USA > Missouri > History of the Blue River Baptist Association of Missouri > Part 10
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But memory leads me further yet. And further backward still it roams: see these Christians as they met To worship in their cabin homes.
No house of public worship then; They needed not the sounding bell To call to prayer those pious men; They knew the time, observed it well.
And when the man of God appeared. In homespun coat, or hunting shirt,
The careless sinners might have heard Those Christians sing in sweet concert;
Or listening to his words apart, They noted not his homely coat,
But his appeals from yearning heart, And not from manuscript or note.
Full well I know whereof I speak, For I was of those careless ones, Admiring what I did not seek - The character of Heaven-born sons.
Month followed month; to years they grew ; Baptists increased within the land ; My father and my mother, too, Were added to the struggling band.
And other names worthy as they Were with those worshipers enrolled.
And converts from the sinful way Were welcomed to the Shepherd's fold.
And they resolved, in thirty-seven, As David did in ancient days, To build unto the God of heaven, A house in which to sound His praise.
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BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI.
'Twas simple, plain and somewhat rude ; Not built for show, but use divine, A wall of logs, and some were hewed By these now feeble hands of mine.
Materials for that house of God Were brought by many a willing hand That now is resting 'neath the sod, Near where that house of prayer did stand.
On certain days the sons of toil, With axe or hammer, saw or plane,
Would meet and laboring for the while, Would set the day to come again.
And thus did they the house uprear, A temple to the living Lord, Believing He would answer prayer, And give His servants their reward.
To Him they dedicated it, A house of praise, a house of prayer ; And some no doubt are living yet, Who date their souls' conversion there.
The fruitful seasons came and went, And Pleasant Garden grew apace ; The gardeners that the Master sent Were ministers of heavenly grace.
I need not call their names to-day, Though memory holds them ever dear ; Self-sacrificing preachers they, Whose hopes and treasures were not here.
And one of them, a champion brave, My memory tells me, long ago Led me into the liquid grave, A death and burial forth to show.
But as it was in Joseph's day, Those fruitful years came to an end ; There came a languishing decay, Which seemingly did death portend.
.
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HISTORY OF THE BLUE RIVER
I need not dwell upon the cause, If I the cause could even know : Enough to say there came a pause, And Pleasant Garden ceased to grow.
'Tis said that there is no result, But what has had its primary cause,
And we will find if we consult, That this is one of Nature's laws.
Perhaps 'tis just a thought of mine, The blight originated thus :
My judgment differing from thine, In things not needful to discuss.
Our zealous brother, over- wise. Would have his brethren read the book
Through spectacles that suit his eyes. And have them through his glasses look.
While they refuse to pleasure him, As loving brothers sometimes should, Avowing. though their eyes are dim, That they have glasses just as good.
Nay, even better. some contend. And straightway try to prove it so : And thus they wrangle without end, O'er things no mortal man can know -
About the plan of saving grace, And when redemption's work began :
How much is due Christ's righteousness, And how much agency in man,
One brother striving hard to prove The work was finished and complete
Before the earth began to move Around the central source of heat.
That God, His work will carry on In every age, in all the world. And His elect alone be drawn, Though others be to ruin hurled.
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BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI.
Some widely differing from them, To differ still, are not content ; They'd have them drop that theorem Of predetermined punishment.
They'd have them once for all admit That something must be done by man, That though God does His work, 'tis yet By agencies He works His plan.
That man a mission has on earth, That mission he must here perform, That mission work, it seems, gave birth Unto the cloud that brought the storm.
But whether it was this or that, 'Tis needless now to speculate ; Those who in union long had sat Unfortunately separate.
Those who withdrew took other name; Of these I've nothing now to say ; But Pleasant Garden Church became A waning star from that sad day.
In after years, its name retained, When more were dead and buried there Than living on its rolls remained, They sold that house and builded here.
That old log temple moved away, Its site we scarcely now can find ; But vividly that house to-day Is well imprinted on the mind.
And as my natural eyes behold This structure as it fast decays, The eye of memory uncontrolled, Still turns to that of by-gone days.
And when I meet the few who meet As here of late I seldom do ; Of those who there I once did greet, How few, alas, how very few !
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HISTORY OF THE BLUE RIVER
And memory then calls back the day, Brothers and sisters I behold, Who gave me leave to go my way. And join some other Christian fold.
When from that church I parted then, It numbered sixty-five or more :
And now, alas! 'tis less than ten, And some of these ne'er cross the floor.
