USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > Old Sands Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of Brooklyn, N.Y. : an illustrated centennial record, historical and biographical > Part 28
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orous, discriminating intellect, and a heart transfused with love to God and man, there was added a clearness of perception and an originality of thought, expressed in chaste and beautiful language, that is rarely equaled.
In private life he was courteous and genial; he had always the right word at the right time, and it was given to young or old, high or low, as the case might be, with a simple courtesy that won all hearts.5 To intimate friends he revealed much of that humor which is the heritage of his countrymen ; still, this was guarded with a watchful eye, and he was careful that the last impression should be a serious one.
He was an ardent lover of Nature; all fair forms and beautiful colors were a joy to him, and he always ascended into spiritual meanings. The cultivation of flowers was a favorite recreation, and he found keen enjoyment in music, sometimes resting himself with his flute. A letter from Boston to his little daughter illustrates these tastes. He says :
I have seen many interesting things, about which my little dame and I will have nice talks on my return. Are you careful to feed the birds ? These little creatures are not more dependent upon our thought, than we are upon our heavenly Father's care. Do not forget to water the flowers ; they will amply repay you in sweetness and beauty. I know you will not neglect your books; but, more than all, seek the wisdom that is more precious than rubies. A long letter from my little girl will rejoice the heart of her loving father.
His valued friend, Miss Garrettson, thus speaks of him :
ITis visits were always occasions of deep interest, and hailed with delight by all the household. I recall, with peculiar pleasure, a time when he was about to leave Wildercliffe, but was delayed by a severe storm. After tea, he read to Mrs. Olin and myself, Mrs. Browning's drama of " Exile." Absorbed in the theme, he swept us along, by the alternation of strong feeling and tender pathos. As he ceased the old clock in the hall rang out the midnight hour. He exclaimed, " Is it possible !" and retired. Mrs. Olin turned to me with radiant face, and said, " Well, cousin Mary, I never really heard it before ! "
One great element of power was his strong personal influence. This was largely the result of devotedness to God. A few
5 [Bishop Clark says: "Nowhere, perhaps, did his fine qualities display themselves more beautifully than in the house of mourning, and at the bedside of the sick and dying. He seemed to know intuitively how to adapt the con- solations of the gospel to each particular case." See Sprague's Annals. E. W.]
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words from his diary will indicate the cast of his thought. He says :
My people love me too much, receive me with too much pleasure ; it is sweet to the human heart. Lord, save me from undue regard to men. I have been under a cloud, but, thanks be to God, such an outpouring of glory! Bless the Lord ! my help alone cometh from him.
A gay man of the world, not reverent toward holy things, once said to a relative, in whose house he was a frequent guest : " No one could be with Mr. Creagh without wishing to be good, and I do not believe any one could think of wrong in his presence."
His exceeding modesty forbade his being prominent in debate, but when he departed from his usual custom, his opinions were received with marked attention. Liberal toward all Christians, he was loyal to his own church. Thrice in the course of his ministry he was solicited to enter another denomination, but it was no temptation to his steadfast soul. In 1848 he led the New York delegation to the General Conference, in Pittsburgh, and again in Boston in 1852. About this time he preached a sermon on Christian perfection, which so impressed the lamented Dr. Horace Bushnell, who was one of his hearers, that he sought an introduc- tion, which resulted in a correspondence that promised mutual pleasure, but was soon ended by the death of Mr. Creagh.
