Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 56

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Mississippi > Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II > Part 56

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These notes are understood to refer to Episcopal Methodism, but after about 1830 the Protestant or non-Episcopal Methodists became organized, and for many years had quite a number of circuits in several parts of the state, but in 1871 they disbanded, that is, those in Mississippi, and united in a body with the Episcopal Methodists.

These notes must not omit to mention what this writer regards as the most extraordinary preacher of modern times the world-renowned John Newland Moffit. In 1836 he visited Natchez, where he spent a considerable portion of the year, but the points of that brief min- istry will long remain. And also Charles K. Marshall, who for half a century was always recognized as a master of pulpit eloquence, standing a head and shoulders above other men. He died at his home in Vicksburg in 1891.

For twenty years and more after about 1830 the wilderness part of the state opened up largely and rapidly to agriculture, commerce, education and religion. And the Mississippi conference increased greatly both in its ministry, laity and educational institutes. There was before the war scarcely a township (fourteen miles square) of land in the state not occupied by the Methodist ministry.

In 1858 the Mississippi conference had eight colleges, viz .: Centenary college, with a

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president and seven professors, one hundred and seventy-five students, with buildings, appa- ratus and endowment worth $150,000, and library of seven thousand five hundred volumes; Sharon Female college, ninety students and buildings worth $10,000; Feliciana Female insti- tute, buildings, $4,000; Walls' Female institute, fifty pupils; Port Gibson collegiate academy, eighty pupils, building $10,000; Southern Female college, eighty-five pupils, property $8,000; Mount Hermon Female institute, seventy pupils, property $5,000; Madison college, one hundred scholars, building $8,000. The first Sunday-school in the United States south of Philadelphia, was permanently organized in the Methodist church at Natchez in 1827.

In 1855 the Mississippi conference established a book and tract society at Vicksburg for the more ready sale and distribution of religious literature. Its capital was raised by volun- tary subscription. This, together with its business, increased until in the time of the war it amounted to some $6,000 or $7,000. But on the fall of Vicksburg it fell into the hands of the army and was destroyed.

It has always been a leading policy of Methodism in the South to preach the gospel to the colored people, no more nor no less in Mississippi than in other Southern states. Before the war where the negroes were somewhat numerous, separate churches were built for their accommodation, or otherwise ample galleries were built in almost all the churches for their use. The number of colored members was sometimes nearly or quite equal to that of the whites, but generally the number of colored members was probably half that of the whites. Large plantations were generally supplied with a missionary, or sometimes two adjoining places.

On the division of the church at the general conference at New York, in 1844, of course Mississippi allied itself with the other conferences in the South in a separate organization under the name of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. This, however, made no change of any sort in the annual conferences, and the church continued to prosper until its labors were measurably interrupted by the tramp of hostile armies in 1862 and thereafter.

The war produced a state of things in the church in Mississippi, and in other parts of the South, quite anomalous and rarely, if ever, eucountered by any church before. The entrance of the United States army into Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, etc., in its march southward had the natural and necessary effect of dividing the Methodist Episcopal Church South into two churches, with an impassable wall of fire between them. This separation, as things turned out, was but temporary, continuing only four or five years, when they came together again. But for the time it was complete. When this army line came to be estab- lished, seven of the annual conferences, or the greater part of each, were found to lie north of the army line, viz .: Tennessee, Louisville, Western Virginia, Indian Mis- sion, Arkansas and Missouri, with all the rest of the conferences south of the main army line. Of course, the Mississippi conference fell in the Southern group. So that for the space of four years or more, in common with its neighbors, its public operations were very much restricted and confused. Its annual and quarterly conferences were much frustrated and neglected. Local disturbance created general disturbance. The church or denomination of which the Mississippi conference formed a part suffered disruption for a time, not only from the near presence and hostilities of the contending armies but from legal consequences. Wars disturb the possession as well as titles to property. Conquest gives ownership to property, and it requires treaties of peace and diplomacy to settle these things afterward. As this war turned out much of this church property was restored after the war, though much in a damaged condition. Churches, colleges, schoolhouses and private residences had been long used as hospitals, army quarters, etc., and many of them damaged or totally destroyed.

