USA > Missouri > Presbyterianism in the Ozarks : a history of the work of the various branches of the Presbyterian Church in Southwest Missouri, 1834-1907 > Part 26
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DAVID BELL WHIMSTER.
Like the subject of the preceding sketch Mr. Whimster first saw the light of day in Canada. He was born at Kingston, On- tario, and studied at the Collegiate Institute and Knox Theological Seminary. He was licensed and. ordained July, 1873, by the Presbytery of Owen Sound. In the land of his birth he served various churches from 1872 to 1881. Was stated clerk of the Presbytery of Winnepeg Secretary of Home Mission Committee, stated clerk of the Synod of Manitoba and North Washington Territory. In this country he has served churches in Kansas,
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Colorado, Ohio and Missouri. He was received by this Presby- tery April 15, 1903. served the West Plains and Burnham churches and was dismissed to the Presbytery of St. Joseph just at the organization of the New Presbytery of Ozark.
Mr. Whimster is a minister of good parts and has an unusu- ally exacted Esprit de Corps in the ranks of his calling.
THOMAS ANDERSON CLAGETT.
Received from the Presbytery of Palmyra September 23, 1903, served the Eureka Springs church a short time. Dismissed to the Presbytery of Larned September 15, 1904.
ยท JOHN R. TRETT.
Received April 20, 1904 from Presbytery of Emporia, served a group of churches in Jasper county. Entered educational work in Arkansas.
GEO. B. SPROULE.
Received from the Presbytery of Kansas City April 20. 1904. served the Mammoth Springs group of churches a short time.
HEZEKIAH M. GILBERT.
Received from the Presbytery of Neosho April 20, 1904, pas- tor of the Neosho church. Dismissed to the Presbytery of St. Louis October 31, 1904.
PLINY S. SMITH.
Received April 20, 1904. Served the churches of Buffalo, Evans and Conway. Honorably retired. When Mr. Smith wrote me to request the Presbytery to place him on the H. R. Roll, he said: "I feel that I can preach as well as I ever could. but the churches and my family say I am getting too old and I guess I will have to accept their judgment." His sweetness of spirit has left its impression on my life."
EBENEZER EDGAR MATHES.
"Has there any old fellow got mixed with the boys?
If there has take him out without making a noise."
And you may rest assured that the old fellow is not E. E. M. Gray hairs may cover the crown and whiskers may defy the spirit
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but Mathes will still be a boy. Together we entered McCormick Seminary in September 1887. In a few days he could call by name every student, and we knew him then as well as we know him now. He was born in Washington county, Tennessee, in 1863 if I am not mistaken, and graduated at Greenville and Tusculum college in '87 and McCormick Seminary in 1890. He applied for a commission under the Foreign Board but failed to pass the medical examination and entered the Home Mission work in the Indian Territory. While he was yet young in the ministry one of "the sisters" declared "Mr. Mathes may not preach as good as some men, but he can offer the finest prayer that ever polluted a mortal's lips." From the Indian Territory he went to Icwa and from there he entered this Presbytery April 29. 1903. For about a year he served as pastor at large with great acceptance and resigned his work to take charge of the Ebenezer church. A change of climate becoming imperative he was dismissed to the Presbytery of Rio Grande September 29, 1905. Mr. Mathes is gifted with a buoyant spirit and a retentive memory, especially for names, places, faces and dates. One of his co-Presbyters remarked that he exhibited such a knowledge of Eureka Springs that he inferred that Mathes had lived there for years and was surprised to learn that he had only visited there for a few days.
CLAUS OLANDT.
Mr. Olandt began his ministry as assistant to the pastor of the First Church of Joplin and then took charge of the Mission which was organized into Bethany church. He had had consid- erable previous training in Y. M. C. A. work and was especially gifted as a personal worker and in Bible readings. The Presby- tery ordained him April 29, 1903, and that same day installed him pastor of the Bethany church. His work in this difficult field was unusually successful and from time to time it became necessary to make additions to the house of worship. The pastoral relation was dissolved June 1, 1905, and he was dismissed to the classis of Westchester July 13, 1905.
EDWARD A. CURDY.
Ordained by the Presbytery of Ozark November 12, 1903. served the Weldensian church. Dismissed to the Presbytery of Highland September 13, 1905.
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SIMPSON VERNON SYDENSTICKER.
Received from the Presbytery of Fort Scott (Cumberland) October 27, 1904, served the Ash Grove church. Entered Lane Seminary as a student.
