USA > Arkansas > History of Methodism in Arkansas > Part 24
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There was a camp-ground in Columbia County known as the Columbia camp-ground, that was noted for many years for its fine religious effect upon the surrounding country. Many of the old preachers and soldiers will remember the Con- ference camp-meeting held at this place in the fall of 1863.
These notices and recollections of the old camp-grounds are sufficient to give the reader some idea of the gracious effects of these camp-meetings upon the religious condition of the country. If the necessity for their existence should entirely cease, making it imprudent to attempt to hold them, that would not destroy the fact that at one time they were such a wonderful power for good to the Church. Method- ism has the ability to adopt any means that can be employed to carry the gospel to the people, and when any agency has lost its utility to lay it aside, and fully recognize the good it accomplished in its day.
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CHAPTER XX.
CONFERENCES OF 1887 -- JAMES F. HALL -- AUGUSTUS R.
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WINFIELD -- SAMUEL PARKER -- TOWNS AND CITIES -- LIT-
TLE ROCK -EARLY SETTLEMENT-FIRST PREACHING - LIST OF PASTORS-THE AMES-STANTON ORDER-CHURCH ON SPRING STREET AND TWELFTH -- WINFIELD MEMORIAL - ASBURY CHAPEL - LAYMEN -- ELECT LADIES - OTHER METHODISMS.
The Arkansas Conference for 1887 met at Fayetteville, November 16-21, Bishop Galloway, President ; John W. Boswell, Secretary. J. C. Weaver, John D. Edwards, Benja- min A. Few, Young A. Gilmore, James M. Hawley, James H. Myers, John H. Sturdy, and Crowder B. Moseley were admitted on trial. Readmitted, Edward A. Tabor, John M. Clayton and Stephen Dykes. By transfer, P. T. Mc- Whorter, H. J. Brown, Abram Long and A. C. Millar.
The Arkansas Conference lost a faithful and devoted preacher in the death of James F. Hall. The following memoir was furnished the Conference :
" Bro. Hall was born in Fairfield District, South Carolina, in 1832. He was converted in 1851. He was licensed to preach in 1857, and was admitted into the Little Rock Con- ference in 1861. He filled in the order named the following circuits : Richland, Buena Vista, Louisville, El Dorado and Lapile. He transferred to the Arkansas Conference in 1870, and was stationed at Dardanelle. He filled in the order named the following appointments: Quitman Cir- cuit, Yellville District, Fayetteville Circuit, Viney Grove Circuit, Fayetteville District, Conway Station, and Quitman Circuit. During the year 1886 he realized that he was the victim of cancer. He bore his affliction with great patience,
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and continued to grow worse until his death, on May 17, 1887. His active ministry embraced a period of thirty years. He was a good writer. His contributions to our Church papers were thoughtful and well written. His faith grew stronger as the end grew nearer. His last hours were filled with peace and joy.
The White River Conference for this year met at Searcy, December 5, 1887, Bishop Galloway, President. The follow- ing were admitted on trial : James A. Brown, Francis M. Smith, John Eidson, John H. Anderson, Thomas J. Settle, Walter W. Hendrix.
The Little Rock Conference for this year met at Little Rock, December 12, 1887, Bishop Galloway, President; J. R. Moore, Secretary. The following were admitted on trial : John W. Cline, George S. Sexton, Benjamin F. Scott, Jasper M. Pinnell, Jessup L. Johnson, R. J. Raiford, George W. Rice and Benjamin A. Few.
The Little Rock Conference for 1888 met at Camden, November 21-26, Bishop Key, President. Flavius J. Shaw, Kavanaugh W. Dodson, Charles W. Drake, Franklin Moore, William F. Evans, James B. Williams, George S. Turrentine and Edward Rushing were admitted on trial. There were two deaths during the year-Augustus R. Winfield and Samuel H. Parker.
