USA > Indiana > Indiana miscellany : consisting of sketches of Indian life, the early settlement, customs, and hardships of the people, and the introduction of the gospel and of schools ; together with biographical notices of the pioneer Methodist preachers of the state > Part 8
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Few men were living at the time of his death, who were citizens of Indiana when he came to this country. It was then known as the Indiana Terri- tory. Few, indeed, were the settlements made within the limits of what is now Wayne county, the most populous part of the State. All, or nearly so, of his early neighbors had died and gone before him. In the social etiquette of a new country all are recognized as neighbors, who live within ten or
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fifteen miles of each other. In that country and in those days Methodists walked, after the toils of the day, from one to five miles to prayer meeting at night. In simplicity, sincerity, and earnest Chris- tian- zeal-not fanaticism, as some have called it- they met, and sung, and prayed, and shouted for an hour or two, in some humble, but honored private habitation. The services having been concluded, while the fire of unsophisticated, soul devotion yet glowed in their hearts, and while their eyes were yet moist with the waters of pure, spiritual joy, they gave each other a frank, hearty, and friendly greeting, ardent enough to singe the mossy faces of the fossilized Christians of the latter days.
Soon there might be seen numerous brilliant torches blazing and gleaming in sundry directions through the dense forest, as these worshipers wended their way to their respective log-cabin homes. Those shining torches were fit and sig- nificant emblems of that inner light and fire of spiritual devotion which they carried in their hearts. Often it happened that sin-sick souls were healed along the way, whose new song of praise and shouts of joy made the dark caverns of the wilder- ness vocal, and sometimes sent the wild beasts in affright and haste from their nightly slumbers.
The men of that day were confessedly inferior to our cotemporaries in the fine arts of Church polity. They were less skilled in the polemics which relate to family-sittings, choir-singing, theological schools,
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etc .; but in the discussion and maintenance of the truth, or the greater and more vital subjects of ex- perimental religion, justification by faith, the witness of the Spirit, humble obedience to Christ, according to the simple, old-fashioned theology of Wesley and Fletcher, "there were giants in those days." One could chase a thousand, and two could put ten thousand to flight of the pulpit-performers, tame sermonizers, Sunday lecturers, Gospel-diluters, and dulcifiers of other days.
The subject of this sketch commenced early in his Christian life the systematic study of the Holy Scriptures, accompanied by prayer and meditation. This faithful reading of the Word of God gave him a more thorough knowledge of the things revealed than men ordinarily possess. The Bible was dis- tinctly his book to the last. He had read the Old and New Testaments regularly through many times in succession. This course of reading he continued till a few months before his decease, when his sight had so far failed him that he had to give up this enjoyment. This privation he keenly felt. He often, however, called on his friends around him to read for him. He had read much in the theological works of his day. Wesley, Fletcher, Clarke, and Benson were his favorite authors. He had read Dr. Clarke's voluminous Commentary-every word in it-that was written in the English language. In Methodist theology he was critical-ready to detect any variations, no matter how slight, from
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the standards of the Church. He was particularly tender and affectionate toward young ministers, and yet he managed, without seeming captious, often to suggest to them improvements in their sermons. He passed through all the shades and grades of frontier life. The privations, hardships, and suffer- ings incident to a new country became familiar to him. These he encountered and withstood in the prime and vigor of his life. When old age and infirmity came upon him, his own country had passed into a high state of cultivation, and, to some extent, had developed her rich resources. Owing to infirmity, a few of his last years were spent without the enjoyment of the public means of grace. He was unable to attend the sanctuary.
After the death of his companion, with whom he had walked to the house of God for fifty-seven years, he was, much of the time, lonely. His great desire was to depart and be with the Lord; yet he would often repeat and apply to himself the lan- guage of Job, "All the days of my appointed time will I wait, until my change come." His heart was in heaven; his mind was staid on God. Dur- ing the last two or three months of his life he kept his eyes closed much of the time; and, when asked for the reason, he invariably answered, "There is nothing in this world upon which I desire to look. When my eyes are closed, I am looking by faith to heaven, where Jesus is, and where my departed friends are."