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But on the close of the war, in 1865, the church in Mississippi, as elsewhere, rallied rapidly, so that in 1870 it was found necessary to divide the Mississippi conference into two conferences. This was done by the general conference of that year, which sat in Memphis, Tenn., by an east and west line, dividing Yazoo and Holmes counties and following other county lines; the southern portion retaining the name of Mississippi conference, and the northern taking that of Northern Mississippi. But these lines do not follow state lines strictly, for the Mississippi conference still includes those parishes of Louisiana which lie east of the Mississippi river except the cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Educational interests have been reasonably well attended to by the Methodists of this state from the first. Besides primary schools, which have generally been plentiful, the Elizabeth Female academy, of Washington, in Adams county, was established in 1824, and was kept in successful operation about three-quarters of a century, and was one of the best and most useful colleges for girls in the United States.

Centenary college was established in the centenary of Methodism and named in com- memoration of it. It was first located near Brandon, Miss., in 1839, and was afterward, in 1845, removed to Jackson, La., near the line dividing those states, but still in the Missis- sippi conference, and has since borne the title of Centenary College of Louisiana, though mainly patronized by Mississippi.

At Brandon, Dr. Thomas C. Thornton, Judge D. O. Shattuck, Prof. W. H. N. Magruder, and other distinguished educators, were connected with it.

At Jackson, La., money was largely expended in erecting handsome buildings, which still adorn its campus. The late Judge Edward McGehee and others gave largely for these buildings and endowment, etc. Among its presidents were Dr. R. H. Rivers, W. H. Wat- kins, John C. Miller, before the war, and Dr. C. G. Andrwes, D. M. Rush and Dr. T. A. S. Adams since the war. The present president is Dr. W. L. C. Hunnicutt.

The present faculty consists of ten professors and teachers, and the number of students last session was one hundred and thirty-eight; of these twenty-two are licensed preachers and fifteen others sons of preachers, all of whom receive tuition free of cost. The college has an endowment of over $60,000, which fund is increasing.

The two literary societies, the four libraries and the Y. M. C. A. are very valuable adjuncts to the college. All its professors and teachers are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church South, and Christianity is emphasized in all its teachings. The trustees, at their last meeting, invited persons who are able to endow scholarships and professorships in the college.

Millsaps college, of Mississippi, is in its embryo state, but is destined in the very near future to become one of the best colleges in the Southwest. Maj. R. W. Millsaps, a wealthy gentleman of Jackson, Miss., a few years ago proposed to give $50,000 to found a first-class college for boys in Mississippi, on condition that the proposition should be accepted by the two annual conferences of the state, and that a like amount be raised by private subscrip- tion for the same purpose. In 1889 the two conferences respectively accepted the proposi- tion of Mr. Millsaps and encouraged the raising of the requisite $50,000 to be added. Bishop Galloway, who also resides at Jackson, and several other ministers, took hold of this enterprise, and in some months the other $50,000 was on hand. It was understood that the proposed college should be in Mississippi, without designating any particular location.

And also, besides the $100,000, as above, other funds were raised for permanent endow- ment. Several towns and other handsome sites were ready to take the college, and this competition had the effect of raising an endowment fund of over $100,000, and which is

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still being increased. A short time ago, in this present year, it was decided by the trustees to locate the college at Jackson, the capital of the state. A very handsome piece of ground has been selected for this purpose, north of the city. The buildings are commenced and ample facilities will soon be afforded for the best collegiate training.

The college is in the hands of a very competent board of trustees. Several architects have for some time been at work on the proposed buildings, and before the close of 1892 they, with their enclosures, are expected to present a handsome appearance.

Since the war it is probable that no state, North or South, is much, if any, ahead of Mississippi in furnishing educational facilities to the negro population. The restricted limits of these notes will not admit of enlargement on this subject. The public records must be looked to for such information. But colored schools are sure all over the state at about every crossroad and in every city, town and village. Several of the colored churches in the state are Methodist and furnish their full share of teachers and pupils for the various schools.

