USA > Missouri > History of Platte Presbytery; or, Presbyterianism in northwest Missouri > Part 13
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Far-sighted and untiringly energetic in business : courteous, quiet and unassuming in manners : consider- ate and thoughtful of others' comfort: forgiving to-
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wards those who had sought his very life; ever planning and working for the temporal and eternal good of others; and as firm and immovable in standing for the right, as the massive block of Vermont marble that marks his resting place, Mr. Park exerted an influence for good that cannot be measured.
Rev. Daniel Patton was of Irish extraction and was converted when seventeen, in Middle Tennessee. He was sent with Rev. R. D. King as missionary into North Alabama. He came to Ray county before Rich- mond was laid out, and married a daughter of Rev. Samuel King. He was long the Stated Clerk of Barnett Presbytery. He was a strong and successful preacher in his day. He died almost at the close of his ninety- fifth year, full of honors, labors and successes in the Master's work.
Rev. Tapping S. Reeve was born in Holland, Mass., October 5, 1808, and after a large experience and train- ing as S. S. missionary, teacher and lawyer, was or- dained by the Presbytery of St. Louis, October 20, 1843, and came at once to St. Joseph. The first sermon ever preached there was by him and he built the first Pres- byterian church of logs, a cut of the successor of which appears on the opposite page. He was very active in evangelistic and educational lines. He was moderator of the Synod of Missouri (N. S.) in 1852. He died July 16, 1886.
Elder Andrew Robertson came to Clay county at an early day and settled four miles north of Liberty where he owned a large tract of land and a considerable fam- ily of negro servants-forty or fifty in number-whom he furnished with wagons and teams, furniture and bedding, and clothing and provisions, and sent them away to Kansas and freedom, in the midst of the Civil War. He was a very liberal man with his money and a very useful ruling elder, mainly furnishing the means to build the church and maintain the ordinances of
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religion in the church (Bethlehem) of which he was a member and an elder. He was an uncle of the heaven- ly-minded and much-loved Rev. Hugh Robertson Smith, so well known and greatly honored among us.
Rev. Edmund Wright, son of Ichabod Wright and Mary Clapp, was born in Easthampton, Mass., July 1, 1808. He graduated from Williams College in 1836, and studied theology at East Windsor, Conn. The fol- lowing is from a report to his college classmates:
"I was city missionary in St. Louis, Mo., from 1839 to April 1841, during which time I visited forty coun- ties in Missouri and preached a few months to the Pres- byterian church in Palmyra. In 1842 I became mis- sionary and pastor at Weston, near Ft. Leavenworth, remaining until November, 1849. I then returned to St. Louis and became pastor of the Spruce Street Church until May, 1856. A month later I became agent for the American Tract Society, and continued in that service over two and a half years. I rested, on account of ill health, till May, 1863, when I became agent for the American Bible Society, for Missouri."
After twenty-five years of service he resigned. In his closing Report to the American Bible Society, he said: "I collected during the twenty-five years of ser- vice $32,891.31, and the amount of my sales was $135,488.36. In retiring from the service of the Society, its noble aims and world-wide work seems doubly dear." He had traveled 24,467 miles on official duty. He was then eighty years old, but full of strength and vigor. He was married in August, 1842, to Miss Achsah Fidelia Hurd of Bridgeport, Vt., who survives him, and is still, as always, abundant in good works. After retiring he made his home with his only surviv- ing child, Mrs. Anna Bullard Whitney, of Seattle, till called to higher service in August, 1901. "His was a most symmetrical character, worthy of emulation."
Rev. John Lapsley Yantis, D. D., born in Kentucky in 1804, came to Missouri in 1833. He labored in Clay
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county till 1835, and again in 1838-9. His most notable work in our territory was as President of Richmond College. He was a remarkable man, as is seen in the sketch of him in Dr. John B. Hill's History of Kansas City Presbytery. "His work as an evangelist and minister has made a lasting impression upon thousands, and he was not only a pioneer, but one of the fathers of Presbyterianism in Western Missouri."