JACOB F. SCHERER.
Received from the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Kansas. Engaged in secular work. Preached at Mt. Vernon and other churches, later at Willow Springs for a time.
NATHANIEL CHESTNUT.
Ordained by the Presbytery of Nebraska City April 14, 1882. Received from Presbytery of Topeka April 19, 1905. Pastor Eureka Springs church.
BENJAMIN L. STUART.
Received from the Presbytery of Kansas City April 19, 1905. S. S. Neosho church. Dismissed to the Presbytery of Neosho September 12, 1906.
BENJAMIN MILAM SHIVE.
Born at Houstin, Miss., February 19, 1862. Graduated at Arkansas college, taught school, spent one year in S. W. P.U. Seminary and graduated at Union Theological Seminary, Va., 1893. Mr. Shive was licensed by the Presbytery of Arkansas June 8. 1892, and ordained by Columbia Presbytery U. S., Sept. 3rd, 1892. He took a P. G. course in Scotland, '95-6, and served various churches in the Presbyterian church U. S., in the southern states. The Arkansas college gave him the degree of D. D. Dr. Shive is a preacher of good pulpit ability. and is a fair sample of the southern conservative theologian. In 1895 he accepted the pas- torate of the First church of Joplin.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN LOGAN.
Mr. Logan is cosmopolitan in his ecclesiastical tastes, having been in the ministry of the Cumberland Presbyterian, Congrega- tional and Presbyterian churches, and after the union went with the anti-union element of the C. P. Church.
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He was received April 20, 1905, from the Congregational Association. Served the churches of Salem, Preston and Grace.
J. H. GLANVILLE.
James Halls Granville was ordained October 6, 1889, by Bishop J. C. Greenberry, of the M. E. Church, South. He served various churches in that connection, spent a time in educational work and received the degree of Ph. D. Mr. Glan- ville entered the Presbyterian Church and the Presbytery of Ozark April 20, 1905. He had contemplated this step for some time and had acquainted himself with the doctrines and polity of the church of his adoption. He first served as stated supply of the Bolivar and Fair Play churches. Then received a call to the West Plains Church, where he was installed September 20, 1908. Here he gives promise of great usefulness, modest and retiring in dis- position, Dr. Glanville is scholarly in his attainments and pains- taking in the performance of every duty.
JOHN FRANKLIN SHEPHERD.
Dr. Shepherd was nurtured on the Shorter Catechism in youth, but removed from Presbyterian associations and entered the United Brethren Church. He was born in Antioch, Ohio, March 7, 1860, took a select course in Madison Academy and Ohio University ;graduated at Union Biblical Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, 1888 ; pursned a three years' post-graduate course and received the degree of Ph. D. from Oteerbein University 1893; received the degree of D. D. from Richmond College in 1905. His record in the U. B. Church is as follows: Ordained September 17, 1887, by the East Ohio Conference; pastor Denver, Col., First U. B. Church 1888; Akron, Ohio, 1890; presiding elder East Ohio Conference 1893-'96. In Akron Dr. Shepherd built a church costing $18.000. He relinquished a seat in the General Conference of 1896 to enter the church of his early childhood and served the Madison Presby- terian Church of West Point, Ohio, 1896-1899. His next fields of labor were Carrollton and New Hamsbury, Ohio, 1899-1902, and Fairbury, Neb., 1902-1905. At New Hamsbury he built a house of worship and at Fairbury a manse.
Dr. Shepherd was received by the Presbytery of Ozark May 17. 1905, and was installed pastor of the Webb City Church June 11th, after a little over a month's service on the field. With char- acteristic vigor he entered upon this work at an opportune time, rapidly increased the roll of the church and in twenty months secured a pipe organ and other improvements costing $3,200. Un-
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der his ministry the First Church and the Cumberland Church were united without any loss or frietion. The house of worship formerly occupied by the Cumberland Church was presented to the little band of Presbyterians gathered in the adjoining city of Carterville. Dr. Shepherd was made Provisional Chairman of Home Missions in the western section of the Presbytery just prior to the reorganization. His subsequent work in the new Presby- tery of Carthage belongs to another volume.
HUSTON TAYLOR.
Ordained by the Presbytery of St. Paul July 27, 1900, Mr. Taylor was received from the Presbytery of Utica in the fall of 1905. The 26th of November he was installed pastor of the first church of Carthage. He was subsequently appointed Chairman of the Commitee on Foreign Missions and at once bean to project new methods to develop interest in this important branch of church benevolences.
