USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > The retrospect. A glance at thirty years of the history of Howard street Methodist Episcopal church of San Francisco > Part 8
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PECK MEMORIAL.
and the Eden groves flourish. Yes, alive to shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars, forever. Alive to behold the King in his beauty, and witness his wonderful coronation by the armies of heaven. Alive to go on from glory to glory as eternal ages roll. Alive to take in the swelling symphonies of angelic choirs, and feel the ravishing joy which those symphonies impart. Alive to wit- ness the unfolding of what had been mys- terious providences in life's history, and to see how fully those seemingly hard provi- dences had conduced to the highest good. So is he alive to-day, and so will he ever be alive as eternal cycles move. Forever with the Lord, Amen-so let it be.
ADDRESS BY REV. DR. WYTHE.
Among the apostolic men connected with the early history of the Christian Church, we find representatives of every class of Christian ministers. Barnabas appears most nearly to typify the chief characteristics of Bishop Peck. This surname of Barnabas, signifying son of exhortation or consolation, was given by the apostles to Joseph, a Levite of Cyprus. We first read of him
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as being at Jerusalem about the time of the Ascension, and selling his land to bring the price of it into the common fund of the church. After this he was sent to Antioch to encourage the disciples, and it is said of him that he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. His succeeding history is connected with the missionary labors of St. Paul. His commanding ap- pearance led the people at Lystra, who supposed that the gods had come down to them in the likeness of men, to call him Jupiter, while Paul, who was the chief speaker, was termed Mercurius.
His personal appearance, his liberality, his comforting exhortations, his personal faith, the pureness of his life, and the evi- dent unction of the Holy Ghost, suggest to us the characteristics of the friend and Bishop whose loss we mourn to-day.
I have been desired to give some personal reminiscences of Bishop Peck, with a brief analysis of his character ; but I realize that whatever I may say will fall far short of being a portrait, but will only be an imper- fect sketch. The remembrance of goodness in our friends should stimulate our efforts for personal excellence, and since our de- parted friend was a bright example of
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unselfish devotion, even an imperfect review of his character will be useful.
My first acquaintance with Bishop Peck was in January, 1863-a little over twenty years ago. I had heard him preach before that, and had once casually met him when acting as visiting committee at Dickinson College, Carlisle. It was about the darkest period of the war of the rebellion, and accumulated disasters had discouraged many. Greenbacks were down to forty cents on the dollar. I had been transferred from the medical charge at Camp Parole, Alexandria, to the Department of the Pacific, and had narrowly escaped capture by the Alabama. The government owed me four months' back salary and transpor- tation, and I had to pay my own passage- money and that of my family, in addition to the sacrifice of my business, library, and household goods at a forced sale. I had been appointed surgeon at Camp Union. Sacramento, and attached to the staff of General Wright ; but I had become reduced to the last twenty dollars when I arrived with my family at the hotel. My Presid- ing Elder and the Preachers' Meeting at Philadelphia had given me letters of recom- mendation to the ministers of this coast. and
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with these I started to find Dr. Peck, who was the pastor of the Sixth street Church. A heartier and more brotherly greeting I never received. I told him frankly my circumstances, and he gave me judicious advice. Not content with this, he aided me to find a suitable home for my family, went with me and became security for the pay- ment of my household goods, and in all possible ways showed the kindness of a brother in my need. His conduct in this instance indicated the real nature of the man.
He was intensely patriotic. His voice and influence sustained the government all through the war. He was profoundly im- pressed with the conviction that the cause of the Nation was a righteous one, and that God would lead it to a successful issue. In my own case he saw the claim, not only of friendship, but of patriotism. Had opportunity served, he would have sacri- ficed position and property, and even life if necessary, for the nation. As it was, he used position and property for the nation's cause. Few men in California did more to uphold the government, even when the case seemed desperate.
He was full of brotherly kindness. No
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one made his acquaintance without realiz- ing that. His was no narrow, niggardly spirit, looking out for opportunities for self- aggrandizement. His sympathies went out in a full stream, and attracted to him people of all classes of society. No man was better known nor more esteemed here, during the eight years he spent upon this coast, than Dr. Peck.
