USA > Georgia > Bibb County > Macon > Georgia Baptists: historical and biographical > Part 43
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that left hand ? But I forbear. Eloquence may be felt, but can- not be described. The writer recalls instances in which he has seen large audiences more entirely under his control than he has ever witnessed in the case of any other public speaker.
After laboring in LaGrange five years, he was again called to Columbus. He would not accept till he had prevailed on Rev. C. D. Mallary to take his place. In the early part of 1848 we find him again at Columbus, where he continued the idolized pastor till. 1856, having in the meantime spent several months in New Orleans, where his ministrations attracted much attention. His resignation at Columbus was forced upon him by long-continued affliction, the result, as has been already . said, of excessive labor. When he could no longer preach, he accepted the position of associate editor with Dr. Henderson, of the South- Western Baptist, Alabama. He lingered a few months, when consumption terminated his earthly career, at Tuskegee, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. His remains are interred at Columbus, Georgia.
The reader is again recommended to obtain the "Life of John E. Dawson," by Mrs. Hill.
ADAM T. HOLMES, D. D.
This gifted minister was born in Sunbury, Liberty county, Georgia, about the year 1803. His father was Mr. James Holmes, a wealthy and leading citizen of that county. His mother's maiden name was Kell, an aunt of the distinguished Lieutenant Kell, of the Confederate Navy, an officer of the Ala- bama. His brothers were not unknown to fame-Dr. James Holmes, of Darien, and Captain Isaac Holmes, of Macon, who died in Mexico. His two sisters were ladies of culture and re- finement. His mother was one of the most devout and godly women the writer has ever known.
Mr. Holmes enjoyed the best educational advantages the country afforded. For a time he was a student at Yale Col- lege, Connecticut. Whether he graduated or not, the writer is not informed. He was, however, an excellent scholar, a highly gifted writer and a fluent and forcible speaker. His early years were spent in sin and folly, and it was not until he was about
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twenty years of age that divine grace arrested his course. He was one of the first subjects of the great revival which was ex- perienced on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina in 1822, and was baptized at Sunbury, in November of that year, by Rev. Charles O. Screven. For two or three years he ran well, was put forward by his brethren in exhortation and prayer, and promised great usefulness. But, from various causes, he got into a cold and backslidden state, and for a time was a wanderer from the fold of Christ. It is with pain the author records this fact in his friend's history, and it is with pleasure he adds that his restoration to the church was cordial and per- manent.
It was not long after his restoration that he embarked fully in the work of the gospel ministry, in which he was a faithful laborer the balance of his life, emBracing a period of about forty years. He left the coast and was engaged in teaching school for a time in Forsyth, Monroe county. For two or three years he was pastor of the church in Macon, whence he removed to Houston county. For the balance of his history, the author acknowledges himself indebted to the gifted pen of Rev. H. C. Hornady. In a notice of Dr. Holmes, which appeared in the "Christian Index " soon after his death, (which occurred in Atlanta, September 29th, 1870,) Mr. Hornady says :
" On the 4th day of July, 1839, the writer, then a boy, was present at Pine Level Academy, at that time under the super- intendence of Rev. Peter McIntyre, when and where we heard, for the first time, a public address from Rev. ADAM TUNNO HOLMES. He was then in the full vigor of his mature man- hood, and presented a personal appearance equaled by few and surpassed by none of his compeers. The address was delivered on the subject of the ' Temperance Reformation,' and it was so replete with matured and vigorous thought, that it was subse- quently published by request of the large and intelligent audi- ence then present, and there are doubtless copies of it still in print. A little previous, the subject of this notice had been married to Mrs. Nelson, a lady of fine culture, from the State of South Carolina. She was a member of the Hampton family, than whom none have a brighter record in that once proud
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State ; but, as she still survives, further mention in this con- nection may not be entirely appropriate.
" It was about this period that brother Holmes was called to the pastoral care of two of the most important churches in Houston county, viz : Perry and Hayneville, which he served with characteristic ability until 1851, when he was elected to the presidency of. the Baptist Female College at Cuthbert, to which place he removed and entered upon a new career of use- fulness.