Of those I parted from that day, One worshiper alone remains A member of that church to-day, And she that character maintains.
This house connected with the now, Speaks of the country's changing ways ;
That other's image still, somehow, Speaks of its past and better days.
How seldom are the living led, And for devotion here repair ;
But ah ! the many, many dead, Are constantly reposing there.
The branches of my family tree, And other family trees as well,
Lopped off, are laid promiscuously, As many a marble stone will tell,
While many a Christian hero sleeps With nothing there to mark the spot ;
But God above a record keeps - They and their deeds are not forgot.
And He who has the power to raise Those who in death so long have lain,
Perhaps will in the future days, Revive the feeble church again.
It's had a winter long and cold, And drearily the months have passed ; Though tarrying long may we behold, The genial spring-time come at last.
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BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI.
We may not judge or lay the blame, If blame there be on these or those; No mortal man should ever claim God's ways or purpose to disclose.
Taunt not the weak and languishing, As Job was taunted by his friends ; That God their faults are punishing, When trouble on their head descends.
Hard trials wait the feeble few, Hard names to them are often given ; Hard-shell, and iron-jacket, too ; And more than that, two seeders even.
Whatever wrong view they may hold, We hope that they true Christians are ; And when they reach the Master's fold, God grant that we may meet them there.
REMINISCENCES OF BLUE RIVER BAPTIST ASSOCIATION.
BY MARTIN RICE.
Year after year, for many years, Has this Association met; Formed by the early pioneers, It holds its annual sessions yet -
A union of the churches made, For Zion's mighty king to war;
Whose blood, a ransom fully paid, His sinful captive subjects for.
At Sniabar, in Lafayette, In eighteen hundred thirty-four, Our Christian fathers hopeful met, This bond of union to secure.
The time has passed, the years have fled ; The measured years by sun and star ; Those Christian fathers all are dead Who met that year at Sniabar.
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HISTORY OF THE BLUE RIVER
A half a century and more,
Has come and passed away since then ; Those fathers on the other shore - Their works of faith on earth remain.
The union which they formed survives, Their deeds of faith and love proclaims ; And not in vain have been their lives ; Remembered still will be their names.
And while Blue River has a name ' Mongst our Associations free, Her records still will speak of them, In generations yet to be.
Let Fristoe, Warder, Stayton live - Long live upon historic pages ; And Powell, White and Ricketts have The gratitude of future ages.
Here Savage, Finch, and Jackson, too, The kindest mention will deserve ; Snelling, Avery and Fitzhugh, From duty daring not to swerve.
Adams, Brown and Harrelson, Just as faithful, just as true :
Flannery, King and Robertson : Their names are there recorded, too.
They laid a firm foundation then, And of materials good and true ; No doubt, those simple minded men Builded much better than they knew.
Small indeed, and weak at first, To human eyes did it appear,
But by its careful fathers nursed, It grew in strength from year to year.
With strengthened stake and lengthened cord, It spread and covered all the field : And from its portals, Christ the Lord. His gracious truth and love revealed
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BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI.
From hundreds it to thousands grew, Still spreading wider its domain, And from its walls the heralds blew The gospel trumpet not in vain.
From this have kindred unions grown As helping daughters, strong and fair ; Tebo and Butler both will own And bless a mother's watchful care.
Lafayette and Johnson, too, Upon our eastern border near ; Daughter or twin sister true To all the family ever dear.
Its influence, too, has grown apace- We trust that it is doing good, In every church, in every place, In every town and neighborhood.
' Tis putting forth an effort now, To reach the distant heathen world ; On Afric's plains and mountain's brow, The Christian banner is unfurled.
A voice from it has crossed the seas, And in a foreign land and tongue, "Has given the gospel to Chinese Through Halcomb and Miss Emma Young.
' 'Tis speaking, too, in thunder tone, Against the bane of human life, That bane which is in every zone, The fruitful source of blood and strife-
Intemperance, now the worst of foes, Which, sweeping over all the land, Like to the lava's torrent flows A besom of destruction grand.
As said, this is the fiftieth time The church's delegates have met ; Some of them in their manhood's prime, And some in youthful years as yet.
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HISTORY OF THE BLUE RIVER
And here are the grayheaded ones, Those, who like me and Brother Wood, Through winter snows and summer suns, Have many a storm of life withstood.
Some who can call to mind the way In which this union first was made, As I can recollect the day When its foundation stone was laid.