CHARLES HENRY MITCHELMORE.
Received from the Presbytery of Hastings April 18, 1906; assistant pastor of Calvary Church. If you ever grow shaky on the question of the scripturalness of the Presbyterian mode of baptism send for this sweet-spirited brother. Gifted as a personal worker and as a Bible teacher, I can only wish he had entered Ozark Presbytery sooner.
ROBERT L. KINNAIRD.
Ordained by the Presbytery of Upper Missouri November 30, 1902; received April 18, 1906; pastor of Bethany Church, Joplin.
ABRAM NELSON WYLIE.
Ordained by the Presbytery of Ozark April 19, 1906, Mr. Wylie was the last man ordained by the old Presbytery of Ozark. He had served the Presbytery as a Sunday school missionary in Arkansas, and had endured hardships and privations there for a number of years, during which he pursued the prescribed course for local evangelists. He was installed pastor of the Ravenden Springs Church in May, 1906. Anent the consummation of the union he was dismissed with his church to the Presbytery of White River A (formerly C. P.) September 13, 1906.
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ALLA EDWIN FAUST.
Received from the West Plains Presbytery (C. P.) June 29, 1906. Served the Irwin Church while enlisted in secular occupa- tion.
J. W. HUDIBURG.
The last pastorate consummated by the old Presbytery of Ozark was that of J. W. Hndiburg and the Neosho Church April 17, 1907. Mr. Hudiburg was received from the Presbytery of Lexington (C. P.) October 24. 1906.
SAMUEL WILEY.
Received the same date as the above from the Presbytery of Omaha. Supplied the North Heights Church. Joplin.
JOHN WILSON. O. C. CUDE. EDWIN J. RICE.
These brethren were received April 17, 1907. Their biogra- phies have many points of interest, but do not properly belong to this volume by reason of the fact that this history closes with the reorganization of the Presbytery.
These sketches contain the names of 182 ministers who at some time during the eighty-six years prior to 1908 were mem- bers of Ozark Presbytery or its predecessors. I have had a per- sonal acquaintance with 127 of this number. Other ministers have labored in our bounds for a short time, but so far as the record goes were not officially identified with the Presbyteries. Theological students and local evangelists have also labored in the Presbytery, but I have not attempted to enumerate their la- bors save where they reached ordination. At the close I feel like reiterating the statement made in the note introducing these sketches: "The space given a minister is not necessarily in pro- portion to his abilities or deserts," etc. Sometimes I have failed to get adequate information; sometimes the services-substan- tial and faithful have been so along beaten paths as to be nn- eventful and to elude detailed description save weighed in the equitable balances of the great day. And sometimes it must be confessed the length and interest of the sketch depended npon
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the mood of the writer. The old students of Dr. Herrick Johnson may be surprised at the frequent violations of his "cardinals"- "unity, order, movement!" But let them recall his wise pre- cantion against"Piecemeal." Of necessity these sketches have been so written. If to any they seem to be characterized by too mneh levity let him remember that some of them were written on "Blue Mondays," when the mortal mind and frame were crying ont for relaxation.
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CHAPTER IX.
ETCHINGS FROM THE PEWS.
"Once the men were so great and so few, they appear, Through a distant Olympian atmosphere,
Like vast Caryatids upholding the age. Now the men are so many and small, disengage One man from the million to mark him, next moment The crowd sweeps him hurriedly out of your comment ; And since we seek vainly (to praise in our songs) 'Mid our fellows the size which to heroes belongs, We take the whole age for a hero, in want Of a better ; and still, in its favour, descant On the strength and the beauty which, failing to find In any one man, we ascribe to mankind."
Hitherto I have taken a whole church as a colaborer with a pastor in building up the kingdom of God after the Presbyterian way in Southwest Missouri. Now I shall glance back to the time when "men were so great and so few" that it may not seem in- vidious to single out a few for portrayal. The knell of the de- parting day in the existence of the first Presbytery of Ozark- June 18, 1907-tolled in the hearing of five elders who held the same position in their respective churches when the birth throes of the Presbytery were experienced in 1870. They are William E. Thompson, of Mount Zion Church; William H. Schmalhorst, of Conway ; J. L. Carson and William R. Gorton, of Calvary, and Dr. A. C. Schell, of Neosho. I shall sketch these first, and then turn your attention to others.
WILLIAM E. THOMPSON.
