USA > Nebraska > A history of Nebraska Methodism, first half-century, 1854-1904 > Part 32
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Exchanged, he returned to his regiment and served out the term of his enlistment. In 1864 he settled near Ray- mond, Nebraska, and engaged in farming, to support his widowed mother and sisters. January 19, 1868, he married a teacher, Miss Olive A. Johnson, of Valparaiso. In this marriage he found a helper in every excellence and a large part of his life success.
"His intimate friends, such as saw most of his real life, are his greatest admirers. Incidental glimpses, when he could not be on guard, showed him at his best. The real man grows on one by careful observation. It may indicate how deeply and widely rooted was his life, when we recall but his official relations. At home he was class-leader, president of the Church Board of Trustees, leader of the choir, Sunday-school superintendent, presi- dent of the Young Men's Christian Association, president of the Board of Education; and he attended to all of them. He had been president of the State Millers' As- sociation ; was, at the time of his death, president of the Veterans of the Ninth Illinois Cavalry, member of the Board of the Central State Sunday-school Convention, president of the Crete Chautauqua Assembly, and presi- dent of the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska Wesleyan University. He attended to these several duties cheer- fully and systematically, without hurtful neglect of private business or domestic life. Surely he must have been highly endowed with executive ability and inspired with great philanthropy.
"He was a Methodist theoretically and practically ; but many of his sweetest, most sacred fellowships were in Churches differing from his own most radically. His love was too large for denominational fences. His cor-
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respondence, and the letters of sympathy written after his death, reveal a widespread feeling of esteem, amounting, as one says, 'to a sentiment akin to reverence.' These tribute-bearing letters are from clergymen, educators, lawyers, physicians, merchants, millers, grain-dealers, pastors of congregations in and out of his State, from East and West, North and South. But the most signifi- cant of all come from the unfortunate. Little wonder, when we remember that he once said to his wife: ‘How can I sleep when there is under our roof a broken heart !' It was the heart-break of a hired girl. Or he would say : 'I must at least go and shake hands with the people in that prairie schooner and speak an encouraging word.' Or when a transient hired man would be overcome with drink, he would try the man again, saying: 'Were I in his place I might have done no better.' One such man was under his care when he died; and a poor Bohemian woman, on hearing of his death, sat down in the street, crying, as she said: 'I've lost the-best friend I had in the world.' One closest to him in his office says, 'There was scarcely a day without his giving relief privately.'
"His gentleness did not mean weakness. His was not the pliability of the willow, but of the palm, which bends to the zephyr, yet withstands the simoon. Men who undertook to dislodge from a right position by bribes or threats, found cause for humiliation and shame. That mild, blue eye could flash fire, and that kind face be set as a helmet of steel. Though generous in his interpreta- tions of men's motives, he read character accurately. Like the Master, he condemned and forgave the sins of weakness for which men were sorry, but his wrath was unsparing towards hypocrisy.
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"The great honor of being the spiritual guide of Mr. White and his wife fell to Rev. H. T. Davis, D. D. First, he was their guest at Raymond, and, like sensible people, they talked frankly on religion. In a year Davis returned as presiding elder. Before he came Mr. White said, 'Wife, I fear I can't hold out much longer against Elder Davis's preaching.' 'I also feel that way,' she said. After the sermon on the following Sabbath night, invi- tation was given for enquirers to go forward for prayer. His wife said, 'Let us go.' He replied, 'Do you wish to?' 'Yes.' 'All right.' And to that humble school-house altar they went, and again were united in a holier bond than ever. Here, as often, the wife was the leader, while he was a willing follower and companion. She soon found peace that floweth like a river. He held resolutely on, going three nights in succession, when he, too, entered into peace, and said, 'Glory, glory, hallelujah!' Now, after twenty-three years of service, he is with the in- numerable company whose hallelujahs never end.
"He was elected senator for Saunders County in 1880. During the same year he was honored as delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held at Cincinnati. He moved to Crete, Nebraska, in 1888, where, as an enterprising leader in the milling business, he prospered and became a blessing to the city and State. After a brief illness, he died, September 20, 1895, just as he had come to the riper years of full ma- turity."