Dr. Winfield was for many years one of the most conspicu- ous figures in Arkansas Methodism. He was born in Sus- sex County, Virginia, in 1822, but at an early age moved with his father to Tennessee, and settled near LaGrange. He studied law, and receiving his license, began the practice of his profession. In a short while, however, feeling that he was called to the work of the ministry, he was licensed to preach, and was admitted on trial in the Memphis Conference, and appointed to the Oxford Circuit as junior preacher. In 1847, to the Chulahoma Circuit. In 1848, LaGrange Circuit. In 1849 he was transferred to the Arkansas Conference, and
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stationed at Batesville. In 1850 he was appointed to the Princeton Circuit. During this year there was the most re- markable revival of religion that ever occurred in that por- · tion of the State; the printed minutes show that there was an actual increase of 350 in the membership of the Church as the result of the revival. Although it has been a little more than forty years ago, the old people of that country delight to speak of the work of the young preacher who held such a warm place in the hearts of the people. From this time until the day of his death no man stood out more prom- inently before the people of Arkansas. To write his history would be in a large degree to write the history of Arkansas Methodism. During these years he traveled nearly every district in the Little Rock Conference, and filled nearly every prominent station. At some time during his ministry he filled the stations of Batesville, Fort Smith, Little Rock, Camden and Hot Springs, and traveled the Little Rock, Camden, Pine Bluff and Arkadelphia Districts. He was for a time President of St. Johns' College, and agent for the Arkansas Female College. His last work was editor of the Arkansas Methodist. The following extracts from the " His- tory of Arkansas," by Fay Hempstead, will give the reader an idea of the estimation in which he was held by the peo- ple of Arkansas :
"One of the glories of Methodism in Arkansas has been the ministration of Rev. Dr. Augustus R. Winfield. He was one of the most eloquent divines who ever adorned the pulpit in any country. As an earnest, fervent exhorter his equal was rarely to be found. His method of speaking was entirely extemporaneous, yet it was as logically stated and as hap- pily phrased as if he had bestowed the utmost care upon it beforehand. His delivery was rapid and emphatic ; he was never at a loss for a word or an idea, and in the most vehe- ment torrent of speech there was never a word in the wrong place, nor an idea clumsily presented. Speaking was his
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peculiar fort, and he was singularly gifted in the way of moving assemblies by his utterances." His death occurred December 26, 1887, at the age of 65 years. At his funeral, on the afternoon of December 28, from the Eighth Street Methodist Church, all the ministers from the city and the neighboring towns and cities were in attendance and took part in the ceremonies. The whole city seemed to be moved with the most profound sympathy, and all felt that a great and good man had fallen. Dr. Winfield loved Arkansas, and the State never had a better and truer friend; even those who could not always agree with him in his measures for the welfare of the Church and society, felt that he was a true friend to all that was good and noble and pure. The following tribute from his old friend and companion in toil, Dr. Hunter, deserves a place in history. The venerable man, then in his 68th year, turning to a group of his brethren seated on the platform, said :
" Of all of you whom I see here today I ought to be chief mourner. He was the last one left to me out of all those who went out with me in the strength of youth, nearly a half century ago, to labor in the harvests of the Lord. I alone am left like a lonely tree standing desolate when all its fellows are fallen, and I too shall speedily follow him. Until then, my brother, farewell."
The elegant church building on Fifteenth and Center streets was very appropriately named Winfield Memo- rial Church, in memory of his services to the Church in Arkansas, and especially to that congregation which was the last he served as pastor, and from which he went to take charge of the Arkansas Methodist.
Samuel H. Parker was received on trial in the Little Rock Conference in 1882, and traveled in the order named the following circuits: Palestine and Galloway Circuits. His health failing while on this work he was granted a super- annuated relation. His death, which occurred during this
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year, was peaceful and triumphant. Samuel H. Parker was a plain, practical preacher. He was everywhere recognized as a pure, good man.
It will be the purpose of the writer in the following pages to trace the history of Methodism in the towns and cities of the State, and in this way learn something of its influence upon the surrounding country. This will necessarily lead us to speak of circuits adjacent to these centers of influence, and thereby learn something of its history in every part of the State.
TOWNS AND CITIES.