Of the three Williams belonging to this quintet, Mr. Thomp- son is entitled to the seniority in the eldership of his church and Mr. Schmalhorst in age. The subjoined sketch of his life was
WM. THOMPSON
WM. SCHMALHORST
W. L. SCROGGS
A. C. SCHELL
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written by Mrs. M. L. Easley, who in girlhood was a scholar in the Sunday school of which he was Superintendent :
"William E. Thompson, of Mount Zion Church, Cave Spring, Mo., was born in Blount County, East Tennessee, April 28, 1827. He gave his heart to God when but a lad fourteen years of age. his conversion taking place while on his way home from church. This was one of the bright spots in the memory of this good man who often referred to this early turning point in his life. It was there in that East Tennessee forest, deep conviction peircing his soul, that he made a complete surrender to Christ. About a year later he joined the Sinking Creek Presbyterian Church, being re- ceived into its communion by Rev. John Dyke.
"In 1850 he was united in marriage to Miss Martha M. Ernest, a lovely and devoted Christian lady, who was a resident of the same community and member of the same church. The following year they moved to Greene County, Missouri, locating in the vicinity of Cave Spring. On their arrival they placed their church certificate in Mount Zion Church, where throughout the remainder of their lives they honored God in the liberal support of his cause and friendly relations with their neighbors. For fifty-six years this devoted couple trod the pathway of life to- gether until Mrs. Thompson's death, which occurred in the sum- mer of 1906. In May, 1900, they celebrated their golden wedding, their friends assembling in such numbers that only the spacious lawn could accommodate them.
"The writer has but a vagne memory of the old log church, with its dimly lighted iterior, the pews, the high pulpit with its flight of steps on one side, the platform just in front, where the leader of the singing stood as he alternately 'lined' and led the singing of those dear old hymns of our fathers. Mr. Thompson filled this office most efficiently for several years before the ad- vent of the church organ.
"In 1856 the church elected him a ruling elder, which office he held continuously for fifty-two years, until the time of his death, which loss the church suffered February 3, 1908. In this office he was indeed a true under-shepherd, ever seeking the peace and safety of his flock.
"It was during the seventies that the writer remembers him best while as superintendent of the Sunday school he came into such close sympathy with the young people. His greeting was always the same-a friendly hand-shake and a fervent inquiry as to both physical and soul health. It was his continned inter- est in new converts which he showed by words of sympathy and encouragement that endeared him to all hearts and made him fruitful in good works.
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"His earthly life is ended. He died as he often prayed to die, "the death of the righteous and in the triumph of a holy faith." His body was laid to rest in the village church yard be- side his dear wife and the children who had passed on before. He is survived by three daughters and one son. His memory will live not alone in their hearts, but in the affections of a large circle of relatives and friends."
WILLIAM H. SCHMALHORST.
In December, 1868, a church was organized at Schmalhorst's Mill, in Laclede County, and was christened Panther Creek. Sub- sequently it was decided to erect the house of worship in the vil- lage of Conway and the name was changed to correspond with the new location. Mr. Schmalhorst was one of the charter elders and holds his position in the session to this day. One son shares the eldership with him, another son is superintendent of the Sab- bath school, and his children and children's children constitute a large part of the membership. Very few churches that are so largely dependent upon one family have enjoyed the peace and prosperity accorded to this one, and this fact is a beautiful com- mentary upon the life of this sturdy founder of the family. Mr. Schmalhorst was born in Germany in October, 1825. He came to America in 1839 and settled in Perry County, Missouri, in the spring of 1840. From there he moved to Laclede County in the spring of 1854. The town of Conway was not on the map at that time and Mr. Schmalhorst says there were but two Presbyterians in the county, although the Cumberland Church of Phillipsburg was in existence. There were no foreshadowings of reunion at that time and sturdy Presbyterians were not confined in church relations and attendance by county lines. Accordingly the Schmal- horsts identified themselveswith the Presbyterian Church of White Rock, in Texas County. This church was of New School proclivi- ties, but the Panther Creek was Old School. Mr. and Mrs. Schmal- horst reared a large family of boys and girls, and by thrift, indus- try and economy accumulated considerable property. From all reports his wife must have made a worthy effort to fashion her life after the pattern Solomon has delineated in his "Virtuous Woman." She entered into her reward many years ago, and her husband has put to good nse the savings of their lives. His bene- factions have not been confined to the local church, which largely through his generosity obtained a comfortable manse ; but he has frequently made generous individual contributions to the Boards of Home and Foreign Missions and to Park College.
