USA > North Carolina > A history of the development of the Presbyterian Church in North Carolina, and of the Synodical home missions, together with evangelistic addresses by James I. Vance and others > Part 8
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During Mr. Black's connection with Synodical Home Missions in North Carolina, a period of fourteen years, the tabulated reports of his labors as given from year to
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REV. E. E. GILLESPIE.
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year will give some idea of the magnitude of these labors. The following figures may not be accurate, but at the present time (1907), they are in no wise exaggerated : He has held more than 4,000 services, and on an average in about twenty counties a year. He has witnessed the confession of several thousand persons, and more than 4,000 of these have joined the Presbyterian Church, while many of the others have joined churches of other denomi- nations. He has organized a dozen or more Presbyterian churches, and as many Sunday-schools, and he has ordained quite a number of elders and deacons, besides baptizing adults and infants, and receiving from hun- dreds of heads of families the pledge or promise to hold family worship. He has travelled thousands of miles, has made many addresses, held many prayer meetings, and has done a vast amount of office work; and wherever he has gone he has been hailed with delight and welcomed with joy.
The great success of Mr. Black has been due in a large measure. to his kind and gentle manners, his simple and candid cordiality, and his intense earnestness in present- ing the truth. His style of preaching reminds one that he has never lost many of the characteristics of the skilled lawyer presenting his case before a jury. His message is pointed, direct and earnest, speaking rapidly and yet ten- derly, producing in the minds and hearts of his hearers the feeling that his message is one of love combined with authority. Moreover, Mr. Black knows men, and how to adapt himself to the peculiarities and needs of men, having had abundant opportunity in the practice of law as well as in preaching the Gospel to study all classes and shades of humanity. He is a most congenial companion and a "brother beloved" with his close friends, and with all who know him well, and upon him the entire Synod of North Carolina invoked its loving benediction.
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" His bow still abides in strength, and the arms of his hands are made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob," who has honored him and blessed him and given him many stars for his crown.
The great work which the Rev. William Black has done, he feels, is in a large measure due to the assistance of his singers, not only to Rev. A. K. Pool, who sang so sweetly till his death in 1899, but to Mr. Andrew Burr, his present helper, and many have no doubt been sung into the kingdom by these sweet singers, who might not otherwise have been reached.
Mr. Burr is a native of Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada, and was elected a ruling elder in the St. Andrews Church in his city. He has been with Mr. Black, manag- ing the singing, since January, 1904, and is not only a sweet singer, but knows how to make the song service a power for good, not only in arousing Christians, but in reaching the unsaved also. From such services of song, as rendered by such men, it is clearly seen that it is a great power that many do not use, but they also show us how to use this force, after their visits to our churches are over.
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MR. ANDREW BURR.
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CHAPTER VIII.
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE RESULTS OF SYNODI- CAL HOME MISSIONS IN NORTH CAROLINA.
Many of the great enterprises and advanced move- ments in the church of the present day may not be at- tributed as direct results to the great Synodical Move- ment, but at the same time the vigorous prosecution of Synodical Missions opened the way, increased the interest and gave an impetus to all the great causes of the church, and made some of these enterprises possible. All of the great causes of the church, in a very great degree, have kept pace in the onward march with Home Missions. This is especially true along educational lines. Wherever a pioneer evangelist was sent a mission day school in connection with the work was established, and from some of these day schools splendid institutions of learning have had their origin.
The Rev. J. B. Shearer, D. D., the great apostle of Church and Christian Education in North Carolina, began with the Synodical Movement in 1889 to urge the neces- sity of Biblical training in all Presbyterian schools, so as to make an intelligent scriptural faith the controlling prin- ciple of our schools. In 1890 a Synodical Committee on Church and Christian Education was appointed, and from that day until the present time Dr. Shearer has faithfully and efficiently preached and toiled for the great cause, and his labors have not been in vain. The policy, plan and constitution of church schools as promulgated and ex- pounded by Dr. Shearer gradually found favor through-
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out the church, and under the guidance of his wisdom was- finally adopted by the General Assembly as the policy and plan of the whole Southern Presbyterian Church. This great cause has now assumed vast proportions, and its in- fluence for building up Christ's Kingdom is simply enor- mous.