" During the autumn of 1846, while the writer was a student at the Academy at Hayneville, the Rehoboth Association held its session with the Baptist church at that place, and as there was an unusual amount of religious interest manifested by the people, the meeting was protracted for a number of days. In attendance upon the meeting of the Association were C. D. Mallary, C. F. Sturgis, J. R. Kendrick, Jacob King and Hiram Powell. On Monday, Rev. J. H. Campbell reached the place from Richland, in Twiggs county, where he had just closed a revival meeting of great interest. The writer was then in his minority, and went to the meeting with mingled feelings of curiosity and respect for the talented preacher, and on reach- ing the place found the church filled with a congregation which appeared unusually serious and attentive. The text of Mr. Campbell was taken in I. Peter, iv. 18: 'And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner ap- pear ?' During the delivery of the sermon many poor sinners ' were cut to the heart,' and it was there, while under deep conviction for sin, that the writer was brought into intimate relations with Rev. A. T. Holmes, in whom he found a spiritual adviser every way qualified to guide his untutored mind to Christ, the friend of sinners; and if it is given to the departed to know what is occurring on earth, then the spirit of our de- parted brother understands what are the feelings of his humble biographer, and can appreciate the gratitude of one who now trusts for salvation in the merits of Jesus Christ alone.
" The writer was baptized by brother Holmes, and for five years enjoyed his pastoral labors and spiritual counsels ; and when he was ordained to the gospel ministry, his beloved brother was present and preached the sermon on that occasion.
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Adam T. Holmes, D. D.
An acquaintance was thus formed that ripened into a close and cordial friendship, which, by the grace of God, continued un- broken until the sacred tie was rudely severed by the icy hand of the great image-breaker. For these and similar reasons, the lamented one urged, as his dying request, that his religious pupil should write the words of affectionate remembrance which might enshrine his name, as it should meet the tearful eyes of his fellow-laborers who still linger on these mortal shores ; or as it is handed down, a priceless legacy, to coming generations. In sketching the life and character of the deceased, those who have ever known the power of loving religious fellowship will make due allowance for any apparent exaggeration in the por- traiture.
"Adam T. Holmes was an honest man, and, whatever weak- ness of our common nature he may have betrayed in other di- rections, no temptation was sufficient to draw him from the path of rectitude and moral integrity. He was possessed of a high degree of courage, both moral and physical, and was never, therefore, in 'the fear of man, which bringeth a snare;' nor was he ever found employing the arts of dissimulation in order to hide his defects, or to escape the responsibility of a position. His bold, fearless and candid nature qualified him, in an eminent degree, to set forth and defend the doctrines and practices which have always been distinguishing features of our denomination ; and he never appeared to better advantage than when, sur- rounded by those who held different views, he showed from the ' scriptures the firm foundations upon which rested his faith and that of his brethren. Upon what are usually called the doc- trines of grace, his teaching was remarkably clear and forcible ; and never, perhaps, since the days of Andrew Fuller, have the churches of any pastor been better instructed in the Calvinistic view of theology than those which were blessed with the labors of our brother whom these pages commemorate. His mem- bers, for solid piety and active usefulness, had no superiors, as all can testify who were acquainted with Hugh Lawson, one of the deacons of Hayneville, and Samuel Felder and . ... Bar- rett, who sustained the same relation to the church at Perry. They were men 'full of the Holy Ghost and of faith,'-men always ready to do good ; and we find it difficult to repress the
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inquiry : When shall we behold their like again ? To the labors of brother Holmes they doubtless owed much for their sym- metrical and well sustained characters as christian gentlemen, that have made their example so rich a heritage to the churches which were the scenes of their earnest and useful lives; and well may they mourn for them, now that they have passed away from the labors of earth to the reward of the faithful.