Rev. John N. Young came to Missouri in 1855, and did much pioneer work. A co-presbyter writes as follows :
" The ministry of Rev. John N. Young in Northwest Missouri in connection with the Presbytery of Upper Missouri, fell in troublous times. In such times he illustrated the Scriptural ideal of the ministry as "an example in all things." Not only was he faithful and devoted in the religious duties of the preacher, but so wise, couragous and decided in political matters that he was elected to the State Senate. When those duties were done he returned to the care of the churches until advancing age released him from such responsibili- ties. "
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German Work.
As a matter of history something should be said of the work done by Presbyterians among our German population. Time has not permitted an exhaustive in- vestigation, so that what is given covers only the early years, and was mostly connected with Lexington Presbytery.
Conrad Henry Heckman was born December 3, 1811, at Bessendorf, Germany, was educated at Rot- terdam, and was ordained by Lexington Presbytery in 1849, when he was working at Weston. He is reported at Brunswick in 1851, and in 1852 he preached also at a point ten miles from Carrollton. In 1853 he removed to the Line Creek Church, near Parkville, which had a log church and land valued at $260. He preached there twice a month, once at Weston and once at Westport. It is distinctly stated in the Records, for 1853, in this connection, that the above named churches were "not in regular Presbyterial connection." In 1856, St. John appears as one of his churches with twenty-nine mem- bers. Nothing can be told of its location unless it was in Andrew county where there is now a German Re- formed St. Johns Church, which is not probable. The last report of Mr. Heckman's work, in the Minutes for 1859, gives St. Johns twenty-nine members; Weston, twenty-five; Westport, twenty-three, and Independ- ence, eleven, but as the report was starred, it referred to an earlier date. April 4, 1861, he was received by Platte Presbytery (O. S.) from Lexington Presbytery.
April 4, 1861, Platte Presbytery (O. S.) received under its care a German church in St. Joseph, and at the same time received and enrolled its acting pastor, Rev. F. W. Steffens. This church was stricken from the roll, April 11, 1853.
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Platte Presbytery (U. S. A.).
The beginning of its history is found on the first and second pages, and Dr. Sherwood continues :
There were at this time the following ministers and churches in the counties which constituted the Pres- bytery of Platte by this act of Synod.
Ministers :- Elijah A. Carson, Timothy Morgan, Wm. Reed, John N. Young, Nelson H. Smith, Elisha B. Sherwood, John Moore, D. D., Joel Kennedy, Matthew L. Anderson, Samuel Sawyer, Henry Bullard, C. W. Higgins, J. M. Green, Wm. H. Cummings, J. M. Morrison, Wm. H. Gill, J. D. Beard and J. M. Craw- ford-18.
Churches :- Savannah, Mt. Zion, Sixth Street St. Joseph, Fillmore, Oregon, Paint Lick, Salem, Union, Lathrop, Grand View, Hamilton, Mirabile, Albany, Car- rollton, Dawn, Fairview, Forest City, Willow Brook, Graham, Platte City, Weston, Breckenridge, Chilli- cothe, Osborn, Westminster, St. Joseph, Easton, Mary- ville, Phelp's City, Oak Grove, New York Settlement, Crocked River and Wheeling-32.
This Presbytery thus constituted, was ordered "to meet in the Sixth Street church of St. Joseph, on the 21st day of July, 1870, at 7:30 p. m. The Rev. John Moore, D. D., or in his absence, the oldest minister present to preside until the election of moderator ;
And furthermore, the Presbytery of Platte is hereby declared to be the proper and legal successor of the Presbyteries of Upper Missouri and Lexington, and as such entitled to all the rights and franchise and posessions, and liable for the performance of all the duties, of those Presbyteries."