He was generous even to those who op- posed him. No man can escape antagon- isms, and the more noble the spirit, or more conspicuous the person, the greater will be the liability to captious criticism and perse- cution from the envious or the malicious. Dr. Peck did not escape from such attacks, but he never allowed them to disturb his equanimity. He made allowance for the weaknesss and temptations of human nature, and never suffered a spirit of retaliation to irritate his breast. Like the man in white. described by Bunyan, against whom the black man was constantly throwing mud, the mud rolled to his feet and the raiment remained white as before.
He was a truly Christian man. He was not merely attached to Christ, but he had experienced the renewing power of Christ. The unction of the Holy One was a reality
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in his soul. His life was one of prayer and communion with spiritual things. All he had was consecrated to God, and he enjoyed a constant assurance that his consecration was accepted. During several years of close intimacy with him I found his relig- ious spirit and experience a personal ben- ediction, and I have heard many testify to the same thing.
As a Christian minister he might be sur- passed in learning and natural eloquence. but few equalled him in that fervid eloquence which results from the inspiring presence of the Holy Spirit, and none excelled him in fidelity. While associated with him as a fellow-laborer in San Francisco, I was often led to admire his earnest, persistent zeal, and indefatigable efforts to promote the work of Christ.
He was naturally a leader among men. His executive ability was of a very high order. This was recognized at Sacramento, when, during a dead-lock, as it was called, in the legislature, the political leaders were willing to compromise by offering him the United States Senatorship. He came to me that evening for my opinion, and I ad- vised him to pray over it, and act as con- science dietated. The next morning he
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told me that he had decided to decline the flattering offer, as it would divorce him from the ministry. I confess that he then appeared to me sublime. Such a sacrifice of personal ambition could only have pro- ceeded from the heroism of faith.
I remember, also, a time when his capac- ity for administration was severely tested. It was at the General Conference of 1872, shortly after his election as bishop. The members of that Conference were very nu- merous, as it was the first time that laity and ministers had been associated in the supreme council of our church. The hall was large, and speakers sometimes so irre- pressible that it was difficult to preserve parliamentary order. Bishop Peck was to preside for the first time, and, as he had been the unanimous choice of the Pacific Coast delegation, it was natural that some solicitude should be felt concerning his suc- cess. Able men and important questions had to be held firmly in the hands of the president. But our bishop proved himself to be the peer of the rest, and congratula- tions were heartily exchanged. After this, there was no doubt of his ability to govern.
He was tender und simple as a child. All great minds have child-like simplicity,
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which renders them incapable of guile. Dr. Peck rose to high position among his brethren by no dubious, crooked or slimy ways, but by pursuing the even tenor of his life with a frank and hearty sincerity. His simplicity of soul could not be comprehended by those who cultivate the art of conceal- ment and political intrigue. The difference between them is as that between the owl and the eagle-one delighting in the pure sunlight and open sky, and the other seek- ing the dark recess in the night.
He had a cosmopolitan und liberal spirit. His sympathies were not confined to Meth- odism ; and he was loved and honored in other denominations for his Christian cour- tesies as well as his abilities. Yet he loved the Methodist doctrine and polity as the best exponent of Christian faith, and the best evangelizing system in the world.
His method of contributing to religious education is a model for those who have but a moderate income. A few men only become rich, and if we depend wholly upon these for the endowment of our needy col- leges and other necessary evangelizing agen- cies, it will be imperfectly done, to say nothing of the slavery to rich men which necessarily follows such dependence. Dr.
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Peck was not a rich man, but he sagacious- ly planned to make the most out of his op- portunities. He and his beloved wife agreed to carry a joint life insurance policy in favor of Syracuse University, which, at the Bishop's death, obtains a considerable sum. Other benevolences were of frequent occurrence during his life. Our own Uni- versity of the Pacific was not forgotten, and personal acts of generosity can be recalled by others besides myself.