Brother Holmes was a man of a high order of intellect, and as he had enjoyed the advantages for mental cultivation, few men were better qualified for the arduous and responsible duties of the public ministry ; and the Baptists of Southwestern Geor- gia are largely indebted to him, under God, for their present influence and power in the vineyard of the Lord. While at Cuthbert, he was elected president of Central Institute, located at Lynchburg, in the State of Alabama, which position he ac- cepted, but retained it only a short time. While at Lynchburg, he had something like a paralytic stroke, and it was deemed advisable by his physicians for him to relinquish his position and rest from active labors for a time, hoping thereby to restore his shattered health. Soon after his recovery from this attack, he was called to the pastorate of the First Baptist church in Atlanta, which relation he sustained for two or three years, loved and honored by a large and appreciative flock. In con- sequence of some disagreement which arose between him and a portion of the members, he resigned his charge and retired to the town of Decatur and labored for the churches in the country around, until compelled by ill health to relinquish the care of churches altogether. Returning to the city of Atlanta, his health began to improve so that he was able to resume the active duties of the ministry, and for a time alternated with Dr. Shaver in supplying the pulpit of the Baptist church in Newnan. 'But the seeds of decay were sown in his system, and again, in consequence of declining health, he was compelled to leave his post and learn to suffer his Master's will as well as to perform it.
"During his last illness, the writer had several interviews with him, in which he expressed his unwavering trust in that Saviour whom he had preached to others, and he looked to the termi- nation of his earthly career with a calm and cheerful spirit,
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which showed that when the summons should come, he would be ready 'to wrap the drapery of his couch about him and lie down to pleasant slumbers.' When he felt his end drawing near, he sent word to the writer to visit him; but, on account of other and pressing engagements, a compliance with the re- quest was impracticable, so that the last scenes of his valuable life must be drawn from information furnished by others, whose privilege it was to be present in 'the chamber where the good man met his fate.' In his last hours, though suffering from dif- ficulty of breathing, he found Jesus increasingly precious, and he who had been a fellow-laborer with Jacob King, Hiram Pow- ell, C. A. Tharp, C. D. Mallary, John E. Dawson and James O. Screven, has gone to join them in 'that land which has no storm ;' and joyful, indeed, must be the meeting and communion of kindred spirits at the Saviour's blessed feet !
" He is gone-the able minister, the fast friend, the affection- ate husband, the indulgent father-and when these lines are read, there will be many tearful eyes, for some who once en- joyed his pious labors, or were his co-workers in the Lord's vineyard, and still linger on these mortal spheres, will receive their first information that another 'great man in Israel has fallen,' from this offering of affection and friendship.
"An aged wife, now widowed and lone-an only son, now fatherless and sad-will mourn when they miss the manly form and beaming eye of the departed, but they will sorrow not as those without hope."
N. M. CRAWFORD.
In the "Christian Index" of November 2d, 1871, the following editorial article by Rev. D. Shaver, D. D., appeared :
"REV. N. M. CRAWFORD, D. D.
" This beloved and revered brother has been taken from us. Perhaps no announcement of our pen ever carried so keen a sense of pain to so large a number of hearts as these words must awaken. We share this grief in no common measure, though our personal acquaintance with Dr. Crawford lies wholly within the limits of the last few years. Among the highest
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privileges of these years, we reckon the hours spent with him in the quiet of the room where we sit now-to see him here, alas! no more! The chief charm of our intercourse was, not his singular balance and poise of intellect, not the thorough learning that gave him the tread of a master in every field of inquiry, not the strong, ripe judgment which had wrestled pre- . vailingly with all problems of ethics and theology-it was the equable temper, the dispassionate spirit, the transparent sin- cerity, the stainless sense of honor, the gentle affectionateness, breathing through his utterances from first to last. More than almost any person whom we have ever known, he withheld no word which christian candor demanded, and spoke no word which christian charity forbade. Like that queenliest of graces, true greatness 'vaunteth not itself ;' and he was 'clothed upon ' with humility, with freedom from pretension, with childlikeness, as with a garment. There is a sense in which we may apply to saintly excellence the Hegelian principle : that ' the ideal is ever striving for realization, but is never realized ;' and who among us that survive more nearly exemplifies the 'ideal' of this excellence than he whom the Lord has taken to himself? In whose character is the struggle-the advance towards its 'realization,' traced in lines more like the Faultless Original than in his ? Not simply to the effect of his instructions when occupying a chair in the Mercer University, or holding the presidency over it, is the denomination in the State indebted largely for its present position ; the formative and reproductive influence of his personal piety-of ' the daily beauty of his life'-wrought still more potently to this end. But he is gone from us-gone, we cannot question, to enter upon what his own pen, a few months ago, burdened with the overpowering bless- edness of the theme, characterized, through our columns, as ' that brighter, purer, richer, nobler, sweeter, grander, holier, happier life in the great beyond !' Let us follow his steps as he followed Christ, that we may all meet him in 'the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.'"