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A few days before his departure, while alone in his room, and about the hour of midnight, his soul was greatly blessed. While rejoicing, his son, with whom he resided, awoke from sleep, and hearing the voice of joy went into his father's bed-chamber and found him unspeakably happy. For some hours he continued in a strain of praise to God. He said he had never, in all his life before, been so happy.
For more than three years he lived with his youngest son, Rev. W. C. Smith. During that time he buried the companion of his youth. And so at- tached was he, afterward, to the spot where she was laid, and the very soil which covered her re- mains, that he often said, " There is the place where I wish to be buried."
He trained up his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They all became religious, and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. Four only of his children survived him. These are on the way to Zion. Two of them are ministers of the Lord Jesus. He was a citizen of Indiana more than forty-eight years. George Smith was proverbial for honesty, integrity, firmness, and piety. During a membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church of fifty-five years, he rendered efficient service in va- rious relations. Throughout nearly the entire length of the active portion of his life, he was a class-leader, or a steward, or both.
At the house of his youngest son, in the city of Indianapolis, a few minutes before six o'clock, in the
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afternoon of July 11, 1857, in the eighty-first year of his age, he sweetly fell asleep in Jesus, and was gathered, like a ripe shock of corn, into the garner of heaven. According to his request, his mortal re- mains were interred by the side of those of his com- panion. There they rest together in hope of the resurrection.
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REV. MOSES CRUME.
CHAPTER XIX.
REV. MOSES CRUME.
THE subject of this sketch was one of the first itinerant Methodist preachers who labored in Indi- ana. Rev. Mr. Williams had preceded him the year before. Rev. Hector Sanford accompanied him when he came to the Territory in 1809.
It is unfortunate for the Church that so little is known of the talents and worth of these holy men of God, who came as pioneer ministers into the wilds of Indiana. Their appointments from year to year are found in the Minutes of Conference, but that does not give the extent of the fields of labor they cultivated, the hardships they endured, nor the bat- tles they fought, nor the victories they won, under the Great Captain of their salvation.
Rev. Moses Crume was, perhaps, born in the State of Virginia; at least he was born, the second time, in that State. He was awakened and led to the foot of the cross, through the instrumentality of father Hathaway, who traveled Berkley circuit, in 1785. He emigrated to Kentucky, where he was licensed to preach at a quarterly meeting held at Ferguson's Chapel, April 12, 1793. In 1808 he was admitted on trial into the old Western Con-
13
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ference, which held its session that year at Liberty Hill, Tennessee, and was appointed to Whitewater circuit, Indiana, with H. Sanford for a colleague. This circuit, at that time, embraced all the settle- ments in the Territory, from the Ohio River extend- ing north. The most northern appointment was Meek's Meeting-House, on Clear creek, in what is now Wayne county.
In 1811 he was returned to Whitewater circuit, without a colleague. This year he extended the circuit still further north, and established an ap- pointment at the cabin of George Smith.
In 1814 Mr. Crume was appointed to Lawrence- burg circuit. This was the third year he had labored among this people, Lawrenceburg circuit having been stricken off from the Whitewater cir- cuit.
In 1817 he was appointed presiding elder of Miami district, which he traveled two years. Law- renceburg and Whitewater circuits were embraced in this district. The other years of his itinerant life were spent in the State of Ohio.
Mr. Crume was a man of noble bearing; lis countenance was grave; his appearance in the latter part of his life truly patriarchal. His hair he wore long, after the old style, parting it upon the top of his head, and combing it back behind his ears. His appearance in the pulpit was command- ing; his voice was mellow and deep-toned. He could hardly have been called an orator, but he was
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logical. He did not move and stir the feelings of an audience, but seldom failed to make an impres- sion for good. He never indulged in fancy, but presented the truths of the Gospel in a plain, sim- ple form, such as convinced the mind of the hearer. He was an expounder of God's Word. His manner of presenting the truth was such as to impress the minds of those who heard him, that he felt and be- lieved what he taught the people.
No one ever doubted his piety. His life was such as to impress all who enjoyed the benefit of his acquaintance and association, that he was truly a man of God. This eminent minister of the Lord Jesus is associated with the writer's earliest recol- lections, and his appearance is photographed upon his memory. Many have blessed God that he ever lived, and in the day of eternity will claim him as their spiritual father.