On the 21st of July 1870, the Presbytery of Platt?, as constituted by the Synod of Missouri, in obedience to order of General Assembly convened in the Sixth Street Presbyterian church at 7:30 p. m. In the ab- sence of the Rev. John M. Moore, D. D., who was ap-
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pointed to open the Presbytery, Rev. E. B. Sherwood, the oldest minister present called the Presbytery to order, and having read the authority by which they had assembled, called on the Rev. John N. Young to open the meeting with prayer, after which the Rev. E. B. Sherwood preached a sermon, founded upon Rom. 4:20, 21: "He staggered not at the promises of God through unbelief: but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform." After sermon he formally constituted the Presbytery of Platte with prayer. The Rev. W. H. Gill was then chosen clerk protem. The roll of members present was then made and the following answered to their names:
Ministers :- John N. Young, Nelson H. Smith, E. B. Sherwood, Henry Bullard, Joel Kennedy, Matthew L. Anderson, J. M. Crawford and Wm. H. Gill.
Elders : John Colhoun of Sixth Street Presbyter- ian church.
The Presbytery as its first act resolved to spend the first half hour of every session in prayer, after which it adjourned until the next morning at 9 o'clock, clos- ing with prayer.
The Presbytery met according to adjournment at 9 o'clock on the 22nd of July. The roll was called, and the following additional elders reported: Peter Fisher from the church at Cameron and John DeClue from Westminster church, St. Joseph. After half an hour spent in prayer, the Presbytery proceeded to the election of officers. Rev. W. H. Gill was chosen mod- erator and Rev. Henry Bullard stated clerk. Commit- tees were filled and Platte Presbytery entered upon the work assigned her in the 19 counties of North- western Missouri."
The history of the churches has already been given, and a brief sketch of many of the ministers appears in the Ministerial Register so but little more need be said. Some special notice of those who have been markedly helpful in developing the churches, in bringing them to
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self-support, and in giving to Platte Presbytery the position it came to occupy, will be given farther on.
The union and reunion with the Cumberland Church was hailed with delight by the Presbytery, though it necessarily involved to many the sundering of long-cherished ties and associations, very precious in themselves. The healing of the breaches of Zion by the formal union of those already one in all things except the name, was heartily welcomed. The evangelistic zeal of the Cumberland brethren which led them to the position (or offence, if we prefer so to call it) of giv- ing, among the required qualifications for the ministry, the classical training a second place to a divinely im- planted desire and fitness for soul-winning, had long since won the sympathy of earnest workers, and led them to forgive the offence. And the disillusionment of the majority of the Cumberland brethren as to the truth and propriety of the claim of the Primitive Bap- tists, with their fatalism and opposition to all forms of Christian activity, to be the representatives and ex- ponents of Calvinism (which led so many to justly abhor the very word Calvinism) had prepared the way. on their part, for the reunion.
That such a large proportion of the Cumberland churches were in the country and so many of them necessarily weak financially and in numbers, was to many a welcome fact, because from them come the most of our ministers, and in them very many of those who afterwards become leading and most efficient of- ficers in the larger churches, find the opportunity and necessity of learning church work by practice. Also, if the country churches are well cared for, the town churches of which they are the feeders will take care of themselves; neglect of the outlying districts being a suicidal policy for any Church, as well as disloyalty to the Master and a lack of true Christian patriotism.
The earlier appreciation of our Cumberland breth- ren of both the Scripturalness and wisdom of utilizing the talents and zeal of the gentler sex for more leading and public service than was customary formerly, is something in which they may justly take pride.
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The following is a list of the Moderators and Stated Clerks of Platte Presbytery :
Moderators of Presbytery.
July 1870.
Wm. H. Gill.
April 1871. J. M. Crawford. -
September 1871. Jno. A. Pinkerton.
April 1872 M. L. Anderson.
September 1872. Robt. Cruikshank.
April 1873 Duncan McRuer.
September 1873.
Joel Kennedy.