Upon leaving New York, in 1851, he became pastor of the South Fifth-street (now St. John's) church, Brooklyn. He en- tered upon his work with accustomed zeal, and proved himself to be "a workman that needed not to be ashamed." In the spring of 1852 the death of Bishop Hedding, whom he loved as a father, deeply affected him. He preached, by request, a memorial sermon in New York. So great was the effect upon his sensitive nature, that for days he suffered extreme nervous prostration. In May he attended the General Conference, after which he returned to pastoral duties with not quite his usual strength. Specially endearing were the relations of pastor and people, which resulted in frequent claims upon his time and sympathy outside his own church. These were rarely disre- garded, for he counted not his life dear unto himself. On the first of August, with peculiar significance, he preached from the words, " Though I walk through the valley," etc. Little thought he that its chill shadows were even then fast closing around him. The next day he lay pale and feeble upon a bed of lan- guishing, and after ten days of extreme prostration his pure
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spirit escaped its frail prison house to be "forever with the Lord."" Once he was heard to murmur, "My wife and chil- dren ; my dear people ! " but for the most part they were days of exceeding quiet, his spirit was still before God. Fully con- scious that the time of his departure was at hand, with great tenderness he bade farewell to his loved ones, not forgetting a valued servant, saying, as she turned sobbing away, " Poor Bes- sie, a stranger in a strange land." He. sent messages of love to the different churches of his care, South Fifth-street, Seventh- street, Allen-street. Vestry-street, and Sands-street. He said : " That blessed Jesus, whose gospel I have endeavored to preach, does not forsake me now; he is my all-sufficient Saviour ; he is intimately nigh." His countenance shone with heavenly ra- diance, as again and again he cried, " Victory ! Victory ! through the blood of the, Lamb. Glory ! all is glory !" Faith seemed to o'erleap the confines of dim sense, and view the angel of release, as with beckoning motion he said, " Come quickly, haste, haste !" To those who knew his devoted life there was fitness in the rapturous triumph of his farewell to the earth. As nat- urally as a liberated bird seeks its native air, his pure spirit swept up exultingly into the glorious unfoldings of infinite love.
According to man's measure, brief was his career, but rarely have forty-eight years been more richly endowed with earnest labor and sublime faith. Lovely in private life, untiring in duty, devoted in holiness, triumphant in death.7
Some of the most useful lives are those of which the world hears little, whose fragrance is no less pervasive because with- drawn from noisy comment. This thought was suggested by
6 [The date of his death is August 10, 1852. Clark, in Sprague's Annals, says : " When death was approaching, after he had been apparently engaged in silent prayer for some minutes, he cried out, "O for an honest view ! O for an honest view ! I trust I have taken it !" Then looking round upon his friends, he said, 'Dig deep, dig deep ! lay a good foundation !' He asked those present to sing ' Rock of Ages,' and after the singing he exclaimed, ' Yes, cleft for me.'"-E. W.]
" [J. B. Wakeley mentions Bartholomew Creagh as a " son of consolation, one of the sweetest spirits that ever tabernacled in clay tenement." He de- scribes his person as neither corpulent nor slender, of light complexion, blue eyes, and head of great classic beauty. He says, furthermore, " I was a bearer at his funeral, and I could but feel that seldom had the church on earthi lost a brighter ornament." See Sprague's Annals .- E. W.]
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the life of ELIZA A. WELLING, who was born in New York, January 30, 1800. Her ancestors on one side were English, and Anglo-French on the other. Her father, William Welling, was an attendant of St. Paul's Episcopal church, but was attracted by the fervor of the services in John-street Methodist church, where, among the sweet singers in Israel, was Miss Hester Le Page, who afterward became his wife. Eliza Welling was the third child by this marriage.
She entered upon a Christian life when sixteen years of age, and gave to her Master no half-hearted allegiance. Possessed of a voice of singular sweetness, from that time it was employed only in singing the praises of her King. Her education was more thorough than was usual at that period, gained partly at Mr. Parker's school, in New York, (where, among her friends was Theodosia Burr, whose sad fate she always deplored,) and then completed in Baltimore, when she became an inmate of the household of her uncle, that eminent servant of God, Dr. George Roberts.
Skilled in domestic arts, she also took delight in the more active ministries of life, was engaged in home mission work, and a teacher and superintendent in the Allen-street Sunday-school, to which, years later, she returned as a pastor's wife.
In 1829 she was married to Rev. B. Creagh, and cheerfully accepted the sacrifices incident to the position. Years of sweet companionship and tender association followed, shadowed by the death of her first-born son. Never in rugged health, the full measure of her strength was given to the ways of her house- hold, which was a home for the Lord's people, where many a one rested from the stress of life, as in the " palace beautiful." In four brief years a devoted husband, a son in the dawn of manhood, a father and mother, were taken from her home. Mrs. Creagh bore these keen afflictions with patient acquiescence, and abiding confidence in Him "whose compassions fail not."
Naturally shy and fond of quiet places, she now more than ever shunned publicity, and found content in the care of her two younger children, whom she sought to impress by word and life with the inestimable value of spiritual things.8
She was thoughtful, but never melancholy; extremely reserved,
$ [The names of the children here referred to are Anthony H. and Fidelia M. Creagh, highly esteemed members of St. John's Methodist Episcopal church, Brooklyn, N. Y .- E. W.]
