard study at home he acquired a liberal English education. In physique he stood out as a mighty giant in the forest of men. He was tall, erect, muscular-just such a one as withstands the ravages of disease for many decades. Except for his throat, he was robust of body to a very old age.
At a camp meeting at Camp Springs, N. C., at the age of nineteen, he was converted to Christ. The joy of the Lord was his strength in life's du- ties. In the declining years of his life he had an abiding peace in the presence of Christ.
While able to remain in the active ministry but a few years, Brother Mason was ever faithful to his Lord and his Church. In 1838 he joined Good Hope Church by certificate, and his name remained there to the day of his death. The impress of his Christian life has been left upon the community where he spent most of his life. His whole life was one of unwavering faith in God.
REV. W. C. HEARN, D.D.
R EV. WILLIAM CROGHAN HEARN, D.D., was born in Tuscaloosa, Ala., January 23, 1829. At the age of seventeen he volunteered for the war with Mexico and served as a brave young soldier with the American forces through that struggle. In 1849 he enlisted as a soldier of the Cross, giving God his heart and joining the Methodist Church. In 1850 he was married to Lucy Peterson, a worthy, noble woman who was his helpmeet and companion for fifty years. In 1854 he was licensed to preach and was admitted into the Alabama Conference at its session in Talladega. Dr. Hearn came from preaching stock. His father's brother, Ebenezer Hearn, came as a missionary to Alabama when it was a roadless forest filled with wild beasts and savage red men, with here and there a settlement of pioneers. To no man, perhaps, does Alabama Methodism owe more than to this heroic spirit, Ebenezer Hearn.
Admitted into the Conference, W. C. Hearn did faithful service on circuits until the great Civil War, when he entered the Confederate army as a chap- lain. So strong were his convictions and so mar- tial was the spirit within him that the chaplain be- came a captain and later a lieutenant colonel. It was not his disposition to boast of his bravery. But
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one thing is certain : he never shirked duty, shunned the enemy, nor avoided a fight.
The war closing, he returned to his ministry. He served successively Demopolis and Dayton, Ala., Co- lumbus, Miss., Pine Bluff and Little Rock, Ark., and Denver, Colo. Returning to Alabama, he was pastor of the First Church, Birmingham, then of Huntsville and Talladega. In 1885, his health hav- ing become permanently impaired, he took the su- perannuate relation, making his home in Talladega, where he remained till his death, March 22, 1908.
There were born to Dr. and Mrs. Hearn seven children. The entire family, except one son, W. D. Hearn, of Pine Bluff, Ark., has passed over the river.
There were many beautiful traits in Dr. Hearn's character. He loved little children and they loved him. He was a warm friend, and for a friend he was ready to make any sacrifice. He had a special fondness for young men. This love for young men led him into their military companies and fraternal organizations, and he was their chaplain in all of these orders. The young men respected him, and his presence and prayers had a restraining, helpful influence over them. He was optimistic in his vi- sions of the future. While he saw many evils, yet his faith in God and man made him believe that right would triumph. He would not permit himself to grow old. He liked to say : "I am seventy-nine years young." In his last illness, which was of several
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weeks' duration, he expressed himself as "willing to live, but ready to die." In his delirium shortly before the end he lived over some of the stirring events of his long life. He was in the midst of the battle, in the shock of the conflict. His orders to his men were given and then the victory won. He was ministering unto the wounded and dying. Then the scene would change. He was once more the ambassador of Christ, once more he was per- suading men at the camp meeting. Under the brush arbor he preached and sang and shouted. He saw the altar crowded with penitents; he made room for others coming. The watchers at his side could not keep him in bed. In spite of them he would leap up and throw himself on his knees and cry aloud in praver for the salvation of men. And thus he came down to die.
Dr. Hearn was very human, impulsive, emotional, quick to speak, hasty to act, full of temper. His life was not free from mistakes. His nature seems to have been very much like that of the apostle Peter. But the Master was patient with Peter, and the re- sult is known. The Lord was also patient with this militant spirit. Granite is difficult to carve, but it is capable of a high degree of polish. God's grace gave Dr. Hearn the victory. This veteran of two wars, this hero of the Cross has met and conquered the last enemy. God giveth his beloved sleep. His body rests beside that of his devoted wife in Talla- dega Cemetery. Honored be his memory !
REV. EDGAR W. JONES, D.D.
R EV. EDGAR WILEY JONES, D.D., was born April 29, 1840; and died February 1I, 1908. He was married to Miss Annie Manning in November, 1872. He was licensed to preach in 1870, joined the North Alabama Conference in 1871, and was appointed to the Lineville Circuit for the years 1872- 73. In 1874-75 he was appointed to the Louina Circuit; 1876, Daviston Circuit; 1877, Weaver's Station; 1878-79, Lineville Circuit; 1880-83, Hack- neyville Circuit; 1884, Hartsell Circuit; 1885, Trin- ity; 1886-89, Florence District; 1890, Birmingham Circuit; 1891-92, Somerville Circuit; 1893, Camp Hill; 1894, Blount Springs; 1895, Blountsville and Hanceville; 1896, Mount Pinson and Remlap; 1897, Asheville Circuit. At the end of this year he took the superannuate relation.
Dr. Jones was ordained deacon by Bishop Dog- gett on November 24, 1872, and was ordained elder by Bishop H. N. McTyeire on December 17, 1876. For ten years he was a superannuated preacher, preaching when he could and lecturing often, assist- ing in revivals, filling the pulpit of any of the pas- tors at their request when they were absent. He was a true man; he would not do a little thing of the vile sort; he loved the higher and nobler things and labored to attain them. Dr. Jones was a man
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of very strong convictions, clear-cut in expressing and courageous in supporting them. No man ever doubted where he stood, for he expressed him- self with that boldness that is characteristic of true courage. He stood unmoved and undistrubed by the denunciation of his enemies. He went through the four years from 1861 to 1865, that awful period of carnage and war, as brave a sol- dier as ever wore the gray. As his courage was beautiful in the defense of his country, it was glo- rious in the service of his Lord.
Those who read his articles on "The Eighteenth Alabama Regiment" in the Jones Valley Times will remember many notable incidents referred to therein of bloody battles, great suffering, and self-denial en- dured. He established the Jones Valley Times in June, 1904. In this new field, at the time he en- tered it, there seemed to be a demand for just such a man, and in a very few issues of the paper the people found that that man had come upon the arena in the person of Dr. Jones. In this editorial field he proved himself of great worth. He probed into the very center of political corruption, official crook- edness and governmental taint, and published it to the world ; and while his enemies laughed at his bold, strong utterances, they must admit that his paper did much good in the great prohibition fight in Jef- ferson County as well as on other lines of reform.
But the most beautiful part of Brother Jones's character was found in those intimate, sacred re-
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lationships of husband and father. He loved his home. His wife was dearer than all others. His children were the joy of his heart. In the death of his son I suppose he met one of the severest trials of his life. I doubt if he ever was reconciled to it entirely. His high estimate of womanhood and that degree of courtesy and honor that is called forth from every noble man marked him as a man whose heart and intellect had been touched and fashioned after that of his divine Lord and Master.
To those who were looking for the noble and good in man they found in Dr. E. W. Jones a man of noble worth. But his work is done, his battles fought, and he has been called to receive his re- ward. As he was descending into the valley of death, speaking to one of his former pastors, he said : "All is right, and I will soon be at rest." "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his."
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