He died May 18th, at his home in Syr- acuse, N. Y., of pneumonia. Particulars of his last hours have not yet reached us, but we are sure that he died as he lived- a noble, generous, commanding, patriotic man, and an carnest, tender, faithful, child- like Christian.
Beloved friend and Bishop, farewell ! Thou hast gone to the land where no mis- understanding exists ; where no envious de- traction poisons the air with its breath : where all the inhabitants " see as they are seen, and know as they are known"; and where the Lamb appears " in the midst of the throne." Thou hast joined thy fellow- workers who labored to lay true founda- tions for religion here. Owen, Bannister, Thomas, Blain, Tansy, Maclay, and Guard
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have welcomed thee, with hundreds more of thy companions and friends. If it please God we shall join thee and them ere long. Till then, farewell !
JAS. W. WHITING. Present Superintendent Sunday School.
1
HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.
As we approach the history of the Sunday School we are met by a remarkable fact, which seems to give a historic unity to the school for the thirty-two years of its exist- ence. Four only, of the original or organ- izing members of the Church, remain-viz : Seneca Jones and wife and J. W. Whiting and wife. The first named was really the first Superintendent, so far as the parentage of the movement is concerned ; and the last named is the present Superintendent. Brother Jones and wife resided near the corner of Essex and Folsom streets, where the Folsom Street Church was afterwards erected. Here at their own home, on or about April 14, 1851, they gathered some of the children of the neighborhood, and regularly met them in Sunday School, until the organization of the Society on Market street.
At this time, naturally, the little Home Mission was merged into the new movement, and on the first Sunday in January, 1852,
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HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.
M. C. Briggs, for a brief period in charge of the Society, organized the Sunday School formally, by appointing M. E. Willing its Superintendent.
At the first quarterly meeting of the charge, the pastor, G. S. Phillips, reported the average attendance of scholars as about fifteen, with one hundred volumes in the library. The meetings of the Society and Sunday School were held in what was known as the Happy Valley School House, which was kindly placed at the service of the infant church organization, and con- tinued to shelter the little fledgeling until it found more spacious accomodations in the Bush street School-house the following year. This last named building stood on the site now occupied by H. S. Crocker & Co's stationery store.
The first statistical report furnished, bearing date August 1, 1852, is as follows : Number of scholars, 25 ; Officers and teach- ers, 10; Members of Bible class, 5; Total, 40: Volumes in Library, 100; Papers taken, 25. General remarks : " Prospects seem to be brightening."
About this time M. E. Willing resigned the superintendency of the school, and Horace Hoag was chosen to the position.
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In December of this year, Mrs. John Burns, now an honored and useful member of our church in San Jose, gathered about fifteen of the younger members of the school into an infant class. She says : " Most of the children of San Francisco were living just about the school-house, in that part of the straggling city known as Happy Valley. The first hymn I taught them was : 'There is a Happy Land, far,
far away.' At the close of the school, a bright little boy of five years came to me, and with an anxious countenance said : ' Teacher, is it as far to Heaven as it is to the States ?' He had come all the way from Boston via Cape Horn, and doubtless was feeling unwilling to start on another journey involving so many weeks of weary travel and sea-sickness. The child's name was Hindley. He lived to be a man of thirty years, and then passed to the ' Happy Land' not so very 'far away ' as childhood had inferred from the terms of the death- less poem he had sung. I have not regret- ted the effort made to meet that little class, although it involved the difficult task of treading through the sand, which was so generously stored in drifts and piles all about that part of the young, and yet
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HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.
enterprising city. How often I had to stop and hold my position against the contesting winds and drifting sand, and wait for a ' lull ' to enable me to proceed. 'But God was the strength of my heart,' and I was glad to labor for Him, and . sow in the morn' the seed, which, I trust, will reveal some fruitage in the Heavenly garner."
The above reminds me of the outflow of the heart of a dear personal friend, Rev. Dwight Williams, of the Central New York Conference, which I will venture to insert as a fitting climax to this fragment of the early history of our infant class.
POEM.
The love of a child, The love of a child,
I know I am oft by the passion beguiled ; I know it is bliss To feel its soft kiss,
No balm of affection is sweeter than this ; And Jesus to win it spread out his dear hands, And children now love him in heavenly lands.