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and therefore often misunderstood, revealing the depth of her nature only to the few who came into intimate nearness. Love of truth and simplicity were among her distinguishing charac- teristics ; nothing was ever done for effect, and perhaps conven- tionality sometimes paled before this necessity of her nature.
More than three-score years and ten had passed in quiet use- fulness ; peace and serenity were the seal of what had been. Eyes sharpened by intense solicitude saw that natural powers were declining, but knew that, like the King's daughter, she was " all glorious within."
It sometimes seemed as if she lived between two worlds and held acquaintance with the skies. Frequently, when a soft, low utterance escaped her, in reply to her daughter's question, if she wished any thing, would come the answer, "No, dear, I was only speaking to my best Friend." Nothing in her life so well became her as the leaving it. The last day of health was spent as usual in useful occupation, and then suddenly, peacefully she took "the grand step beyond the stars " into limitless life and love.
" 'Their works do follow them," and in the home consecrated by her presence, her gentleness and serenity are a power and inspiration, and the loved voice still speaks from that other shore.
LVIII. WILLIAM H. NORRIS.
years.
ANDS-STREET CHURCH enjoyed the services of the REV. WILLIAM HENRY NORRIS during two full ministerial terms; also, as presiding elder five He was identified with some of the most important events connected with the history of that church.
Mr. Norris was born in Orono. Maine, Oct. 28, 1801. His parents were orthodox, thrifty, intelligent people, and they "trained him in habits of filial piety." With them he came to the city of New York when fifteen years of age. At six. teen he was converted, and joined the Duane-street Method- ist Episcopal Church. He heard a divine call, and abandoned fine lucrative mercantile prospects to enter the itinerancy, at the age of twenty-four. . The following is his
MINISTERIAL RECORD: 1825, (New York Conf., ) Pittstown cir., N. Y., six months with J. C. Green and N. Rice ;- last part of the year, Sara- toga cir., with B. Crfffin, W. P. Lake and W. Anson, sup'y;1 1826, (Maine Conf.,) Belfast, Me .; 1827-1828, Bath, -ordained deacon in 1827; 1829, or- dained elder,-Portland cir., with S. Lovelle; 1830, ditto, with J. Horton; 1831 -1832, Hallowell; 1833, presiding eller, Portland Dist., 1834, Portland circuit, with E. Wiley; 1835-1836, Bangor; 1837-1838, (New York Conf.,) Brook- lyn, Sands-street, 1839-1841, missionary to Montevidio, S. A .; 1842, New York, Vestry-st. ; 1842-1846, miss'y to Buenos Ayres; 1847. agent of the American Bible Society in Mexico; 1848-1849, Brooklyn, Sands-street; 1850-1851, New Haven, Conn., First church; 1852-1853, presiding elder, New Hlaven Dist .; 1854-1855, New York, Forsyth-street; 1856-1858, P. E., New York Dist .; 1859-1862, presiding elder, Long Island Dist .; 1863, appointed agent American Bible Society, Panama and Central America, but prevented by sickness from filling the appointment; 1864, appointed missionary to South America, but change of plan by missionary board interfered with his going;3 1865, missionary presiding elder, Nashville, Tenn .; 1866, sup'y; 1867-1868, Durham, Conn .; 1869-1878, sup'y,4 residing in Hempstead, N. Y.
1 Conference Minutes do not mention liis appointment to Saratoga, but see "Trial of J. C. Green vs. J. Pierce," p. 10.
" Mrs. Norris, -Letter to the author.
3 Tbid.
4 ITis relation was not superannuated, as stated in his conference memorial, and he received no appropriation as a conference claimant.
M.J6. Nous
REV. WILLIAM H. NORRIS.
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He was married in 1831 to MISS SARAH MAHAN. The Maine Conference elected him to a seat in the General Conference in 1832 and in 1836. His return for a second term to three im- portant appointments, namely, Portland, Bangor, and Sands- street, Brooklyn, indicates the high esteem in which he was held by the churches he was called to serve.
It is said that his early labors in Maine were marked by a continuous revival. He found 432 members and probationers in the Sands-street church, and two years later reported 667. A most wonderful revival crowned his unceasing, earnest labors there, and there are living witnesses of his glowing zeal and his manifest agony for souls, as he preached and prayed, and some- times stood leaning against the pillars of the church weeping aloud for the perishing around him. He labored indefatigably during his second term in this charge, and under his leadership the church recovered from the loss of its buildings by fire, and rebuilt "the church and parsonage. His labors in the First church, New Haven, were characterized by the same fervent spirit, and attended with singular success.