Mrs. C. C. White, the widow of this true nobleman, whom he always regarded as his equal and companion, was in hearty sympathy with her husband in what he was doing for Wesleyan, and along other benevolent
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lines, and finds pleasure in carrying out his wishes as well as her own, in the generous contribution of $5,000 to pay the debt. To her, in pursuit of the same purpose, is largely due the stately new structure, the conservatory of music, one wing of which is now approaching comple- tion, as well as timely assistance in other improvements.
A. L. Johnson, the business partner of C. C. White in the milling business at Crete, is another one of the true- hearted laymen who have proved to Wesleyan a "friend indeed," because a "friend in need," who, besides con- tributing largely to the payment of the debt, has gen- erously aided the erection and furnishing of the new gymnasium, and also of the conservatory. He is an in- fluential member of the Board of Trustees, and a meni- ber of the Executive Committee, giving much valuable time to the interests of the university.
Regarding the general subject of education, Nebraska Methodism, in common with other evangelical denomina- tions, with the exception of the Roman Catholic, holds uncompromisingly to these views :
First, that every human being is entitled to the best education possible, and that no education is complete that ignores the moral and religious elements in human na- ture.
Second, that the Church and State, having different functions, are to be separate.
The first of these requires that the State, especially in the case of a free Republic, provide through a public school system, supported by taxation, an opportunity for every boy and girl to be educated. But the second re- stricts the State from exercising the function of the Church in carrying on and directing the religious feature of this education.
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That is, we say to the State, it is your duty to edu- cate the people, but in doing so you must leave out the most important elements.
Few, except the Catholics, question the practical soundness of these seemingly contradictory positions. But they give rise to one of the most difficult problems the American people have to solve.
Hence Nebraska Methodism, in common with all evangelical denominations, has recognized the fact that her duty in reference to the work of education was two- fold :
First, to help the State in its efforts to furnish the best education it could, under the before mentioned re- strictions, by supplying as many earnest Christian young men and women to be teachers in the public schools as possible.
Second, surrounding the State institutions with an environment of positive moral and religious influences, such as the State, under her restrictions, can not supply.
But, however much the Church may help the State in its educational work, the State can never build up a system or an institution that will impart a complete edu- cation, according to our standard, and must therefore be supplemented by denominational schools.
How much of the work of education can be safely en- trusted to the State, and how much must be reserved for other agencies ?
How far can the State go in the recognition of the Bible in the school, and where must it stop in the process of education ?
In regard to these questions, the Methodists of Ne- braska hold that, as this is neither a non-Christian nor
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an infidel nation, but essentially a Christian nation, the State may, in a general, non-sectarian way, allow the Bible to be read in the schools. But it may not presume to exercise the function of propagating any form of relig- ion, or interfere in any manner with the religious life.
While the question of just where the dividing line is to be drawn, beyond which the State may not go in the direction of developing and directing the religious na- ture, is not yet fully determined, two broad principles are recognized :
First, that the State must, as far as it can consistently with the second principle, supplement the home, and pri- vate and denominational enterprises in the work of edu- cation.
Second, that this same principle of the separation of State and Church makes it impossible for the State to furnish a complete education, according to the first prin- ciple, and it must in turn be supplemented by the Church with her denominational schools.
We are glad to say that the truth of history requires us to record that Nebraska Methodism has done credit- able work along both lines.
I am informed by Professor W. R. Jackson, ex-State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Professor J. L. McBrien, present deputy, that a large percentage of the public school teachers are Christian, and a large per- centage of these are Methodist.
Then in the second line of helpfulness we have ren- dered good service, as the history of the State University and the State Normal School will show, when fully writ- ten. As previously stated, the latter was at first intended to be a Methodist school, and Hiram Burch, one of our
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most faithful Methodist preachers, and Professor Mc- Kenzie, gave over two years' hard service to its building up, and after failure to induce the Conference to take it, because of certain conditions deemed impracticable, con- sented to its being turned over to the State as a Normal.