In connection with Church and Christian Education, and we may say as a result of the Home Mission Move- ment, a strong effort was inaugurated in 1900 to raise within five years the magnificent sum of $300,000 as a twentieth century fund for the cause of Christian educa- tion. The synod entered heartily into the movement, and appointed as a supervisory committee the Rev. R. E. Caldwell, Rev. A. R. Shaw and Mr. J. M. McIver, to act conjointly with the Rev. J. W. Stagg, D. D., and Mr. George W. Watts, the Assembly's committee.
In 1901 the synod called the Rev. Dr. Stagg as field secretary, to raise the money, and appointed a special committee, consisting of Rev. E. W. Smith, D. D., Rev. J. M. Rose, D. D., Rev. J. M. Wells, D. D., and Ruling Elders George W. Watts and J. M. Rogers, to act in conjunction with the Supervisory Committee and conduct the work. In 1902 the synod appointed an executive com- mittee, to take the place of the Supervisory Committee and to act in connection with the Presbyterial committees, consisting of Rev. E. W. Smith, D. D., Rev. E. C. Mur- ray, D. D., Rev. E. R. Leyburn, and Elders E. P. Whar- ton and J. M. McIver. This committee had charge of the conduct of the work until its close, and the report in 1906 showed that the sum of $113,789 had been raised for the cause of education.
In 1889, immediately after the inauguration of Synod- ical Home Missions, the synod's Orphan's Home was established. The founding of this institution was one of
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the most important steps ever taken by the Synod of North Carolina. It resulted in a glorious success, to the honor of God and to the lasting good of the church and to humanity. The Rev. Jethro Rumple, D. D., was chair- man of the commission, appointed in 1888, to formulate plans for the establishment and conduct of the Home, and the plans submitted by him were adopted, and a Board of Regents were appointed to have the management of the Home.
The original Board of Regents consisted of the follow- ing persons : Rev. J. Rumple, D. D. (president), Rev. W. E. McIllwaine, Rev. D. I. Craig, Rev. D. D. McBryde, Hon. A. M. Scales, Hon. D. G. Fowle, George E. Wilson, Esq., George Chadbourn, Esq., Mr. John E. Oates and Mr. G. M. Love.
A detailed account or minute history of the inaugura- tion of this Home, first at Charlotte and afterwards at Barium Springs; of the many perplexing problems and difficulties solved and overcome by Dr. Rumple, the Board 'and the superintendent, Rev. R. W. Boyd, of the marvellous providences of God, and the wonderful success of the institution, and last, but not least, of the laborious work, the patient thought and tender care of Dr. Rumple in his long connection with the Home, would read like a thrilling romance if it were written. For fifteen years the management of this institution was the burden of the great heart of Dr. Rumple, and to this work he gave his best thought, his wise counsel and noble efforts, and its success was the joy of the closing years of his life. The Home has never had but one superintendent, the Rev. R. W. Boyd, who is honored and beloved by the synod and the 150 orphan children under his care. Through the long years of his service he has proven himself to be the right man in the right place. The Home as it now stands
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is comprised of nine main buildings on 250 acres of land, and the whole property is worth more than $50,000.
Among the liberal donors to the Home and after whom some of the buildings are named, the names of George W. Watts, Mrs. S. P. Lees, Mr. S. P. Alexander, Mr. J. C. Burroughs, Judge Howard, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Carson and others will never cease to be gratefully remembered.
SCHOOLS UNDER CHURCH CONTROL.
At the head of the list stands Davidson College, which has always been owned and controlled by Presbyteries and synods, and which can by no means be classed as a result of the Synodical Home Mission Movement, and yet it has been greatly strengthened, helped and encouraged by the movement; and the same may be said of Peace Institute, at Raleigh, which is owned by Presbyterians, if it is not under the direct control of the church.
The Charlotte and Statesville Female Colleges and the Southern Presbyterian College and Conservatory of Music at Red Springs, N. C .; all three of them, as dis- tinctive church schools, were founded in 1896, and are owned and controlled by the Presbyteries in whose bounds they are located. These three female colleges can scarcely be surpassed in their equipment for furnishing a thorough education on such terms that it may be in reach of all. Any attempt here to write the history of each of these schools or to advertise their merits would be inadequate.