After a long and useful life, in 1839 he died in great peace at his residence, in the neighborhood of Oxford, Butler county, Ohio.
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CHAPTER XX.
REV. JOHN STRANGE.
JOHN STRANGE was among the early preachers in Indiana. Various sketches of him have been written, but all have failed to present him fully to the reader. Indeed, few pens are competent to such a task. Those who have written of him have each contributed to the perpetuation of his memory. They have spoken of his excellencies, and yet the half has never been told. To know and fully ap- preciate the worth and talents of this distinguished minister of the Lord Jesus, the people had to see him, form his acquaintance, and hear him preach. The writer does not suppose that his pen can do justice to his exalted character, nor surpass those who have written before him; but he would pay this humble tribute to the memory of one he claims as his spiritual father.
Mr. Strange was admitted on trial in the old Western Conference in the year 1811. At that time the Western Conference embraced the States of Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The preachers of this Con- ference were liable to be sent, from year to year, to any part of its bounds. To enter the itinerancy in a Conference of such dimensions, at such a time,
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required more devotion to the cause of the Re- deemer, more of a self-sacrificing spirit, and more courage than men ordinarily possess.
Mr. Strange was a Virginian by birth, and in boyhood emigrated to Ohio with his father. He was not favored in early life with a good education, but he possessed an active, vigorous mind, and a high order of native talent. He could have pre- pared himself in youth, and at manhood entered upon any one of the lucrative professions, particu- larly that of the law, and arisen to distinction and affluence; but in early life he had sought and found the Savior, and united with the Methodist Episco- pal Church-consecrating himself, time, and talents to the Lord. Hearing his Master's voice saying, "Go ye into the wilderness in search of the lost sheep of the house of Israel," he heeded that voice, and "chose rather to suffer affliction with the peo- ple of God than to enjoy the pleasures " of wealth and fame. He bade farewell to worldly prospects, ease, the pleasures of home, and, casting himself wholly upon the Lord, for time and eternity, he entered the itinerant ranks. Having once shoved off from the shore, he never looked back to the day of his death. For twenty-two years he was a houseless, homeless wanderer, preaching Jesus and the resur- rection wherever he went. He loved to sing :
" No foot of land do I possess, No cottage in the wilderness ; A poor wayfaring man.
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I lodge awhile in tents below, And gladly wander to and fro, Till I my Canaan gain."
Mr. Strange's first appointment was to Will's Creek circuit, in the State of Ohio. His second appointment was to Cincinnati, with the distin- guished William Burke for his colleague. In the Fall of 1812 he was sent to Whitewater circuit, In- diana. This circuit was large, embracing all the country from a short distance above Lawrenceburg, north to the headwaters of Whitewater, and west as far as there were any white settlements.
At this time the war with Great Britain and her Indian allies was in full blast. It was exceed- ingly hazardous for a solitary man to travel through the country ; nevertheless, Mr. Strange failed to fill few, if any, appointments. Not believing it was his duty to yield up his life to the cruel savages that infested the country, lurking in every forest and glen, without an effort to defend himself, he procured a trusty rifle, which he carried with him wherever he went, always keeping a sharp look-out for Indians as he passed through the dense woods.
His most northern appointment was at a fort built on Clear creek, two miles north-west of where the city of Richmond is now situated. At this fort he made his appearance every four weeks, with his rifle upon his shoulder. Here, on each visit, he usually spent two or three days ministering to the inhabitants. These visits afforded great consolation
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and encouragement to those who were thus shut up in the wilderness.
In the Fall of 1813 Mr. Strange was appointed to Oxford circuit, in Ohio. In 1814 he was sent to Lawrenceburg circuit, in Indiana. In the Fall of 1815 he was returned to Ohio, being appointed to White Oak circuit, which he traveled two years. In the Fall of 1817 he was sent to Mad River cir- cuit. To this circuit he was returned the next year. In 1819 he was sent to Union circuit, where he remained two years. In the Fall of 1821 he was appointed presiding elder of Lebanon district, in Ohio. The next year he was sent to Milford cir- cuit. In 1823 he was appointed presiding elder of Miami district. This brought him back into Indi- ana-Lawrenceburg, Whitewater, Madison, and Con- nersville circuits being in his district.