In the chapter on the development of our Church in Lincoln, reference was made to the magnificent services rendered by St. Paul's Church, and especially by a band of "elect ladies," led by Mrs. Roberts, in counteracting the influence of certain infidel professors in the State University, and supplying the requisite moral and relig- ious environment for the students. Along the same line the following extract from Hiram Burch's "Recollec- tions," will show the immense influence Methodism has exerted in shaping and giving a moral and even religious tone to the State Normal, which was located at Peru in- stead of a Methodist college, as at first designed: "Ít may seem to the casual observer that the time spent, the labor bestowed, and the sacrifice made in founding that school was nearly or quite thrown away, at least so far as our Church is concerned. But not so. Our beloved brother, Professor J. M. Mckenzie, a devout Christian and earnest Methodist, who had charge of the school dur -. ing its formative period, and without whose labors and sacrifice it seems hardly possible that any degree of suc- cess could have been attained, was still at the head of the school after it was given to the State, and gave it that religious trend which it has largely maintained during its entire history. For instance, a Tuesday night students' prayer-meeting was established, which was never inter- fered with by other exercises, not even during commence- ment week. In fact, the farewell students' prayer-meet-
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ing, at which students took a religious leave of each other, and of their teachers, was an interesting and inspiring feature of commencement week, and was kept up as long as I was personally acquainted with the school, and is still, so far as I know. And not only did they have their student's prayer-meeting, but no exercises were held at the Normal on the regular Church prayer-meeting evening.
It was from the position as principal of the State Normal that Professor Mckenzie was called to be State Superintendent, which position he held for six years. Thus, indirectly, the founding of the school gave the State the services of that godly man and competent and successful educator, who, more perhaps than any other man, laid the foundations of our public-school systen1. and in so doing, emphasized the importance of the moral and spiritual in education. The seat of the State Normal school has been the scene of some very gracious revivals, mainly in connection with the Methodist Church of that place. Among the most successful of these, which have been of almost annual occurrence, may be mentioned one during the pastorate of Rev. L. F. Britt, when there were about one hundred converts ; and of more recent date, under the labors of that successful lay evangelist, Dr. B. L. Paine, which occurred, I think, during the pastorate of Rev. G. M. Gates, at which nearly or quite three hun- dred were converted. These converts have been mostly students, and largely from Methodist families. Several of these have entered the work of the ministry in our own Church and in other Churches. Some have gone as missionaries to distant fields, some have become minis- ters' wives, and many more have gone forth as Christian
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teachers, working in our public schools and institutions of learning."
J. M. Mckenzie was the pioneer Methodist educator in Nebraska. We meet him first in the early sixties at Pawnee City, endeavoring to plant an educational insti- tution in that place, called "Nemaha Valley Seminary and Normal Institute." But he was soon called to take charge of the institution at Peru, referred to by Brother Burch, while it was yet expected that it would be a Methodist school, and remained at the head after it became a State Normal. While here he was called to the State superin- tendency, the second man to serve in that capacity. Prob- ably few men who have occupied that position, have had as much to do, or have actually done as much toward organizing the public-school system of Nebraska, as did J. M. Mckenzie during the six years which he held that important office. His efficiency is evidenced to some ex- tent by the fact that his was the rare distinction of serv- ing three terms in succession.
During all these years in which he was serving the State, first in organizing its Normal school, and after- ward the larger system of public schools, he was a de- vout Christian, with a rich religious experience, which gave tone and character to all his work on educational lines. He afterwards rendered years of splendid serv- ice to the Church at York College, and later went to California.