The history, however, of the origin of the College at Red Springs was in connection with an effort on the part of Fayetteville Presbytery to reopen the old Floral Col- lege as a high school for girls. Only a portion of the necessary amount of money could be raised, and in the spring of 1895 the Presbytery invited other points or
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places in the Presbytery to submit bids for the location of the school.
On August 15, 1895, the Rev. S. M. Rankin, who at that time was pastor of the Red Springs Church, called a . mass meeting of the citizens of the place to consider the matter, and about fifteen men assembled, and one man offered to give $100 as a beginning, and Mr. Rankin was instructed to prosecute a canvass for the location of the school at Red Springs.
At the next meeting of Presbytery, September 17, 1895, the bid from Red Springs, amounting to four acres of land, twenty-five hundred dollars in cash or material and one-sixth interest in certain fair ground property, was accepted by the Presbytery, and the Committee on Church and Christian Education was authorized to select the site and to canvass the churches for additional funds.
In October, 1895, the site offered by Dr. J. L. McMillan was selected as the location, and the Rev. Mr. Rankin was appointed to canvass the churches of Presbytery.
In March, 1896, Mr. Rankin reported $5,000 raised, and also submitted plans and specifications for the first building, which were accepted, and Mr. Rankin was elected chairman and treasurer of the Building Commit- tee. A Board of Trustees was appointed, and in June, 1896, the Rev. C. G. Vardell was elected to take charge of the school. The school opened September 30, 1896, with an enrollment, during the year, of 112. Under the splendid management of Dr. Vardell the institution has steadily advanced to the forefront of female colleges in the South, and the plant has been enlarged until the property is now worth at least $100,000. At the present time (1907) there is a faculty of twenty-five or thirty teachers and an enrollment of more than 300 young lady students.
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The " Lees-McRae Institute"-the girls' department at Banner Elk, in Watauga county, N. C., and the boys' department at Plum Tree, in Mitchell county, N. C .- is one of the direct results or products of Synodical Home Missions.
The pioneer evangelist in these counties was the Rev. R. P. Pell, who did much in laying the foundation for schools and in fostering the desire among the people for more and higher education. Mr. Pell was succeeded in 1895 by Messrs. Edgar Tufts, L. E. Bostian and E. D. Brown, in Watauga county, and Mr. L. A. McLaurin, in Mitchell county. These brethren had not yet completed their seminary course, and they did splendid work during the summer months in this field.
In 1897 the Rev. Edgar Tufts took charge of the field, and to him is due the splendid success and wonderful progress of the institution at Banner Elk, over which he still presides.
In 1901 the Rev. J. P. Hall became associated with the institution, and through his splendid labors the boys' de- partment has been transferred, built up and established at Plum Tree, in Mitchell county. Mr. Hall has charge of this department.
The following brief outline of the origin and history of the institution is here given in the language of the Rev. Edgar Tufts :
"This school had its beginning in a small summer mis- sion school taught by two ladies for four months, with no guaranteed salary except their expenses. The next step was when the evangelist in charge of the field gath- ered around an open fire in his own room a handful of the largest and most advanced pupils and taught them free of charge for several months during the winter of 1898. The next step was the following fall, when the matter of build-
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ing a high school at Banner Elk was taken up at a mid- week prayer meeting and subscriptions received to the extent of some $250 in lumber and work.
"The enterprise having thus been started at home, many appeals through papers, through letters and in person were made for help with which to finish the buildings. After months of hard work, during which a debt was never made, the dormitory and a two-room academy building were ready for use.
"The school was first known as the "Elizabeth McRae Institute," in honor of Mrs. E. A. McRae. The name was afterwards changed to the Lees-McRae Institute, in honor of Mrs. S. P. Lees. These ladies were liberal helpers and doners in the founding of the institute
"The first session of the boarding department was be- gun in the fall of 1900 with about a dozen girls in the dormitory and two teachers. At the close of the second year it was evident that more class room would have to be provided for. A new academy was started at once. This building was begun like the dormitory, with a subscrip- tion at home.