* Some who have with its founders stood, And labored with them side by side, And like the woman, what they could, Have done for Christ the crucified.
But young or old, or middle-aged, We're in a common purpose joined ; The work in which we're all engaged, Is the salvation of mankind.
That purpose we should keep in view, Remembering that the time is short; By precept and example too, Entreat, admonish and exhort.
Let younger men to front ranks press, As worn out veterans back retire ; And may our God their efforts bless, And give His people their desire.
We do not meet to legislate, ( Advisory council this of ours ; )
The churches did not delegate Or give us legislative powers.
Then let our counsel be for good, And our advice with truth accord ; Let nothing said be understood As tending to produce discord.
* The fact that the fiftieth session of the Association occurred fifty-three years after its organization was owing to the fact that during the great civil war the Association did not meet for some years.
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BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI.
And may we give no counsel here With which ourselves will not comply ; Be all our counsels in the fear Of Him who reigns supreme on high.
And when this convocation ends, And its resolves have all been passed, May none of us who here attends Repent the vote that he has cast.
And when in future years we read The record that is made to-day, Oh ! may it not be like the seed The sower sowed beside the way.
May not the cares of life molest, Or the desire of gain destroy The harvest fruits, that might have blessed And brought us comfort, peace and joy.
And as our fathers, heretofore, Trusted in God, the God of heaven,
In eighteen hundred thirty-four, So let us trust in eighty-seven.
And when the present century - The latter half-has passed away, May other generations see The fruits of labors done to-day.
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HISTORY OF THE BLUE RIVER
APPENDIX.
Explanation: This history was intended to be pub- lished three years ago, but as the "Missionary Board " did not have money enough to carry on the mission work and publish the history too, it has been postponed till the present. The following tables will show a brief state- ment of what has been done in the past three years. And here is also appended a paper read by F. M. Furgason in January, 1890, which gives a brief history of the work done by the Kansas City Mission Board :
Statistical Table - Blue River Association.
Year.
Churches.
Member- ship.
Increase.
Bap- tisms.
Deaths.
Contributions during the Year.
Ordained Ministers
1887
38
4,093
454
368
24
$23,502.81*
39
1888
33
4,179
293
368
41
29,756.47*
41
1889
42
4,798
457
259
37
32,213.41*
41
* Contributions by Sunday Schools and contributions at Associations not in- cluded.
BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI.
143
Historical Table Blue River Baptist Association.
Organized October 11, 1834.
Yr.
Church met with.
Moderator.
Clerk.
Int'duc. Preacher.
1834
Little Sniabar
Moses A. Stayton.
Henry Avery
1835
Six Mile
Moses A. Stayton. John Warder
Henry Avery
1836
Blackwater
John Warder
Jabez Shotwell.
1838
Pleasant Garden .. Big Sniabar
John Warder
Jabez Shotwell.
1840
High Point.
John Warder
EI och Rice.
1841
Little Blue.
John Warder
Enoch Rice
1843
Lexington.
John Farmer.
James W. Waddell. James W. Waddell. W. C. Ligon
Jeremiah Farmer. A. P. Williams.
1844
Clear Creek
John Farmer.
W. C. Ligon
1846
New Hope.
Lewis Franklin ...
W. C. Ligor
1847
Liberty
Alvin Brooking ...
E. Roth
Jeremiah Farmer. Henry Farmer.
1850 1851 1852
Grand River.
Alvin Brooking.
M. F. Price
Lewis Franklin.
1853
Lone Jack.
Squire G. Allen ...
T. M. T. Jackson
W. P. C. Caldwell.
1854
Harrisonville
Squire G. Allen.
Wm. F. Price
Wm. A. Durfey.
1855
Six Mile
Wm. A. Durfey
Jeremiah Farmer.
1856
West Fork
quire G. Allen ... Squire G. Allen ...
Wm. A. Durfey.
R. S. Thomas.
1857
Providence.
R. S. Thomas
Wm. A. Durfey
E. Roth.
Blue Springs
R. S. Thomas ..
Wm. A. Durfey
W. P. C. Caldwell
Joseph Warder
M. F. Price.
M. F. Price
Mound Prairie
G. E. Belles.
H. G. Glenn
H. G. Glenn
J. W. Warder.
High Point.
Pleasant Hill.
Greenton
A. C. Rafferty.
Lone Jack.