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JOHN L. CARSON.
Mr. Carson was born in Williamson County. Tennessee, No- vember 4th, 1833. In 1855 he came to Springfield, and with the exception of one year's residence in St. Louis (1870) he has been associated with the commercial interests of the city or the politi- cal activities of the county for over half a century. For over forty years he has been an elder in the Calvary church. The Pres- bytery of Southwest Missouri elected him a Commissioner to the General Assembly in 1869. For some years feeble health has pre- vented his active participation in the interests of the church, but he adorns the eldership with an unsullied life, an unfaltering faith and a sweet resignation in bearing the ills to which flesh is heir.
, WILLIAM R. GORTON.
The birthplace of William R. Gorton was Norwichtown. Conn. There in 1832 he began "the struggle for existence." When yet a lad of seventeen years he united with the First Con- gregational Church of that place. At about the time he reached his majority he adopted the sage's advice, "Go West," etc. In 1853 he settled in St. Louis and engaged in mercantile business. There he united with the Second Presbyterian Church and threw the energies of his young manhood into the work of the Sabbath school and the Y. M. C. A. From St. Louis Mr. Gorton came to Springfield during the war and engaged in mercantile pursuits under the firm name of Gorton, Abbott & Co. From the outset of his residence here he and his wife were identified with the Calvary Church. He was elected elder in 1869 and the following spring was the representative of his church in the last session of the Presbytery of Southwest Missouri. That Presbytery elected him temporary clerk and lay commissioner to the General As- sembly. So efficient were his clerical services to the Presbytery that he has since held the temporary clerkship in the Presbytery more frequently than any other man .. His special fitness in this sphere was recognized by his own church when he was elected clerk of session at the death of Charles Sheppard in 1887. Since its organization in 1860 Calvary Church has had but these two clerks of session. For over a quarter of a century Mr. Gorton was superintendent of the Sabbath school and during this time he was an efficient factor in the development of this church from a mission church to a strong, self-sustaining one. For nearly half of a century Mr. Gorton has been identified with the work of Calvary Church and Presbyterianism in Southwest Missouri, and throughout these years he has maintained an esprit de corps that is refreshing to see.
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DR. A. C. SCHELL.
Like the subjects of the preceding sketches, Dr. Schell was an elder in his church at the organization and at the passing of the first Presbytery of Ozark. But, unlike them, his services in this capacity were interrupted.
He was born in Schellsburg, Pa., July 31, 1831. In 1853 he made a trip through Missouri and Iowa, and after a residence in Ohio and Michigan he moved to Neosho, Mo., September, 1867. He had united with the church when twenty years of age, and at Lima, Ohio, was superintendent of the Presbyterian Sabbath school. Less than sixty days after his arrival in Neosho he was instrumental in procuring the organization of the Presbyterian Church in that place. He practiced dentistry in Neosho and Car- thage, and his genial pastor, Rev. J. W. Pinkerton, induced him to reside in Carthage for one year to strengthen the feeble knees of that little flock. He was the first elder commissioner to the General Assembly elected by the new Presbytery of Ozark (1871). After five years' residence in Southwest Missouri Dr. Schell moved to Kansas City and practiced dentistry for a quarter of a century. In 1903 he returned to Neosho and was at once re- elected to the eldership in the church.
DAVID APPLEBY.
The name Appleby is bourne by a host of people scattered throughout Greene and adjoining counties. A goodly number of these are the direct descendants of David Appleby, but I shall make no attempt to tangle myself in the meshes of the inter- penerating lines of descent. A grandson-himself a man of dis- cernment-told me that in his judgment David Appleby had the brightest mind of any one of the name. He was born in Penn- sylvania in 1788. His father took his family to Georgia in 1791, and about 1809 made another move to Middle Tennessee. Here David was married and here his seven children were born. In 1832 he emigrated to Wayne County, Missouri, and about a year later came to Springfield. If, as is probable, this was in 1833, it was the year that Greene County was organized-not with its present limits, but extending from the western and southern boundaries of the State to the Gasconade River on the east and to the Osage fork on the north-a vast parallelogram 75x100 miles in area. Six years later (1839) the Mount Zion Presbyterian Church was organized. Mr. Appleby was elected a ruling elder, and, although his farm was fifteen miles from the place of wor- ship, it is said that he rarely missed the monthly services or the
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