"From time to time a few acres of land were added, sometimes as donations and sometimes by purchase, until to-day the school owns forty-seven acres, through which the turbulent water of the Elk river flow. Not only does this stream afford picturesque scenery and delightful trout fishing, but it has in its bosom a magnificent water-power. which some day will doubtless be used to light the school with electricity.
"From the very beginning the Bible has been a daily text-book for every pupil in the school. The industrial features have also been emphasized and enlarged until to-day this course embraces cooking, swing and basketry. The catechisms of the Presbyterian Church have also been
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so constantly brought to the attention of the students that over one hundred girls have been awarded Bibles and Tes- taments for reciting them. The Christian influence -ha's been such that over thirty students have united with the church while in school.
In 1903 two important changes were made: One of them was the change in the time of the sessions, so that the school now begins in the spring and closes at Christ- mas. The object in this change was first to eliminate the three severe winter months, and thereby reduce the run- ning expenses, and, second, to breakdown as far as possi- ble, by running the school in the summer, the too frequent custom in the mountains of putting the girls on the farm as soon as they are large enough to handle a hoe. The other change was moving the boys' department to Plum Tree in the adjoining county.
"The enrollment in these two departments during 1906 was upwards of 275 students, five of whom are already candidates for the ministry."
The great success and splendid work of Rev. Edgar Tufts with the Lees-McRae Institute has been made pos- sible by the self-sacrificing and painstaking work of Mrs. E. A. MacRae, of Maxton, N. C. This lady was a mem- ber of Centre Church, near Maxton, and at her own cost and charges, without one cent of reimbursement, taught several months during the first years of our work in Watauga county when Rev. R. P. Pell was there; and just after he left, and by her lovely Christian life, her love for souls, and her devotion to her Master, won the hearts of those splendid, but rather poor people, of that section, gave them a taste and love for better things, and thus, in her modest way, laid the foundations for the splendid schools which have since received from her and others, under the excellent management of Rev. Mr. Tufts, the money to carry them on and build them up.
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There are a large number of other excellent schools which are the direct results of Synodical Missions, but a history of their origin cannot be given here. In nearly" every instance, however, these schools originated through the self-sacrificing labors of some godly woman in teach- ing a day mission school under the direction of the com- mittee or some evangelist.
There is the "James Sprunt Institute" at Kenansville, N. C., named in honor and memory of the late Rev. James M. Sprunt, D. D., and founded by Mr. Henry Farrior and Dr. James W. Blount and others, in 1896, which is a Female School under the direct control of Wilmington Presbytery. It has been a wonderful suc- cess, and is a strong arm for mission work in eastern North Carolina. It has at present more than one hundred pupils, and more than half of them are boarders. Mr. J. O. Carr, of Wilmington, N. C., is the President of the Board of Trustees, and for a time the Rev. R. V. Lancas- ter had charge of the school. The present principal is Miss Blanche Boyd, formerly a teacher, matron and editor of the Synod's Orphans' Home at Barium Springs, North Carolina.
The splendid "Westminster School" at Brittain, N. C., established largely through the efforts of the Rev. R. C. Morrison, and under the fine management of Rev. W. R. Minter, in the providence of God, has educated many poor boys and girls and fitted them for usefulness in life, and is a missionary agency of great power and influence in King's Mountain Presbytery.
The school at Canton under the management of Rev. J. C. Hardin, and the schools at Crabtree, Dillsboro, Rob- binsville, Barnardsville, Hughes and other places in the western part of the State.
The Elise High School at Hemp, the Englewood
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School at Albemarle, the Stanly Hall School, and the -- Clarkton High School, besides a great number of mis- sion schools of lower grade. These schools are educating scores and hundreds of girls and boys all over the State, and their influence is immense and far-reaching for the glory of God and the uplifting of humanity.
In 1888 the Rev. Dr. Rumple presented a paper to synod on "Parochial Schools," urging the churches, when- ever practicable, to establish parochial schools for pri- mary and classical instruction under their own super- vision, and at the same time the Rev. Dr. McIllwain sub- mitted the annual report on education. In these papers not a single mission school is mentioned or reported, and while Peace Institute, the Charlotte, Statesville and Floral colleges are mentioned as Presbyterian schools, Davidson College is the only school mentioned as being under direct church control.