N. M. Givan
H. Talbird.
1875
Lee's Summit
H. G. Glenn
1876
Pleasant Ridge
Blue Spring
Nelson Scholl
Nelson Scholl
A. J. Emerson.
Greenwood
F. M. Furgason.
J. J. Robinson.
Independence
F. M. Furgason.
J. O. Anderson.
Freeman.
F. M. Furgason
J. E. Chambliss. G. L. Black.
Pleasant Hill.
F. M. Furgason
E. H. Foster. R. K. Maiden.
Calvary, K. C. Lone Jack.
F. M. Furgason W. T. Campbell
A. H. Deane.
1887
Lee's Summit
. ohn B. Wornall ..
F. M. Furgason. .. W. T. Campbell.
1888 1889
Blue Sprin. s.
John B. Wornall .. John B. Wornall ..
F. M. Furgason
J. C. Armstrong.
F. M. Furgason .:
T. E. Vassar.
Moses A. Stayton. Joseph White. Thomas Stayton. Joseph Whitc. Henry Avery. w.m. Ouslcy. James Savage. Gabriel Fitzhugh.
1845
Union
Alvin Brooking ..
Henry Farmer. Wm. C. Ligon. Lewis Franklin.
1848
Post Oak
Alvin Brookir g.
1849
Big Blue
Alvin Brooking.
E. Rotb E. S. Dulin
W. P. C. Caldwell.
Mound Prairie
Alvin Brooking. Jas. W. Waddell ..
M. F. Price
Jeremiah Farmer. Wm. White.
S. G. Alien.
Wm. M. Bell. B. M. Adams. Joseph Warder.
Charles Whiting. O. Tompkins. Caleb Blood.
1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874
Index.
H. G. Glenn
Richard Kelly.
1877 1878 1879 880 1881 1882 1883
West Fork.
F. M. Furgason
1884 1885 1886 Harrisonville
F. M. Furgason
A. C. Rafferty.
Bel on
Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. John B. Wornall .. John B. Wornall .. John B. Wornall .. John B. Wornall .. John B. Wornall .. John B. Wornall ..
H. G. Glenn
J. K. Lacey. [None.] A. H. Deanc.
New Hope
Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. W. P. (. Caldwell Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer. Jeremiah Farmer.
Lansing Burroughs J. C. Maple M. F. Royle
Wm. Hildreth. J. C. Maple.
1858 1859 Concord 1860 Union 1861 *Austin 866 Lone Jack. 1867 1868 Harrisonville
W. P. C. Caldwell
H. G. Glenn.
Mt. Pleasant.
John Farmer.
Jabez Shotwell.
1837 Pleasant Grove
John Warder
Enoch hice.
1839
1842 Hopewell
Blue Ridge
* Adjourned on account of war. No meeting until 1866.
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HISTORY OF THE BLUE RIVER
RECAPITULATION.
Churches reporting 38, not reporting 4-total.
41
Churches received, Antioch .. 1
R.ceived by baptism, 259; letter, 412: relation, 39; restoration, 14 - total. 821
Dismissed by letter, 281; exclusion, 39; erasion, ?; death, 37 - total. 367
Net increase. 457
Present membership. 4,798
Contributions for church expenses
$24,333 92
Contributions for city missions.
1,446 25
Contributions for Blue River missions.
868 58
Contributions for State missions.
1,431 12
Contributions for American ( home ) missions.
495 15
Contributions for foreign missions ..
1,132 25
Contributions for ministerial education.
315 95
Contributions for other objects
1,033 61
Contributions for minutes.
38 25
Total
$32,213 41
Contributions by the Sunday Schools.
2,540 50
Contributions for various objects at the Association
2,157 71
Grand Total
$36,901 62
KANSAS CITY BAPTIST RE-UNION - A PLEASANT AND PROFIT- ABLE MEETING.
The gathering of the one hundred and fifty members of the leading Baptists of this city, at the Bona Venture Hotel on Thursday night of last week, was one of the most interesting and prophetic meetings ever held among us here. This meeting of the Baptist Mission Union was held at the instance of the City Mission Board, which is composed of the pastors, deacons, and three other mem- bers of each of the churches. The following is a report of the Board for the past year:
The Mission Board reports to the Baptist Union the mission work of the past year, and the present condition of the Baptist mission in the city. When the Union was formed in 1882, of the First and the Calvary, the then only two self-sustaining Baptist churches in the city, there was only one mission church, the Scandinavian, and one
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BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI.