Another of the pioneer educators was J. J. Fleharty. He seemed to feel that his life work lay along educational lines. Coming to Nebraska in the later seventies and finding that nothing had been done officially along that line, it seemed to him that this situation furnished hin
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the opportunity to supply the long, recognized need. Looking over the field he selected Osceola as the most suitable place and soon had that warm-hearted, stalwart layman, John H. Mickey, as one of his stanch supporters. He was doing faithful work in his line, but ere long he was doomed to disappointment, the Conference soon after choosing York as the seat of its Conference school. Though disappointed, he was not daunted, and as we have seen, tried again, selecting Fullerton, in the North Nebraska Conference. But here also he was again dis- appointed, Central City being chosen, and he was again to see his plans miscarry.
No purer man, or one more unselfishly devoted to what he deemed the call of God has ever wrought in the Lord's vineyard in Nebraska. This is none the less true because of these two defeats, and the consequent bitter disappointment that followed, which, together with the hard work involved, soon undermined his constitution. He was in the meanwhile, engaged in literary pursuits, publishing two books, the "Life of Rev. Asahel E. Phelps" and "Social Impurity."
In 1861 he was married to Miss Anna Brace, and in all his subsequent labors she was a true "helpmeet."
This noble, toilful, sanctified life closed May 2, 1884, at Tampa, Florida, whither they had gone in a vain hope of prolonging his life.
CHAPTER XXVI.
FOURTH PERIOD. (1880-1904.)
SOME SUBORDINATE AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS.
IT could not be otherwise than that the religion es- tablished by our Lord, who Himself was constantly min- istering to the whole man, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, instructing the mind, and pardoning the guilty, and regenerating the soul. should take on all the mani- fold forms required by human nature, and continue to minister to the whole man. Then the generous impulses that are generated in the hearts of his disciples, eliminat - ing selfishness, impelling by their gentle pressure, guided by an intelligent perception of the need, must soon find expression in suitable agencies and institutions for carry- ing on these larger features of Christian work, and found a hospital for the sick.
It is among the pleasant recollections of the writer that, when pastor of the First Church, South Omaha, in 1890, at one of our preachers' meetings, Dr. D. A. Foote, of Omaha, came before us and presented the matter for the first time, and the truth of history requires the state- ment that the inception of the movement is due to Dr. Foote. A committee was appointed and the agitation began and through varying stages of careful, prayerful consideration, culminated in a tangible form the follow- ing year.
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OLD METHODIST HOSPITAL AT OMAHA.
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THE NEW METHODIST HOSPITAL AT OMAHA.
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That the matter should be approached cautiously, step by step, with no little hesitancy, and even some hon- est opposition, was to be expected, for Omaha Meth- odism was yet under the burden of debt, and ill prepared to assume further financial responsibility.
The progress of this movement toward its blessed con- summation is so well told by Brother Haynes,* that I again quote him: "The making of a beginning was held in reserve for the time being till the matter might be further investigated. The most inquisitive were on the alert seeking the while information. An opportunity came unsought. Mrs. Lucy Rider Meyer, of Chicago, who is reputed as the founder of training schools for nurses in the Methodist Church, accompanied by her hus- band, on their way to Denver, visited Omaha, and pre- sented to a meeting held in the basement of the First Methodist Church, some of the features of the work necessary to the organization of a hospital. This begin- ning was the occasion of an effort to commence work looking to the establishment of a hospital and Deaconess Home in this city. The intelligent and satisfactory pre- sentation of the case by these zealous advocates gave in- spiration to not a few, and particularly the women pres- ent were aroused so thoroughly as to incite them to greater deeds.
The women-Mrs. Haynes, Mrs. Claflin, Mrs. Aus- tin, and Mrs. Bryant-pressed the matter with such ear- nestness and solicitude that the pastors changed their purpose as much as to agree that if $1.500 should be raised as a guarantee of success, they would make no fur- ther opposition. Dr. J. W. Shenk courageously sec-
* History of Omaha Methodism.
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بالحمد
راس١
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MRS. ALLIE P. MCLAUGHLIN, SUPERINTENDENT, AND TWENTY-FIVE OTHER DEACONESSES OF THE OMAHA
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onded the presiding elder and the women in an endeavor to make a trial.