At the present time (1907), after a lapse of nineteen years, the great number of schools and colleges now in operation and under church control will show how great have been the results and the progress along educational lines.
In 1888 there were five Presbyteries, 122 ministers, 262 churches and 22,553 communicants in the synod. In 1907 there are eight Presbyteries, 179 ministers, 423 churches, and 39,788 communicants.
In 1888 the aggregate amount of funds raised in the synod was $144,692, and in 1907 the amount was more than $344,913.
In 1888, according to the reports given by the stated clerks of the Presbyteries, there were thirty-one counties in the State without a single Presbyterian church, and fifteen counties with one church in each, making a total of forty-six counties practically without Presbyterianism within their borders.
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There is a confusion in the numbers given of the va- cant counties, from time to time, and this confusion arises from the fact that in some of the counties given "with- one church each," there was only a church building and not an organization; and besides, it is not easy to ascer- tain the exact time of the organization of some of the new churches. There were really more than thirty-one counties without a Presbyterian organization in 1888, and it is not claimed that the Synodical Movement has done all the organizing and aggressive mission work since then, but it has done much of it, and has stimulated Pres- byteries and individuals to activity, which have brought about the great changes since the Movement began. As nearly as can be ascertained, when the Synodical Mission work was begun, there were no organised Presbyterian churches in the following counties, viz .: Alleghany, Ashe, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Clay, Cherokee, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Graham, Greene, Hyde, Hertford, Jackson, Johnston, Jones, Madison, Martin, Mitchell, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Perquimans, Person, .Pitt, Polk, Stokes, Swain, Tyrrell, Watauga, Washington, Yadkin, and Yancey, making a total of thir- ty-six. In the counties of Halifax, Lenoir, Pasquotank, and Stanly, the single organizations were new and ex- ceedingly weak, and in about thirteen other counties there was but one church only in each, making a sum total of about fifty-three.
Since 1888, to the beginning of 1907, there have been reported to the Synod the organization of 187 new churches in the State. There are now ( 1907) eiglit Pres- byteries, 186 ministers, 428 churches, and 40,750 com- municants.
The counties without a Presbyterian church within the
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State at the present time are thirteen in number, and are" as follows: Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Greene, Hertford, Northampton, Pamlico, Per- quimans, Tyrrell and Washington.
In 1888 there were six Presbyterial evangelists within the bounds of the synod giving their whole time to the work, while there were perhaps as many more ministers giving a part of their time to evangelistic work. In 1907, according to the last reports from the Presbyteries, there were 21 evangelists at work in the Presbyteries, and the superintendent of Synodical Missions reported 27 minis- ters as having served regularly 71 small churches and 70 mission points ; 1,389 persons made a public profession of faith during the year, and 708 of these joined the Pres- byterian church." In addition to these ministers, there is a great host of laymen and teachers, male and female, who are engaged in evangelistic work, especially during the summer months, teaching and preaching the Gospel throughout the State.
In 1888 Biblical institutes, mission conferences and Bible teachers' training schools and associations of various kinds for spreading the Gospel were unknown in North Carolina; but at the present time they are of common occurrence and within the reach of all.
We cannot claim that all these facts and conditions as we have them to-day are the direct results of Synodical Home Missions, inaugurated in 1888, but many of them are, and in after years it will be seen more clearly than now that the great "movement" at that time was more far- reaching and of infinitely more importance than those who participated in it ever dreamed. And there will be no backward step. The watchword is Onward! Higher, and yet higher! Towards the great possibilities which God has set-before the church for his own glory in the salvation of men !
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The promise to Joshua and the children of Israel was " Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon. that have I given thee," and every student of Bible history knows that not anything like all of this land was ever taken by the children of Israel, and why? Simply because God put the condition in, that their feet should tread upon it-that is, take possession of it, and that could not be done without a contest, a fight strong and in some cases long continued; this the children of Israel did not have faith to undertake.
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