mission Sunday School. the Seventeenth Street. During the seven years' existence of the Union, ten mission Sun- day Schools have been organized, viz. : The Olive Street, Emmanuel, William Jewell, Charlotte Street, Springfield Avenue, German, Walnut Grove, Fifth Street, Mulberry and Michigan Avenue. The two last mentioned, the Mul- berry and Michigan Avenue, for sufficient reasons were disbanded. The six first mentioned, viz .: Olive Street, Emmanuel, William Jewell, Charlotte Street, Springfield Avenue, and the German, in due time grew into churches, one of which, the Olive Street, soon became self-sustain- ing. Two, the Charlotte Street and the Springfield Ave- nue, having considered the matter well, disbanded and aided in the organization of the Seventh Church, on Spring- field Avenue and Holmes Street. This church has also a Sunday School, having reversed the usual order by organ- izing the church before the Sunday School. The Sunday School that had been connected with the Springfield. Ave- nue Church was disbanded; the one formerly connected with the Charlotte Street Church is continued by the new South Side Church, so that there are now in the city, counting
the Westport Church, four self-sustaining churches,
the First, Calvary, Olive Street and Westport. receiving outside aid, the German, Scandinavian, Emman- uel, William Jewell and the South Side, and nine mission Sunday Schools, five connected with the five mission churches, and four not connected with any church, viz. : The Seventeenth Street, Fifth Street, Walnut Grove and Charlotte Street. All of these mission Sunday Schools and mission churches, fostered by your Board, have done and are doing good work in teaching the young and the old the "Way of Life," lifting the moral sentiment of the community wherever located, and in establishing and strengthening the Baptist cause in the city. The num-
Five
14-1-
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HISTORY OF THE BLUE RIVER
ber of conversions in these missions and churches. includ- ing the Olive Street, for the year ending September 23d, ult., as reported to the Blue River Association, was one hundred and eighty-two persons. Could we gather up all that has been done in the missions and churches during the entire seven years, we confidently believe all would say the Union has not existed in vain. The Olive Street Church, organized in 1884 with thirty members, has grown to three hundred and fifty members, and occupies a posi- tion of standing and influence in the city.
The Emmanuel organization in 1885, with thirty-four members, has grown to over one hundred. The William Jewell, organized in 1886 with nineteen members. has grown to almost one hundred members. The Springfield Avenue, organized June 27th, with nineteen members, and the Charlotte Street, June 28th, 1888, with seventeen members, the latter having grown to about fifty members. both disbanded about the middle of November last, and on the 20th of the same month aided in the organization of a church at Springfield Avenue and Holmes Street. This. the youngest Baptist church in the city, organized with nearly seventy members, although only about six weeks old has nearly one hundred members, starts out with a vigorous life and a most hopeful future. When the Union was organized seven years ago, the entire Baptist broth- erhood in the city did not exceed six hundred members: to-day as per report to the Blue River Association, it is about eighteen hundred. The Fifth Street. Seventeenth Street, Walnut Grove and Charlotte Street schools all have houses sufficient for their present needs on leased lots. The Olive Street Church own well located. eligible ground, but are straitened for room in their beautiful little chapel. The Emmanuel has a commodious building, well located, but is carrying a debt of some $2.000. The Wil-
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BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI.
liam Jewell Church is cramped for room in an inconve- nient upper hall, and the special work of the Board and of the Union for the coming year seems to be to provide for this body a suitable church building on the well-loca- ted lots owned by the church, but on which there is yet an indebtedness of some $1,200. The Union not being estab- ished on a financial basis, and all the mission schools and churches having contributed and collected from various sources, and expended as became necessary various amounts of money in carrying on their work, very little money has passed through the treasury of the Board.
Could all these contributions, collections and disburse- ments be here reported, a creditable showing would be made. An approximately correct statement can be made by adding to the reports of the mission churches made to the Blue River Association in September, the collections and disbursements by the mission schools as nearly as we could obtain them; this shows collected and expended on the field $4, 209. 60 collected and designated to the various mission objects of the denomination. Home missions, foreign missions, etc., etc., $554:47. Total collected and disbursed by our mission schools and churches for the past year, $4,764.07; also one-half of all the conversions, and two-thirds of all the cash collections reported to the Association, were reported by our city churches and mis- sions. It should also be added here in closing that the State and the Blue River boards have uniformly recog- nized the work being done by your Board and by these missions, and have made liberal appropriations towards the support of our missionary pastors.
T. M. JAMES, President.
F. M. FURGASON, Clerk.
SEP 1 4 1953 1993
4052
DUS៛
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