April 1874 Jno. H. France.
September 1874. John Gillespie.
April 1875. Jno. S. McClung.
September 1875. Jno. D. Beard.
April 1876 Duncan McRuer.
September 1876. Luther Dodd.
April 1877 Jno. A. Pinkerton.
September 1877 Wm. G. Keady.
April 1877 . Geo. A. Mckinlay.
September 1878 . Geo. Miller.
April 1879 .Duncan Brown.
September 1879. F. G. Strange.
April 1880 E. B. Sherwood.
September 1880. A. D. Workman.
April 1881. W. C. Smith.
September 1881 Duncan McRuer.
April 1882 W. D. Patton.
September 1882. T. D. Roberts.
April 1883 Wm. Meyer.
September 1883. B. D. Luther.
April 1884 A. B. Goodale.
September 1884. F. E. Thompson.
April 1885 Carson Reed.
August 1885. James Reed.
March
1886 E. P. Foster.
August 1886
H. M. Rogers.
HISTORY OF PLATTE PRESBYTERY. 173
March. 1887 Willis Weaver.
September 1887.
W. A. Cravens.
March 1888. Carson Reed.
September 1888. James Kirkwood.
March 1889
W. A. Cravens.
September 1889.
II. M. Sydenstriker.
March 1890
S. L. McAfee.
September 1890
W. R. McElroy.
March 1891. T. D. Roberts.
September 1891.
A. M. Reynolds.
March 1892.
James Reed.
September 1892
C. McCain.
April 1893
HI. A. Sawyers.
September 1893.
E. B. Sherwood.
April 1894. T. D. Roberts.
September 1894.
George Miller.
April 1895.
John Wilson.
September 1895. S. L. McAfee.
April 1896
Duncan Brown.
September 1896
E. W. Symonds.
April 1897. A. W. McGlothlan.
September 1897.
J. G. Gilkerson.
April . 1898 Jas. P. Green.
September 1898. Geo. Miller.
April 1899 A. D. Wolfe.
September 1899. WV. A. Cravens.
April 1900 G. H. Williamson.
September 1900. W. E. Caldwell.
April 1901 E. H. Bull.
September 1901. S. M. Ware.
April 1902 J. H. Shields.
September 1902 Duncan Brown.
April 1903 C. P. Blayney.
September 1903.
C. E. Kircher.
April 1904 W. I. Doole.
September 1904.
J. H. Hatfield.
A
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April 1905 H. N. Bullard.
September 1905. Jno. T. Curtis.
April 1906 James McFarland.
September 1906
Silas Evans.
April 1907. .U. G. Schell.
Stated Clerks of Presbytery.
July 1870. Henry Bullard.
April 1880 E. B. Sherwood.
April 1883 T. D. Roberts.
September 1890
W. H. Clark.
September 1899
A. W. McGlotblan.
By the action of the General Assembly in session at Columbus, O., May 23, 1907, Platte Presbytery ceased at 10 A. M., June 18, 1907, to have an ecclesiastical and legal existence. Clay, Platte and Ray counties were attached to Kansas City Presbytery; Grundy and Mer- cer, to Kirksville; Caldwell, Carroll, Daviess and Liv- ingston, to McGee; and the remaining ten counties constituted St. Joseph Presbytery.
Notices, like comparisons, may be considered "ill- vidious," but the impossibility of noticing all of the many worthy of special commendation should not for- bid the recognition of some of them.
Something should be said of Elder William K. Adams, still a vigorous worker. Though the most of his work has been done in St. Joseph, he has belonged to the Presbytery in a special sense. As a business man he has long held a high position as head, in St. Joseph, of the freight department of the Burlington System, with hundreds of men under his control, and has the confidence and esteem of every one. But he stands high- est as a most consecrated and wise Christian worker. Indefatigably active, he has been prominent in the mis- sionary enterprises of the Westminster Church, es-
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pecially as an acceptable and greatly blessed lay preacher. Years ago some of his friends urged him to seek ordination. Consulting his pastor he was told: "Multitudes of men who run shy of an ordained preacher and whom I cannot reach, will listen to you. If you are ordained they will soon become shy of you." He saw the wisdom of the suggestion and acted ac- cordingly. "As a business man and a lay preacher of the gospel, he exemplifies the possibility of happily combining both."