The glory of the Methodist Church is that it is. adapted to. every condition of society. It is equally at home in the city, town, or country place. There are some forms of church organization that can flourish only in one condition of society. They are adapted to the conditions that exist in city life, but not to the rural districts. Others can flourish in old-settled communities where the order of society is es- tablished, but are not able to grapple with the difficulties that exist in frontier settlements or thinly populated commu- ties. There are others that flourish in country places, but are not adapted to the towns and cities. Then there are other forms that flourish among the illiterate but find no fa- vor among the refined and educated, and there are yet oth- ers that find favor among the educated that cannot reach the masses of the people. Methodism has a message for all alike, and has found favor with every class of society. It comes to man as man, and not as belonging to a class. From the beginning it has had a mission for the dwellers in the city as well as for the people of the country. Every town and city is the center of an influence in politics, in trade, in social life, and in religious life. The village is the center of influence for the surrounding neighborhood. The country town is the center of influence for the villages and neighborhoods of the county. Then there are large
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commercial centers that control the trade for large sections of country. These have it in their power to largely influence the social and religious condition of the surrounding coun- try. Every large town or city does wield a large influence over the religious views and practices of the surrounding country. They are or ought to be radiating centers of light for the people around them. The history of our towns and cities is very largely the history of the surrounding coun- try. Estimate the condition of the city and we have a fair idea of the condition of the adjacent country. The begin- nings of Methodism in any particular locality are usually to 1 be found in the town or city near by.
I have felt that it would aid the student of the history of Methodism in Arkansas to learn something of the origin and progress of Methodism in the principal towns and cities of the State.
The policy of Methodism is to seize upon the centers of influence, and control them in the interest of the religion of Christ.
In some of the towns of Arkansas I have not been able to obtain such information as I could have desired, and in many instances have had to depend upon the minutes of the Conferences for such information as I could obtain. In every instance I have tried to give as full an account as the means at my hand would permit me to do.
That I have not given too much importance to the his- tory of the Church in the towns and cities will appear when we remember that one of the great problems of the day is the moral, social and religious condition of the towns and cities of the country. The changed conditions of life within the last few years, and the tendency of the people to flock to the cities and towns have imposed a larger degree of re- sponsibility upon the Church than in former times. The easy and rapid modes of communication have brought the towns and the country nearer together than ever before.
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LITTLE ROCK.
As the capital and largest city within the State of Arkan- sas, Little Rock will necessarily command a large degree of interest upon the part of the student of Arkansas Method- ism. As the center of civil and political authority in the State, it has had a large influence in moulding the public sentiment of the people.
As early as 1814 Peter Franks and his wife Rachel, and their children, lived on a tract of 400 acres of land, " situated on the southwardly margin of the Arkansas, at or near a place called Little Rocks." In 1817 Edmund Hogan, George Stewart, William Lewis and Benjamin Murphy had settled near where Little Rock now stands. In the latter part of 1819 Moses Austin had a small house built of slabs, some of which were set up endways. Rev. Cephas Washburn, who came to Little Rock in 1820, says : "This house and one other, ' a small cabin made of round logs with the bark on,' were the only houses then in Little Rock." The latter stood near what is now the corner of Scott and Fourth streets.
" The first sermon, of which we have any account, ever preached in Little Rock, was by the Rev. Cephas Wash- burn, a Presbyterian minister. Mr. Washburn was on his way to the Cherokee country to establish a mission station among the Indians, which was subsequently established at Dwight, in Pope County, near where Russellville now stands.
" He stopped for a day on the opposite side of the river at a Mr. Martins. On the next morning he was waited on by a committee of gentlemen who invited him to preach a Fourth of July sermon at Little Rock. He accepted the in- vitation, and preached in the log cabin, to an audience of fourteen men. The date of this sermon was July 4, 1820. Judge Daniel T. Witter says that a little later the same year, two keel-boats each containing a company of mission- aries bound for the Indian country, and under the directiou
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of the Rev. Messrs. Vail and Chapman, and numbering in all some thirty or forty persons, reached here. They were suffering very much from sickness contracted on the river. They determined to wait here until autumn. The arrival of these missionaries added much to the tone and material of our society. There were several well educated and intelli- gent ladies and gentlemen in the company, who did all they could to render themselves pleasant and useful to us in our secluded and lonely condition. We had divine service every Sabbath, and could once more feel that we were again in a Christian country."
We have no means of ascertaining when the first Metho- dist society was organized in Little Rock, or by whom the first sermon was preached.
Rev. Mahlon Bewley says of Little Rock in 1831 : "The only church in the place was a log cabin belonging to the Presbyterians. In this house the first Methodist society worshiped in Little Rock. The first Methodist Church in Little Rock was built in 1833. Before this time they had worshiped in a frame house near the Point of Rocks. The first appointment for Little Rock Circuit was in 1833. Pre- vious to this time Little Rock was included in the Arkansas Circuit.