The next year Illinois Conference was formed, and all the work in Indiana was placed in that Con- ference. Madison district was formed, and Mr. Strange was appointed to it. He continued to travel this district for the next four years, when he was appointed presiding elder of Charlestown dis- trict. He remained upon this district three years, when the Indianapolis district was formed, and he was appointed to it. At the close of his first year as presiding elder of that district, he was compelled to take a superannuated relation. His slender frame could no longer endure the hardships and privations he had been undergoing. The toils and
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labors he had been performing on large circuits and districts for twenty-two years, in a new country, were too severe for him. This was his last field of labor. It was a hard struggle for him to consent to give up the active work, for his soul still burned with holy zeal for the salvation of precious souls, but he yielded with the best grace he could.
It is said that a gentleman who greatly admired Mr. Strange deeded him a quarter section of wild land, as a token of his high regard. Mr. Strange kept the land a short time. Feeling that the land encumbered his mind, and abridged some enjoyments he greatly prized, he went back to his friend and gave up the deed, requesting to be relieved of his burden, stating, that since he had received that pres- ent, he had not been permitted to sing his favorite song,
" No foot of land do I possess," etc.,
and could not forego that enjoyment. This may be thought an error in Mr. Strange. If it was, it was one of the head-not of the heart. He had given himself unreservedly-time and talents-all his ran- somed powers, to God and the Church, and was afraid to allow himself to become encumbered, in the smallest degree, with worldly goods, lest he should be hindered in the work committed to his hands. His faith was strong that God would provide for himself and family, and supply his wants through life. In this he was not mistaken-he had not be- lieved in vain. So deep was the hold he had upon
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the affections of the people, that after he superannu- ated, his friends purchased a house and lot, on the south side of Market, between Meridian and Penn- sylvania streets, Indianapolis, and presented it to him. They took great pleasure in supplying his ne- cessities, and administering to his comfort, till he entered into that land where the inhabitants hunger no more, and where the Lamb leads them to fount- ains of living water.
Mr. Strange was about six feet in hight, of slender frame, hair jet black and very straight, eyes black, clear, and piercing. His form was erect, standing or walking. All his movements were peculiarly graceful-particularly in the pulpit. His social qualities were of the highest order, yet he never failed to maintain his ministerial dignity, without affectation, or the appearance of stiffness. His voice was clear and distinct, sweet and melodious-over it he had perfect command. He could raise it to the highest, or bring it down to the lowest key, with- out the slighest jar or discord. He was one of the finest singers that ever "tuned a voice to sweetest song." He was very fond of music when in the fam- ily circle; and in the public congregation he often lifted the people from their seats, by the power of his song. He could render the hymn commencing,
" Hear the royal proclamation,"
with more effect, perhaps, than any man who ever tried it.
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In the pulpit, he was peerless in voice and gesture. No one ever imitated him-for none could. He was a natural orator of the highest class. It was no studied art with him-it was Heaven's rich gift. His power over an audience, at times, seemed to be almost supernatural, causing their feelings to rise and swell, at the command of his voice, or the wav- ing of his hand, as the ocean would surge under the call of Æolus. Often the people were so carried away by his eloquence that, rising from their seats, they would press toward the place where he stood telling the story of the cross-portraying the dying agonies of the Savior-themselves seemingly lost to every subject but the one presented by the speaker.
He was sometimes eccentric in the pulpit, but his eccentricities were always graceful. From any other man than John Strange, some of his remarks would, perhaps, have been inadmissible. He possessed what Rev. Mr. Taylor, in his Model Preacher, calls " sur- prise power," in a very high degree. This he used to great effect. By his sudden exclamations, he would thrill a whole congregation as by a shock of electricity. Sometimes, when speaking of God's love to man in the redemption of the world, the joys of Christ's great salvation, the glory of heaven, his soul would be filled with such heavenly rapture, that he would exclaim in his peculiar voice, "Alleluia ! Alleluia ! Alleluia !" when the people would catch the spirit, and from every part of the congregation shouts of praise would ascend to heaven.