The public schools, primary and of high grade, all over the state, are numerous. These are patronized by the Methodists in common with other denominations. The limits of this chapter will not admit of particular mention of them. Besides these, the state has five Meth- odist female colleges of high character and respectable patronage, viz .: Whitworth Female college, at Brookhaven; Port Gibson Female college, at Port Gibson; East Mississippi Female college, at Meridian; Grenada Female college, at Grenada, and Edward McGehee College for Girls, at Woodville.

The strength of Methodism in the state may be gathered in a general way from the fol- lowing figures: The Mississippi conference has one hundred and fifty-five traveling preachers, and the North Mississippi conference one hundred and sixty-six. Total, three hundred and twenty-one. Of local preachers, the Mississippi conference has one hundred and sixty and the North Mississippi one hundred and fifty-five, making three hundred and eleven. Whole number of preachers, six hundred and thirty-two. The North Mississippi conference has forty thousand nine hundred and ninety-one members, and the Mississippi thirty-six thousand two hundred and twelve. In all, seventy-seven thousand two hundred and two. There are in the state, that is, in the two conferences, which includes a fraction of east Louisiana, not easily separated, four hundred and thirty-two churches in the Mississippi and five hundred in the North Mississippi conference. Total, nine hundred and thirty-two.

The value of these church buildings is $905,858. Of Sunday-schools exclusively under Methodist control, there are eight hundred and forty-eight, nearly equally divided between the two conferences, with thirty-six thousand nine hundred and sixty-three scholars, besides officers and teachers, which would increase the number of persons engaged in Sunday-school work to something over forty thousand. These statistics refer to the reports of 1890.

Besides these, there are a considerable number of mixed Sunday-schools. In many sparsely-settled regions where the Methodists are not strong enough to have a Sunday-school of their own, or where other churches are not strong enough, they unite in mixed schools. Including the Methodists in these schools, it will swell the Methodist Sunday-school of these two conferences to over fifty thousand strong.

Mississippi has furnished two bishops for the church. Bishop Robert Paine was born in North Carolina in 1799, but spent most of his life, especially the latter part of it, in Mississippi. He was ordained a minister in early life, preached mostly in north Mississippi and west Tennessee, and was a number of years president of La Grange college, in Tennessee. He was elected and ordained bishop in 1846, which active service he continued during life. He died at his home in Aberdeen, Miss., in 1882.

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Bishop Charles B. Galloway is a native Mississippian, the youngest man ever ordained bishop in the Methodist church. He graduated in the University of Mississippi in 1868, and immediately on his return home from school was licensed to preach, and at the same time was recommended for the traveling connection, and was received into the Mississippi conference at the earliest period allowable by the law of the church and soon took a leading position for a man of his age. He was several years editor of the New Orleans Christian Advocate, and was elected and ordained bishop in 1886, which office he now holds.

The history of the Christian church in Mississippi is less important than in most of the Southern states, as their membership is smaller, the progress of the church being greatly impeded by the late war. Since that time the great mass of emigration has gone West, made up mostly from the central states, where the Christian church is very strong, and it furnished a great many emigrants, and consequently is very strong in the West as well as in central states. The first organization of this church in the state was at Battle Springs, about the year 1836. This congregation was organized by Gen. William Clark, who preached for them once a month for many years after. This church was about eight miles from Jackson, but no organization has existed there for many years. An organization was effected at Utica, about thirty-three miles from Jackson, on the Jackson and Natchez road, about the same time as the one at Battle Springs. Jefferson H. Johnson was the organizer of this church. About the year 1838 President Tolbert Fanning, of Tennessee, and James A. Butler, two promi- nent ministers of the church, organized a congregation at Columbus, in the northeastern part of the state, while William E. Mathes, an able minister, organized several small congregations in Wilkinson county. Gen. William Clark, who was state treasurer, and Joseph E. Mathes, state auditor, organized a congregation in Jackson in 1841. The first regular pastor laboring for the Jackson congregation was T. W. Caskey, a talented man, who served from 1854 to 1860, when he went into the army as a chaplain, where he served in that capacity very acceptably till the close of the war. Since then the church has been ministered to by Elisha Pinkerton, Elder Snow, of Virginia, George A. Smythe, for several years, and laterly by Joseph Sharp, Robert Mayes, T. A. White, and by the present pastor, M. F. Harmon. The congregation in Jackson previous to the war was one of the wealthiest and most influential churches in the state. The church house, which was a brick, and a good one for its day, was greatly damaged by soldiers during the war and was in 1884 condemned and torn down. A small, neat chapel stands in the rear of where the old church stood, and a fine modern style building is soon to be erected on the old site.