The Nestor of Platte Presbytery (U. S. A.), the beloved pastor for over forty years of the Westminster Church, cannot be passed by entirely. Full of loving sympathy for the "common people," winsomely genial, and deeply spiritual, his life has been a power and a benediction to multitudes. The striking fact, that after being the pastor for twenty-five years he was able to "recollect only one instance when the Session, after full discussion, voted contrary to his expressed wish," attests both his tact and wisdom. The following tri- butes are from men qualified to judge :
"The Rev. Henry Bullard has exemplified two ele- ments of character which spring from inherited mould- ing-one, a sweet Christian spirit, charity and gen- erosity; the other, the inclination to succeed by indi- vidual initiative in vigorous efforts for the spread of the kingdom of God and for civic righteousness, taking his stand wherever there is need of the best efforts of men of ability, persistency and high character."
"A man of great purity of character; of earnest devotion to his sacred calling; as a preacher unusually well read in current events, and therefore very prac- tical in his pulpit utterances-dealing largely with mat- ters of today. Few pastors are as greatly loved by their people, this because he is so approachable at all times and by all classes, and so sympathetic and help- ful in his delightful companionship. While he has never considered himself a revivalist in the modern
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acceptation of that word, few ministers of the Evangel have made more positive and lasting impressions for good on those who have been his listeners."
The Rev. John A. McAfee was for fifteen years one of the most prominent and influential members of Platte Presbytery, though never its Moderator, always declin- ing such honors. His active mind, though intensely oc- cupied with his work as President of Park College, busied itself with the condition of the churches, and his consuming zeal for the upbuilding of the Master's kingdom, and his high ideals of Christian service made him a leader in every advance movement.
As Chairman for several years of the Presbytery's Permanent Committee on Home Missions, Prof. Samuel L. McAfee rendered invaluable service. His extensive acquaintance in the ministry peculiarly fitted him to aid in securing desirable supplies for the vacant churches. His Sabbaths were very largely given to visiting and supplying destitute churches.
Revs. James Reed and Thos. D. Roberts stand pre- eminent in giving many years of faithful, self-denying service, largely among the feebler and thus more needy churches. The former has been in Missouri since 1870, and all but ten years of the time, in Platte Pres- bytery. The whole ministerial life of the latter, be- ginning in April, 1876. has been spent in Platte Pres- bytery.
In 1865, Rev. Elisha B. Sherwood came to this sec- tion as Presbyterial Missionary. A stalwart physical- ly, and filled with unquenchable zeal, he did a great work in Northern Missouri, organizing thirty-three Presbyterian churches, some of them east of our bounds, and reaching his ninety-sixth year. The details of his life work are quite fully given in his very interesting Auto- biography, "Fifty Years on the Skirmish Line."
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After a successful pastorate at Lathrop, Rev. John Wilson served Presbytery most efficiently as Pastor-at- Large for over four years. He not only supplied the vacant churches as far as possible, assisting the feeble and heartening the discouraged, but looked after the property interests of the Presbytery, arranging for the removal of one building and the sale of others. He did much towards bringing the weaker churches up to self-support and greater self-denying activity.
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EDUCATIONAL WORK.
At this day the High Schools in all our larger towns have greatly reduced the demand for Academies and Seminaries, and the State Universities have so affected the attendance at the smaller colleges that many of them have been forced to give up. But even a passing glance at the work of our earlier Presbyterian min- isters, will show that a very large part of it was educa- tional. They were true to the traditions of the Pres- byterian Church in exalting education to its proper place. Some notice, often meager and painfully in- definite, will here be given of some of the Presbyterian institutions of higher learning, present and past, in our territory.