The general minutes gives us the following succession of pastors for Little Rock :
In 1833, William G. Duke; in 1834, Martin Wells; in 1835- 36, William P. Ratcliffe. Little Rock was organized as a station in 1836; the membership at that time numbered thirty-six whites and forty-five colored. In 1838, William H. Bump; in 1839, Benjamin H. Hester; in 1840, Robert W. Cole; in 1841, Andrew Hunter; in 1842-43, H. R. Kern; in 1844-45, Andrew Hunter. At the close of this year the membership was sixty-six whites and 141 colored. In 1846, John F. Truslow ; in 1847, Charles P. Turrentine; in 1848, John Harrell; in 1849-50, William P. Ratcliffe; in 1851-52,
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Augustus R. Winfield; in 1853, W. C. Young; in 1854, Alex- ander B. Winfield ; in 1855, -; in 1856, H. R. Withers ; in 1857-58, D. L. G. Mckenzie ; in 1859, -; in 1860, Julius Stanley ; in 1861-62, D. L. G. Mckenzie; in 1863-64, Richard F. Colburn. The congregation at Little Rock, in common with other pastoral charges throughout the State, was greatly reduced by the losses that occurred during the civil war; the statistical report for 1861 was 185 white members. We have no other reports until 1866, when there was reported only 132 white members.
What was known as the Ames-Stanton order was enforced in Little Rock during the war. The pastor of the M. E. Church, South, was forcibly dispossessed of his pulpit and the house was turned over to the M. E. Church, and the pul- pit was filled by the appointment of a preacher from that Church. The annals of the Church furnish but few parallels to this outrage upon the part of one body of Christians towards another. Bishop Ames of the M. E. Church pro- cured an order from Secretary Stanton authorizing him to take possession of the churches belonging to the M. E. Church, South. In accordance with this order he seized upon the Southern Methodist Churches in Nashville, New Orleans, Little Rock and many other cities, and placed preachers of his own Church in possession of their pulpits. At the time that this order was being enforced Dr. Richard F. Colburn was pastor of our church in Little Rock; he was forcibly driven from his pulpit and the house turned. over to the M. E. Church, who continued to occupy it until sometime after the close of the war. In fact they never re- linquished possession of the house until an order was pro- cured from President Johnson commanding them to restore the house to its lawful owners. When Dr. Colburn was driven from his church by the authorities of the M. E. Church, sustained by the military, he accepted the invitation of the members of the Christian Church, whose pulpit was.
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vacant at the time, and continued to minister to his congre- . gation in that church until his own church was restored by the order of President Johnson. In the case of Dr. Colburn the plea of disloyalty was not used, for he was permitted to continue his ministrations in another house, without moles- tation. It was simply an effort to obtain possession of the property of the M. E. Church, South, by taking advantage of the disturbed condition of the country.
While there was a very small number of the members of this Church who went over to the M. E. Church, the great body of the Church remained faithful to the principles that characterized the M. E. Church, South, and when the storm of war had passed over, they formed the nucleus around which the Church was gathered for future success. The ap- pointment for Little Rock in 1866 was Columbus O. Steele ; in 1867, Robert S. Hunter; in 1868, Second street, James L. Denton ; Ratcliffe's Chapel, B. O. Davis ; in 1869, Second street, H. B. Frazee; Ratcliffe's Chapel, B. O. Davis. It will be seen that the growth of the City of Little Rock was such that the interests of Methodism demanded the organization of another society, and the erection of another house of worship. A mission was formed in 1868, and in 1869 the society began the erection of a house to be known as Rat- cliffe Chapel-this was on Tenth and Main streets. In 1870 we have at Second street, H. B. Frazee ; at Ratcliffe's Chapel, Josephus Loving. In 1871 the congregation abandoned the site where Ratcliffe Chapel stood and built a neat frame church on the corner of Twelfth and Spring streets. A large congregation was soon collected, and an excellent society was organized, which exerted a fine influence in that part of the city. The appointments for the Little Rock charges were, for Second street, 1872 and 1873, William C. Hearn ; 1874, Andrew Hunter; 1875 and 1876, James Atkins; 1877, L. M. Lewis; 1878, E. N. Watson. The congregation on Second street sold their house in 1878, and built a large, ele-
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gant, brick church on Eighth and Center, which was en- larged by the erection of a chapel in 1886, making it one of the largest and best-arranged churches in the city. In 1879 and 1880, C. C. Godden ; 1881-1884, Horace Jewell; 1885- 1888, W. G. Miller; 1889-1890, M. B. Chapman. The ap- pointments for Twelfth and Spring streets-1872 and 1873, H. H. Watson; 1874, S. N. Burns; 1875-1878, Alonzo Monk ; 1879, C. F. Evans; 1880-1883, A. R. Winfield; 1884, E. N. Evans. This congregation sold their house in 1884, and built an elegant brick church on Fifteenth and Center. 1885-1886, A. D. Jenkins ; 1887-1889, A. O. Evans; 1890, R. R. Moore.