He always appeared to have a painful sense of the high de- mands of the ministerial calling, and of his own insufficiency to meet the claims of God and the church upon him, yet, when assigned to any work, he always went cheerfully, and the church never had a more obedient servant. Personal considerations weighed nothing in his mind, when he heard the voice of the church, which was to him always the voice of God. One of his brethren writes :
The measure of the man may be best taken by reflecting on the estimate which the church itself made of him, and which may be seen in the varied and often delicate missions with which he was charged. He was a safe man, and one in whom the largest trusts could be reposed, and also one whose clear sense of right and ready ability of placing any matter of controversy in the sim- plest relations, made him at all times sought after for these valuable qualities.
As a preacher, the same conscientious painstaking was always apparent. Methodical, logical, and scrupulously conscientious, his sermons were models of exactness and forcible conclusions. 'His chief excellence, perhaps, lay in the pastorate. Indeed, it often seemed to us that if a man was ever called to a special work, Mr. Norris was called to this. Systematically dividing his time and his parish, he would go from house to house, mingling with his peo- ple, carrying their sorrows, advising in their perplexities, and especially sym- pathizing with the poor and fatherless ; going as a man of God, and going with both hands and heart open to minister to whatever necessities might crave his sympathy.
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Equally conscientious in his benevolence, his habit of giving was as exact as bis habit of prayer. Whatever income he had was measured into its appro- priate parts, and out of it must come the proper proportion which belonged to God. The best epitome of his character is that which the Scriptures give of the centurion, Cornelius. He was "a devout man, one that feared God with all his house, and gave much alins to the people, and prayed to God always." 5
To some observers there was in him an appearance of stern- ness, on account of his extreme conscientiousness and strict sense of justice. Dr. Curry, in a memorial address, ascribed to him a severe purity, which caused a man of ordinary integrity, when thrown in contact with him, to question whether his own heart was right.
The author of his conference memorial says :
Ilis extended travels and long association with the best societies of different countries, and his extensive reading upon subjects connected with his work, made him eminently capable of advice in times of grave inquiry. In the pros- ecution of his mission in South America, although chiefly directed to the En- glish-speaking population of the cities where he labored, he gave himself to a diligent study of the Spanish language, that he might reach the natives through their vernacular ; and also closely observed their manners and customs, and afterward became a valuable contributor to a published history of that inter- esting portion of our southern continent. And when the American Bible Society contemplated establishing an agency in Spain, Mr. Norris was selected for that work.
He was the author of two biographical works-abridgements -namely, a "Life of George Whitefield," and a "Life of Thomas Coke.""
The appearance of Mr. Norris was rather striking. His hair was long and dark, his eyes and complexion dark also, and there was upon his face what seemed to be a scar. Though he was of a strong constitution, he suffered much during a large part of his life, the result of an attack of acute bronchitis, brought on by exposure during his early ministry in Maine. In Tennessee a miasmatic fever was developed, from which he never entirely recovered.
A dark shadow enveloped him some two years previous to his death-the eclipse of his intellectual powers, accompanied
5 Rev. Dr. Francis Bottome, in The Christian Advocate.
6 Copies of these books are in the library of the Philadelphia Conference Historical Society.
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by physical decay. His memorial says that, as the closing hours drew near, " this curtain of night was lifted for a moment, that he might recognize and smile upon the dear ones who watched for his departure, and then he was at rest."
So died this faithful servant of the church, on the 19th of. October, 1878, having nearly completed the seventy-seventh year of his pilgrimage. His burial-place, in Greenfield cemetery, Hempstead, is marked by a granite monument.
His widow resides in Hempstead, Long Island, with a mar- ried daughter. The two surviving sons are active members of the Presbyterian Church in a Western State. The other chil- dren, five in number, " are in the better land."
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LIX.
50
HE REV. FITCH REED, D. D. was born in . Amenia, N. Y., March 28, 1795. He was reared under Cal- vinistic instruction, but when he heard the Meth- odist preachers, he readily embraced the reasonable and scriptural doctrine of free grace and unlimited redemption. In the nineteenth year of his age he was awakened and con- verted under the ministry of Marvin Richardson, the junior preacher on the Dutchess circuit.