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Sometimes, when portraying the torments of those shut up in the prison-house of hell, and de- scribing the wicked as in crowds they urged their way down to blackness and darkness, the sinners in the congregation would scream out, crying for mercy. Seizing upon the occasion, Mr. Strange would ex- claim, in his inimitable way, " A center shot, my Lord; load and fire again !" The backwoods hunt- ers knew well how to apply such expressions.
On one occasion, when he was preaching on Sun- day at a camp meeting, the tide of feeling rising higher and higher, he took one · of his wonderful flights of eloquence, which lifted the congregation, and a general shout arose. Hearing the great shout which rolled up from within the inclosure of tents, a crowd of persons who had been wandering about on the outside of the encampment, came rushing in through an opening to the row of tents, and down the center aisle toward the stand. Seeing the coming throng, Mr. Strange stopped short, raised himself to his full hight, and, standing upon his tiptoes, threw his right hand forward, pointing with his index finger directly toward the crowd, and then exclaimed, in a voice which seemed to startle the people from their seats, "Here they come now ! My Lord, shoot them as they come !" At once, scores of loud " amens " rolled up from the congregation. Instantly, as if stricken by light- ning, the whole crowd of sinners who were pressing down the center aisle, dropped upon seats, and on
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the ground. From that moment he held the con- gregation at his will, till the close of the sermon.
His powers of description were of the finest order. He could so describe a scene, that you would seem to behold, in undimmed light, that which he was portraying. When he was preaching the funeral sermon of Rev. Edwin Ray, in Indianapolis, toward the close of the discourse, while describing the second coming of Christ, his bringing with him "them that sleep in Jesus," descending "in the clouds of heaven," he stood erect for a moment, then, looking upward, cried out, " Where is Edwin Ray ?" Still looking upward, he said, "I see him; I see him!" and then, with both hands raised as if welcoming him, he exclaimed, in a voice that seemed to go up to the clouds, "Hail, Edwin ! Hail, Edwin! Hail, Edwin!" The effect upon the congregation will never be forgotten by those who heard that sermon and felt the power.
After a lingering illness of pulmonary affection, in holy triumph, in the city of Indianapolis, on the second day of December, 1833, he bade the world adieu, and went up to join the blood-washed throng around the throne of God. When the word, "Rev. John Strange is dead," spread abroad, there was mourning throughout the Church in Indiana. Blessed man ! Peace to thy memory !
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REV. HUGH CULL.
CHAPTER XXI.
REV. HUGH CULL.
HUGH CULL was among the first, if not the first, Methodist local preachers in Indiana. He was one of the pioneers, and took an active part in planting Methodism in the eastern portion of the State. He was a man of so many excellencies, of so great worth, that he is " worthy to be had in everlasting remembrance." As a tribute of respect to his memory this sketch is given.
Hugh Cull was born of Roman Catholic parents, in Havre-de-Grace, Md., October, 1759. When he was four years of age, his father removed to what is called the Red-Stone country, Pennsylvania. Here he continued to reside till he was twenty years of age. In 1777, with his father, he emi- grated to Kentucky. They located their habitation where the city of Lexington is now situated. In 1785 he went to Henry county, Kentucky, where he was afterward united in marriage to Miss Rachel Meek, a devotedly pious member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She was in the sixteenth year of her age.
Though not addicted. to many of the vices com- mon to young men in a new country, his training
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had not been such as to lead him to piety, or incline him to any of the Protestant Churches, par- ticularly the Methodist Episcopal Church. In a short time after his marriage, he was, through the instrumentality of his faithfully pious young wife, led to' the foot of the cross, where he found the Savior, and then united with the Methodist Epis- copal Church. So thorough was his conversion, so deep his piety, so earnest his zeal, so ardent his at- tachment to the Church, and such were his talents, that in a short time he was licensed to preach.
From the time he united with the Church his house became a home for the weary itinerant, and continued to be as long as he had a house, which was a period of more than seventy years. Rev. Jacob Young, in his Autobiography, speaks of Mr. Cull's house as a "most hospitable home for Meth- odist preachers."
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