There are in the state now thirty-two church houses reported, and valued at $34,000. There are about sixty organizations in the state, thirty of them having no meetinghouse, and there are about forty little unorganized bands. The total white membership is between five thousand and six thousand. There are about thirty-two preachers who give part or all their time to the ministry, and about fifteen who give but little or none of their time. There are twenty-seven colored cougregations in the state, with about two thousand mem- bership; twenty-one church houses valued at $8,630, and thirty-two preachers. This church teaches strict adherence to the New Testament as the "all sufficient rule of faith and prac- tice," are opposed to all human creeds, believe in the co-operation of all their congregations in sending the gospel to all parts of the earth. They believe in every Christian reading, studying and interpreting the Bible for himself. They have an educated ministry and believe in a consistent Christian life. They hold, in common with all the so-called evangelical churches, the fundamental principles of Christianity, rejecting from their faith and prac- tice only those things which are not commanded in the New Testament, or are not of divine

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precedent. They believe in the union of all Christians upon the Bible, and the Bible alone. They call themselves Christians or Disciples, as the followers of Christ were called in the beginning. This people believe in missions, both home and foreign. Besides collections taken from the congregations at regular times for foreign missions they have a regular state board of missions that keeps an evangelist in the state all the time. This state work was begun with the labors of F. W. Caskey from 1841 to 1854, and William E. Hooker and Robert Ursey labored in the same capacity from 1854 to 1860. B. F. Manire, a tal- ented Christian minister, evangelized throughout the state for several years independent of any board.

The Mississippi Christian Missionary convention, which is operating now in doing state missionary work, was organized in 1884, with Dr. D. B. Hill, of Palo Alto, president, who served till 1887. From that time to the present (June, 1891) Dr. D. L. Phares, of Madison Station, has been president. This board holds annual conventions, the last week in August, for the purpose of reviewing the work of the past, and planning for the future. Their work is altogether advisory. Joseph Sharp was the first evangelist under the new board, serving from 1885 to 1890, A. C. Smither serving from January, 1890, to August of same year. January, 1891, John A. Stephens accepted the position of evangelist, and is filling it accept- ably yet.

Newton college, located near Woodville, was opened March 7, 1843, to both sexes. It closed in 1860. A great many young men were educated here, several for the ministry, who have made useful men. A number made distinguished doctors, lawyers and educators. A great many grand women were educated here.

Southern Christian institute is a mission school with plantation, organized in 1877, for the colored people, with an organized stock basis of $10,000. The present site of the institute was selected in 1882, near Edwards, in Hinds county, twenty-six miles west of Jackson, on the Virginia & Mississippi railroad. The plantation consists of eight hundred acres of num- ber one cotton land. The school at present is under the control of J. B. Lehman and wife, thorough educators.

In 1875 S. R. Jones edited a paper known as the Unitist, in the interest of the church. It continued for a year or more and suspended. An attempt or two has since been made to publish a church paper, but owing to the weak condition of the churches, and perhaps more properly to bad, inefficient management in the projectors, none of these attempts have amounted to much, except the last, which promises to prove a valuable church organ-the Messenger, an eight-page, three-column paper, published monthly in Jackson, by M. F. Harmon.

It would be unjust to the man, as well as the church in Mississippi, to fail to make special mention of B. F. Manire, a consecrated minister, who has spent a great portion of his life in evangelizing throughout the state, and adding more souls to the church than any other man of his church. The Christian church stands in the front ranks in every reform movement that is calculated to benefit humanity.