Avalon College was taken over from the United Brethren in 1888-9, Rev. Wm. C. McCune, the first president, being very active in the movement. After several years of struggle it was taken under the care of Platte Presbytery as an academy and put in charge of Rev. Austin D. Wolfe. This institution did a good work, but the lack of a financial basis finally necessi- tated its abandonment.
The Grand River College (doubtless only an acad- emy) four or five miles from Trenton, was quite a school in 1851, having several teachers, two of whom were Presbyterians. In 1853 the pastor of the Trenton Presbyterian Church preached there one Sabbath each month. So we feel warranted in concluding that it was largely, if not wholly, a Presbyterian institution.
Prof. Anthony Haynes wrote from Excelsior Springs, Aug. 31, 1908: "My school, 'Haynes Acad- emy,' was founded by me in 1896 and continued ten years. It was a Christian school and a great body of my old students have become Christians. The school prepared students for the University. My old students
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hold places of influence in different parts of the United States. I owned the school property. Owing to bad health I have been compelled to give up my school work."
While Park College is non-sectarian, it is a distinct- ly Presbyterian institution, and is entitled to a some- what extended notice here.
At least as early as in 1851, the Hon. George S. Park had in mind what eventually became Park Col- lege. Lexington Presbytery, then in session at Keats- ville (now Keytesville ?) took the following action April 25, 1851: "Resolved: That Presbytery have re- ceived with high gratification from Mr. G. S. Park, an elder of the Presbyterian Church in Parkville, a propo- sition for establishing a school of high order, or a college, in that town, to be placed under the care and patronage of this Presbytery, and that we highly ap- preciate the liberality and enterprise of our brother in the matter; Resolved, that a committee of three be ap- pointed by the Moderator to mature a plan for an in- stitution, and for receiving into proper care the dona- tion proposed by the said G. S. Park." The whole matter was repeatedly and carefully considered by Presbytery, which on May 3, 1853, said; "Whereas the Presbytery in their corporate capacity cannot either so rapidly or satisfactorily carry forward this enterprise as a single, well qualified individual, therefore Re- solved: That this Presbytery appreciate the noble and philanthropic motives which prompted Esq. Park to make this liberal donation; that they return to him their hearty thanks for his confidence in their ability and integrity; and that he saw fit to confide to them the organization and the subsequent control of the in- stitution ; Resolved, 2nd, That this Presbytery hereby return to Esq. Park his magnificent donation, provided he assume all the responsibility assumed by the Trus- tees, hoping and praying that success may attend his plans and exertions ; Resolved, 3rd, The Presbytery also holds itself in readiness again to receive under its care,
-
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the contemplated institution, if Esq. Park shall choose, at a future time, again to commit it to our hands."
The disturbed political condition of this special sec- tion of the country which soon followed and continued until, during the Civil War, Parkville was badly wrecked, suspended further action for many years. Then Rev. E. B. Sherwood became an ally with Mr. Park in his plans, and finally brought him and Rev. John A. McAfee together. The result was the estab- lishment of an institution for "The Training of Chris- tian Workers," of both sexes and for any and every line of Christian service; Mr. Park contributing much financially, and Mr. McAfee much towards its character and success. It was opened in 1875, and chartered as Park College in 1879. One marked feature of Park College was that it gave a large place to the study of God's Word, which every student was expected to read through in course, once every year. The charter says : "There shall be daily Bible readings and expositions." Every student was required to attend daily worship as well as the regular Sabbath services, including the Sabbath school. All who yielded themselves to the re- ligious influences thrown around them, gained a Chris- tian experience, unless they had it before coming. Those who resisted these influences did not, as a rule, remain long. None were employed as instructors or helpers who were not in sympathy with the highest ideals of Christian life.
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