The child of the poor, A smile at thy door May fill his sad heart with joy brimming o'er ; Oh, do not refrain From soothing its pain,
Nor send it on moaning or pining again ; Look down in those eyes, and see if there be No image of gladness to shine back on thee.
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HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Did you know 'twere a bliss,
Too precious to miss,
When you pass to the realms of the angels from this, From little hands white, And eyes beaming bright, To drink the sweet nectar of heaven's delight ?
Forever, forever a joy it will be, A fountain from childhood land flowing to thee.
Away and away, No longer delay ;
Find gems that will glisten in heaven's bright day. Oh, yes, they will cling, To the crowns which you bring, And cast at the feet of Jesus, your King ; The heart of a child, oh win it by love, To bask in the sunshine forever above.
The heart of a child, Though wanton and wild,
Oh do not turn from it and leave it defiled,
But touch if you can, By some little plan, The heart that will beat with the throb of a man, Oh, win it to love thee where golden years roll, And love is forever the joy of the soul.
The first infant baptism enrolled in con- nection with the charge was administered by Bishop Ames, on the 24th of January of this year, while the service was yet held at the Happy Valley School-house, where the Bishop preached his first sermon on the Pacific coast. On this Sabbath the Quar- terly Conference was held, and the Sunday school report rendered in connection there-
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HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.
with by G. S. Phillips, Pastor, indicated the following facts : One Sunday school with eighty scholars ; fifteen teachers, and one hundred and fifty volumes in the library. This quarterly meeting organized the first Board of Trustees, and the society took or- ganic form as the Second Methodist Episco- pal Church of San Francisco.
The growth of the Sunday school is indi- cated by the fact that the report rendered, bearing date July 30th of the same year, gave the number of scholars 200, with 22 officers and teachers, and 800 volumes in the library. This quarterly meeting re- corded the reported purchase of a lot on Market street for church building purposes. The Sunday school had at some time in this year accompanied the church services under whose fostering care it existed to the Bush Street School-house, as before stated.
The fact that in October of this year there is a recorded notice received from the authorities to discontinue the services at this place doubtless had much to do with the pur- chase above mentioned, and hurried the young and struggling church on its way into the pos- session and occupancy of a house of its own. We need not follow the property records, which indicate various changes, in tracing
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HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.
the history of this child of the church ; suf- fice it to say the child lived with its parents and was always nestled close to the heart of its " Alma Mater." The reported attendance was very much less immediately after the removal to the new Folsom Street Church, which was dedicated in January, 1854.
William H. Codington here became the superintendent of the school, and began the valuable services he has continued to give Sunday school work in San Francisco Methodism, with the exception of brief ab- sence from the city, until the present time.
The whole of the Bush St. School, how- ever, did not immediately become absorbed into the Folsom street organization, and two schools with respectively 78 and 75 scholars were reported as existing at the time of the first quarterly meeting of the new Folsom street family. This, however, did not long continue ; and in June of that year the two branches came together and commenced a more complete and vigorous life in their new home. During a period of peculiar discouragement, financially, the church in debt and paying three per cent. per month interest on five thousand dollars, the Sunday school was the bond that held the church family together, and the inspiration which
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HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.
carried it over the severest trials. This is not the only family which has been bound by the love and obligations which centered in the child or children of the home, and thus kept from disintegration and ruin. The love of a child has saved many a home on earth, and as the poem inserted has it, may be " a joy forever."
The Sunday school prospered and grew in numbers, and was a blessing to the com- munity.
In 1857 Superintendent Codington, still at the head of the school, reported 18 offic- ers and teachers, and one hundred scholars, with six hundred volumes in the library, which certainly was a generous provision of reading for the school. In addition to this, however, one hundred and twenty Sunday School Advocates were taken. In 1858 and '59 the school continued to prosper and do its work efficiently, and reported an average attendance of two hundred scholars, and twenty - three officers and teachers ; the library still advancing and now having reached seven hundred volumes. Conver- sions were also reported in gratifying num- bers, and the labors of the faithful officers and teachers were thus owned of Heaven, and the real end of Sunday school labor reached.
HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL. 177
In 1860, the record introduces S. S. Sprague as Superintendent, with a Sunday school constitution, and several additional marks of advancement. June 24th of this year the minutes of the teachers' meeting furnish a copy of resolutions duly passed to ascertain the wishes of the children rel- ative to holding a picnic. It is not difficult to predict the result of such a canvass at any time, and the usual result was here reached ; and the first picnic, so far as is known, ever enjoyed by the children of our school was held July 4th, 1860, at the Wil- lows, a place of resort located almost ex- actly where our Grace M. E. Church now stands.
In 1861 W. H. Codington was again chosen Superintendent, and continued to fill the place until 1865. The average at- tendance for the year of scholars, teachers and officers was 301, with 926 books in the library, and 200 Sunday School Advocates taken. The highest average attendance reached by the school while it remained at Folsom street was in 1862, its last year there, when the figures reached were officers and teachers 32, and scholars 350. In November of this year the property on ' Folsom street was sold, and the unhoused
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HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.
family found itself, by invitation, under the roof-tree of the Howard Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Jane and Natoma streets. This hospitality was enjoyed until the first Sabbath in January, 1863, when the new basement rooms of the Howard Street Church, where we still abide, opened their doors to receive those for whom they were prepared, and church and Sunday school began to worship and work under their " own vine and fig tree." The growth, incident upon this change was very appar- ent and striking, and the average attend- ance reached 480 scholars, with a Bible class of 33 members, and 33 officers and teachers. The church being unfinished, the services were all held in the Sunday school rooms of the church. The annual report of Win. H. Codington, Superintendent, dated January 4th, 1864, indicates an ex- ceedingly prosperous condition. The sec- retary reported a roll of 650 officers, teach- ers and scholars. The minutes contain this allusion to the sad and sudden removal of one of the most esteemed and useful mem- bers of the church and Sunday school, viz. : " During the year one of our number has been called to the rest that awaits those who love our Lord. D. S. Howard, our excel-
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HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL
lent secretary, died October 20th, 1863, and has left a name that will long be remem- bered among us." We find also this allu- sion to the connection of the pastor with the work of the school. " The adult Bible class, under the care of our pastor Rev. J. D. Blain, has been fully attended, and proves an excellent source from which to procure teachers as they have been needed in the growth of the school." The teachers, by their punctual attendance and faithful la- bors, are showing that they have the spirit- ual welfare of the children at heart, and are deserving the prayers of the church for success in their efforts.
On the 3rd of January, 1865, Charles Goodall was chosen to the position of Super- intendent. Dr., afterward Bishop, Jesse T. Peek was pastor of the church and school. The roll numbered 690 in attendance. This was a remarkable showing, when we re- member that during the year, viz., in Sep- tember, 1864, the popular pastor, Rev. JJ. D. Blain, had been appointed to the new church movement, or mission, which is now the Central M. E. Church on Mission street. The average attendance was dimin- ished by this fact, but the efficiency of the superintendent and his corps of teachers
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HISTORY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL.
soon carried the school forward again to its former strength. The interruption to the work of the charge, however, by the re- moval of Dr. Peck, the pastor, in the mid- dle of the Conference year, to New York, worked against the Sunday school as well as the other interests of the church, and the average attendance went down to less than 400 in 1866; which, however, in 1867 went up again to 442 as an average attend- ance for the year. The records about this time allude to a Mission Sunday school somewhere on Montgomery street, which it was claimed " seceded " from the con- trol of the church, and unfurled the Union Sunday school colors. The spirit of Chris- tian tolerance which prevailed in the school management is indicated by this minute in the records of the school. " If under any name the Word of God is taught to those who in that part of the city so much need it, our donations of 200 volumes of our library books, and the surplus copies of the Sunday School Advocate and Good News, as well as money subscribed, will not have been in vain." January 8th, 1868, W. H. Codington was again elected superintendent, and Dr. H. Cox appears on the records as pastor. This year indicated a slight falling off in attendance, perhaps due to the pres-
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