The early history of the Baptist denomination in the territory of Mississippi is rendered obscure in consequence of there having been so little attention paid to church records and other written documents. The fact that so many of the early settlers were illiterate, and many in aftertimes looked with indifference, not to say contempt, on the early Baptists and their labors in this country, is the main reason why they were almost forgotten. Yet by dil- igent search and comparing many documents, a tolerably accurate history of these early pio- neers can be written. From this obscure beginning they have grown to be a great and pros- perous people.

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T. M. Bond, the only historian of this early period, relates that in the spring of 1780, there was a number of emigrants who left South Carolina for the country of the Natchez. On arriving at the Holston river, in Tennessee, they provided themselves with boats, three in number, and undertook the perilous task of passing down the waters of Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi, to their place of destination. Among these emigrants were some ten or a dozen members of the Baptist church. One of the members was Richard Curtis, a licensed minister, with a large family. We have also learned the following names, as heads of families, viz. : John Courtney, John Jones, Daniel Ogden, William Ogden, -- Perkins. The emigrants, in descending the streams, had to pass through the country owned by the Cherokee and other Indian tribes, having to pass shoals and narrows, and bends that very much exposed them to the hostility of the Indians, who availed themselves of one of these places, and fired on the foremost boat, in which was Elder Curtis and his family. The wife of William Curtis shielded her husband with a thick poplar stool, which caught one or more bullets, while he was plying the oar. Another female sized the steering oar, that her husband might use his rifle, and with dauntless heroism guided the vessel, until disabled by a wound.

The second boat passed unharmed. The third boat was considerably behind, in conse- quence of having the small-pox on board, and the Indians captured it and massacred all on board, except one woman, who was taken captive. She remained two or three years among the Indians, when, by treaty, she was restored to her friends. She stated that the Indians took the small-pox, and great numbers of them died. The other two boats after a long and perilous voyage, landed at Cole's creek, a few miles above Natchez, and formed a settlement. After they had reared their cabins in the forest, they immediately instituted the worship of God in these far western wilds, by holding meetings in their private houses, which were blest of the Lord to the comforting of the followevs of the Savior. This was the first Prot- estant community formed in all the wide region of the Southwest, below the Cumberland settlements in middle Tennessee. At that period the Natchez county nominally belonged to Great Britain, but after the treaty of 1783 passed, for a time, into the hands of Spain.

In this community was soon organized a Baptist church called Salem. It was consti- tuted without a presbytery, or even the presence of a single ordained minister. They simply agreed to meet together statedly, and worship God according to His word, and to exercise gospel discipline over one another, and called Elder Curtis to preach to them, whose labors were eventually greatly blessed. This course was a matter of necessity with them, and the Lord greatly owned and blessed his labors in the conversion of many sinners. As it was probable that they would never see an ordained Baptist minister the converts were baptised by Curtis.

We know but little of the church and its affairs until 1793 or 1794. About that time a Spanish Catholic, by the name of Stephen de Alvo, renounced the Romish religion and joined the Baptists. This, together with the denunciation of the Catholics by a man by the name of Harigail, greatly incensed the Catholics, so that they determined to make an example of some of the leaders. William Hamberlin, Richard Curtis and Stephen de Alvo were selected as the chief offenders. A letter was written by Gayoso, the Spanish commandant, to Curtis, expostulating with him upon his course. To this Curtis replied bluntly, and an order for his arrest was issued and he was brought before Gayoso April 6, 1795. After threatening to send Curtis, Hamberlin and de Alvo to the mines in Mexico, they were discharged, with an injunction not to offend again. An edict was also issued that if nine persons were found worshiping together, except according to the form of the Catholic church, they should suffer imprisonment. But the church continued to meet privately for worship, and Mr. Curtis

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Biographical and historical memoirs of Mississippi, embracing an authentic and comprehensive account of the chief events in the history of the state and a record of the lives of many of the most worthy and illustrious families and individuals, Vol. II, Part 56

Author: Goodspeed Brothers Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Goodspeed Brothers
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 1314