In the meantime Dr. Gifford, who was the owner of an infirmary on South Twentieth, near Harney Street, learning of the effort being made, offered the building which he had erected at his own expense, on the condi- tion of an indebtedness of $1,900 being assumed and that there be six rooms reserved for his patients-two for men and two for women, and two besides, subject, however, to the rules of the hospital. The Hospital Association ac- cepted the proposition, and leasing the ground at $400 a year, opened the institution on May 28, 1891, for the. re- ception of patients.
On the same day and at the same place, the associa- tion met and effected a permanent organization by elect- ing Dr. J. W. Shenk president, and J. C. Cowgill secre- tary. A constitution was adopted, and a committee ap- pointed to secure the legal incorporation of the asso- ciation. The name given the institution is the Methodist Hospital and Deaconess Home of Omaha. On May 24th, the hospital and home were dedicated by Bishop John P. Newman.
"The opening of the hospital," says the Omaha Chris- tian Advocate, "is an event of great interest. The asso- ciation now owns property worth $10,000, on which there is an indebtedness of $1,900. There has been about $1,500 subscribed for current expenses. The building has capacity for twenty-eight beds."
From the date of the opening till the present a con- tinuous good work has been done in caring for the sick, maimed, and otherwise disabled ones. But the work of caring for such as are admitted to the hospital can not
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be done without expense ; and provision had to be made to meet the constantly accumulating outlay. To meet this in part, it was deemed wise to make an inducement for friends and citizens to contribute a small sum by of- fering an equivalent. Hence, any one in health who may pay into the treasury ten dollars at one time is entitled to a yearly membership ticket, which allows the con- tributor, in case of personal sickness, to be taken care of without charge, during the year of making the payment."
The growth and history of this blessed work are thus briefly, but eloquently, summarized by Mrs. Allie P. Mc- Laughlin, who has been superintendent from the first: "The Hospital and Deaconess Home Association was or- ganized thirteen years ago this March. We opened the hospital the 28th day of May, 1891. We began to receive our patients without any means on hand, but the Lord has so prospered us, we have taken care of more than nine thousand people, of whom one-third have been en- tirely free. And to-day we have no debt. Our little deaconess family of workers numbered three at first, but now numbers forty-seven. We have been very much cramped all of these years because of our limited quar- ters. Thousands have been turned from our doors be- cause we could not receive them for lack of room.
The spiritual part of this work is one of the leading features, all of the workers being Christian people. The hospital itself is a great mission field. There have been a great many conversions as the months and years have gone by.
The new building is now begun, the site paid for and about half enough for a $110,000 building. Of the first
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workers who came thirteen years ago, two of us yet re- main, Miss Jennie Cavanaugh and myself."
While under Methodist auspices, its beneficence is not confined to Methodist people, as will be seen by the fol- lowing figures of a year's work, as appears from the an. nual report for 1901-02: No Church, 235; Methodist, 231 ; all other denominations, including sixty-three Cath- olics, 420.
Besides the nursing in the hospital, involved in the care of these patients, these nurses spent 26,872 hours in nursing patients outside of the hospital.
On the lines of spiritual work they have visiting dea- conesses, and many of our pastors will bear cheerful wit- ness to their helpfulness in revival-meetings, and other forms of work.
Their staff of physicians and surgeons include some of the most skillful in the country. Their names are: Harold Gifford, A. F. Jonas, J. C. Moore, W. O. Bridges, W. S. Gibbs, H. M. McClanahan, J. M. Aikin, R. S. Anglin, O. S. Hoffman, W. K. Yeakel, D. A. Foote, S. J. Quimby, and Mrs. Freeda M. Lankton.
MOTHERS' JEWELS HOME.
Not only was the Church broadening the range of her activities and agencies so as to include the hospitals, but the same generous impulse led her to take steps to pro- vide for homeless children. In this she shared a general movement in this direction which set in about this time which was not only the result of a charitable impulse, but the intelligent perception of an urgent need that such children should be cared for and nurtured under favorable influences, lest they grow up without any training, or what is worse, vicious training.
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THE MOTHERS' JEWELS HOME.
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