" Our readers will review with mournful interest the story of his life as embodied in the following sketch of the address by Rev. A. T. Spalding, D. D., at the First Baptist Church, At-
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lanta, last Monday morning, in connection with his funeral solemnities :
" Nathaniel Macon Crawford was born at ' Woodlawn,' near Lexington, Oglethorpe county, Georgia, March 22d, 1811. His father, Hon. William H. Crawford, one of the ablest jurists this country ever produced, was that year re-elected to the United States Senate without opposition. The boyhood of our brother was spent in Washington City until his thirteenth year. In his fourteenth year, the family returned to Woodlawn, and in his fifteenth year he entered the University of Georgia, where he graduated at eighteen years of age, with the first honors of his class. He then read law, but never engaged in practice at the bar, though carrying with him through life the marked benefit of the knowledge of that science, and of the habit of analysis of words and weighing of testimony. (In 1834, at the age of sixty-two, his father died of paralysis, the same dis- ease that has deprived us of his distinguished son.) Three years later, we find him a professor in Oglethorpe College, Midway, a faithful servant of Jesus, a member of the Presby- terian church, a brilliant, gifted young man, who won all hearts to love him. After the lapse of three years more, he was mar- ried, when twenty-nine years of age, to her who now mourns this the first break in the household bands.
" We come next to the change in his ecclesiastical relations. His wife was a Baptist, but the points of difference between the two denominations never became subjects of discussion or allusion amid the intimacies of household life. On the birth of their first child, he determined to make the question of right and duty as to its baptism a subject of candid, thorough inves- tigation, nothing doubting that he should find the Presbyterian view supported by the scriptures, and furnish himself with ar- guments to overcome the scruples of his wife. To his surprise, however, on the perusal of our English version, and after the critical study of the original, infant baptism appeared to him utterly destitute of warrant from the Word of God. With the fidelity to principle which marked his entire life, he announced to his companion his purpose to be himself baptized ; and this was the first time the subject had ever been mentioned between them. To the credit of his former religious associates, let it
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be recorded, that this change did not in the least deprive him of their love and esteem.
" It pleased the Lord to call our brother to the ministry of the gospel while living at the old ' Woodlawn' homestead, and for a year he served the church at Washington, Georgia, as pastor. He was then transferred to a larger field, succeeding the senior Dr. William T. Brantly in the pastorate of the First Baptist Church at Charleston, South Carolina. After a minis- try here of two years, he was elected to the chair of theology in Mercer University, which he filled with ability and accept- ance for ten years, from 1846 to 1856. During this time, his Sabbath preaching was never intermitted when able to occupy the pulpit. He was pastor of Friendship church, Greene county, afterward at Penfield, at Greensboro, also, and at one time at Shiloh. A great revival, with more than forty conversions, grew out of a graphic sermon which he preached at Penfield.
" The first illness of Dr. Crawford occurred in 1851 or 1852, twenty years ago. While preaching at Lexington, Georgia, he suffered a stroke of paralysis in the midst of his discourse, and recovered from its effects only after a long time. From that period he never allowed himself to throw out his full strength in pulpit labor.
" On the resignation of the venerable J. L. Dagg, D. D., our brother was elected to the presidency of Mercer University, but soon retired from the position and accepted the professor- ship of moral philosophy in the University of Mississippi, Ox- ford. After a residence of nearly a year at this point, in the fall of 1857 he became professor of theology in Georgetown, Kentucky. In the summer of 1858 he was re-elected President of Mercer University, and returned to spend seven years at the head of that institution. In 1865, the war having closed, and there being great depression in the funds of the University, he accepted the presidency of Georgetown College, Kentucky, a post which failing health compelled him to relinquish in June of the present year, when he came, 'with untraveled heart,' to Georgia again, the State of his life-long love, and the people for whom, through nearly forty years, he never ceased to pray and labor.