The history of Methodism in Little Rock would be very incomplete without a notice of some of the devoted laymen and elect ladies who have in the past years contributed so largely to the growth and prosperity of the Church in the capital city of the State. Among the prominent members of the Methodist Church at an early day were Barney Knigh- ton and his wife, some of whose descendants are now living in Little Rock and the surrounding country. Mother Knigh- ton was for many years a noted figure in Methodist circles in Little Rock. Charles P. Bertrand was an active and de- voted member and did much to advance the cause of Method- ism at an early day. Judge Elbert English, S. S. Sanger and Noah Badgett were for many years connected with this Church. The name of Conway has been a familiar one to the people of Arkansas for many years. As early as 1823 the name of Henry Conway appears in connection with the public affairs of the State. James S. Conway was the first Governor of the State. Other members of the Conway family have occupied prominent places in the affairs of the State. These were the sons of Thomas and Ann Conway. Mrs. Ann Conway was a prominent figure in Little Rock Methodism, and, in connection with other elect women, did much to establish the Church in the capital city. For
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many years in old age this venerable mother in Israel occu- pied a chair near the pulpit, where her very presence was a benediction to the congregation. It is said that for a long time after her death the chair in which she sat at church was preserved in its place-the empty chair in profound respect for her who had occupied it so faithfully for so many years.
Mrs. E. J. Langtree was for many years a devoted and active member of this Church, and at the time that this writer was the pastor of the First Methodist Church in Lit- tle Rock she was teaching the grand-children of some of her first Sunday-school pupils. John Karns and wife were among the first Methodists of Little Rock, and frequently speak of the old preachers that ministered to the flock in an early day. At a later date William Fields, Dr. McAlmont, Isaac Mills, Judge W. C. Ratcliffe, D. G. Fones, C. S. Collins, Dr. Bond, Dr. Murrell, S. N. Marshall and others have been prominent in Church circles. Many names have been omitted of equal prominence, but these are given as repre- sentatives of the type of Methodists that have lived for a. number of years in the capital city. Of late years there has been a large addition to the membership of the churches in the city.
About the year 1888 the friends of Methodism in Little Rock felt that the two churches, First Church and Winfield Memorial, were not sufficient to meet the growing demands of the city. Some of the leading spirits of the two congre- gations united in the effort to organize the third congrega- tion in the city. At first a small building was rented in the western part of the city and a small missionary appropria- tion was secured to begin the work. Edward Winfield was first appointed to the charge and remained until he left for the Vanderbilt University, when J. B. McDonald was em- ployed to take charge for the remainder of the year. In 1889 William A. Steele was appointed to this charge. Under this wise and prudent managemen the church has grown into
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a strong and active organization under the name of the Asbury charge. This congregition have a neat frame house of worship in the western part of the city, and have succeeded in building up an excellent congregation.
For many years Methodism labored under great difficul- ties in Little Rock. There were a number of unpleasant incidents that occurred, and unfortunate divisions arose that greatly hindered its progress. Of late years, however, under the wise and prudent management of such men as Godden, Miller, Chapman and Smart in the pulpit of First Church, and Winfield, Jenkins, E. N. Evans, A. O Evans, R. R. Moore, at Winfield Memorial, and W. A. Steele, at As- bury, Little Rock Methodism has rapidly advanced to the front and is now one of the strong factors in the religious progress of the city.
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