"On the 20th of September last, at the house of his son Wil-
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liam, near Tunnel Hill, he was stricken a second time with paralysis. He fainted at the breakfast table, but rallied, and at the end of a week was better again. About the middle of October, however, he grew worse, and for four days was unable to speak. His brother, Dr. Bibb Crawford, of Madison, was summoned to his side; but the Angel Messenger had called ! He breathed his last on Friday, October 27th, at half-past three o'clock P. M., in the bosom of his family, and at peace with God and men.
" Dr. Crawford was a man of surpassing talents. His knowl- edge of history, philosophy, mathematics, law, ethics, religion, and ecclesiastical history, was clear and profound. His wisdom made him a valued counselor in our Associations and Conven- ventions. His mind was brilliant, his fancy luxuriant, and his oratorical powers of the first order. His productions as an author have the savor of the old English works. He was a man of highest moral excellence, which shone with peculiar brightness in all the relationships of life. His christian charac- ter was not only without a blemish, but was exalted in an emi- next degree. Consecration to Jesus reigned through his life of untiring industry, of profound humility, of childlike simplicity, of wide-spread benevolence, adorned withal by a genial flow of pleasant humor. While we mournfully bend over his sacred dust, his sanctified spirit has gone to that land of everlasting bliss, of which he so often and so eloquently spoke. He is now enjoy- ing the rest of the saints under the shadow of the Great White Throne-nay, let us rather say, on the bosom of the Redeemer, his and ours."
Dr. William T. Brantly of Baltimore, says :
"My acquaintance with Dr. Crawford began in 1844, shortly after my first pastoral settlement, and shortly after Dr. Craw- ford had connected himself with the Baptist church. Thrown together at an Association in the country, and occupying the same room and the same bed, we had the opportunity of ex- changing views on a great variety of topics. I must confess to feeling, at the time, considerable pride in the acquisition to our ranks of the son of man who, in his day, had been the most distinguished citizen in the State (the Hon. William H. Craw-
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ford,) especially when the son was as distinguished as a scholar as the father had been as a statesman. In early youth, Dr. Crawford connected himself with the Presbyterian church. When, however, he became the father of children, he determ- ined to examine the scriptures, with the view of ascertaining whether these sanctioned those articles of his church which required the baptism of infants. He brought to the subject the whole force of his keen and discriminating intellect; but he could discover no thus saith the Lord for pædo-Baptism. Pushing his inquiries further, he became convinced that noth- ing is baptism but a 'burial with Christ.' Acting out his con- victions, without conferring with flesh and blood, he presented himself for membership in the Baptist church most convenient to his residence. At this time, no layman in the Presbyterian church in Georgia was more esteemed than he. Professor of mathematics in their college, in high repute for learning and moral worth, he could have commanded any office in their gift. But, constrained by principle, he joined a Baptist church in the country, and thereby relinquished all these prospects.
" Dr. Crawford was soon licensed, and then ordained. He was a pastor for one year in Washington, Georgia, and the same length of time in Charleston, South Carolina. He then identi- fied himself with Mercer University, where, as professor of theology, and subsequently as President, he passed many years of his life. Prior to the war, he was a professor for one year in a college in Mississippi, and for about the same time in Ken- tucky. In 1865, he became President of Georgetown College, Kentucky, where he remained until last summer, when he re- signed and returned to his native State.
"Dr. Crawford's scholarship was accurate and extensive. Connected with the class in which he graduated, in the Univer- sity of Georgia, there were young men of decided mental power, and they subsequently made their marks on their age; but at college he led them all, bearing off the first honor. The Presi- dent of the University remarked to the writer that no young man had ever been connected with the institution who posses- sed such remarkable powers for the acquisition af knowledge as did our departed brother. This scholarship he maintained through life. While president of the college he could take the
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