Hle soon abandoned his studies for the medical profession under a strong conviction that it was his duty to devote his life to the work of the Christian ministry. He writes:
In the ear of conscience the call was as distinct and emphatic as if a voice from heaven had audibly declared, "Preach or be lost forever!" 1
He received his first license to preach at the age of twenty, and thereupon was immediately employed by Nathan Bangs, presiding elder, to labor on a circuit.
APPOINTMENTS: 1815, last part of the year, supply, Rhinebeck cir., N. V., with Wm. Anson and Thos. Thorp; 1816, supply, Goshen cir., Conn., with S. Cochran and Daniel Coe, supply; 1817, (New York Conf., ) Suffolk cir., N. Y., with William Jewett; 1818, Sag Harbor, 1819, ordained deacon by Bishop Roberts, -Dunham circuit, Vermont and Lower Canada; 1820, mis- sionary to York, Canada; 1821, ordained elder-missionary to York and New
1 Semi-centennial sermon, p. 7.
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Record of Ministers.
Settlements. with K. M. K. Smith ; 1822, Ithaca and Caroline cir., N. Y., with Dana Fox; 1823, presiding elder, Susquehanna Dist .; 1824, Ithaca ; 1825-1826, Cazenovia; 1827, Utica ; 1828, (New York Conf.,) Rhinebeck ; 1829, Amenia cir., with A. S. Hill ; 1830, ditto, with Lorin Clark ; 1831-1832, Middletown, Conn .; 1833, New York city, west cir., with P. P. Sandford, J. Bowen, J. C. Green, and C. W. Carpenter ; 1834, ditto, with J. B. Stratton, J. C. Green, D. De Vinne, and J. C. Tackaberry ; 1835, agent for Wesleyan University ; 1836, Amenia cir., with D. Holmes, and J. P, Ellsworth ; 1837, Amenia and Sharon cir., with D. Holmes and G. L. Fuller; 1838, presiding elder, New Haven Dist .; 1839, Brooklyn, Sands-street ; 1840, Pough- keepsie, with P. P. Sandford ; 1841, Poughkeepsie, 2nd ch .; 1842-18.43, Sharon, Conn. ; 1844-1845, Danbury ; 1846-1847, Peekskill, N. Y. ; 1848-1849, (Oneida Conf.,) Ithaca ; 1850, presiding elder, Susquehanna Dist .; 1851; Newark Dist ; 1852, Ithaca Dist .; 1853-1856, Auburn Dist .; 1857, Ithaca, Seneca-street ; 1858-1859, Port Byron ; 1860-1861, Asbury ; 1862-1868, sup'd; 1869-1871, (Central New York Conf.,) sup'd.
His delay in joining conference was on account of sickness and the fears which he and others entertained that he was too frail to endure the toils and privations of an itinerant preach- er's life. His published writings contain many interesting reminiscences of his early ministry. On Goshen circuit, while but a youth, he was permitted to lead a man one hundred and four years old to a saving trust in Jesus. He thus describes his journey to the Suffolk circuit, in 1817 :
As soon as I received my appointment I went to my father's and spent a few days at the dear home of my childhood. * *
* Tuesday, June 24, the farewell was spoken, and I started to find my new field of labor. `On horseback and alone, and by roads I had never traveled before, I journeyed to my destined place of toil, about one hundred and forty miles distant. That journey I shall never forget. I instinctively smile when I think of it, and call to mind several little incidents associated with my natural bashfulness and easily excited embarassment among strangers. I had been instructed to inquire at certain places for Methodist families, where the preachers were ac- customed to call, and where I would find welcome entertainment. It was exceedingly embarrassing to me to call on entire strangers, introduce myself as a preacher, and virtually ask entertainment for myself and beast as a gra- tuity.
To find my way through the city of New York and to Long Island, that was the great question of my journey. I dreaded it beyond measure. What places and whom should I inquire for ? I thought that as " a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise," I would keep my own counsels, and, if possible, not expose my verdancy. But I was driven from my circumspection. I found myself on Broadway, and, as it seemed to be a well traveled road, I pushed on, knowing it would lead me somewhere. And it did. I came in sight of the Battery and the waters of the bay beyond. Now what shall I do ? IIere is a gentlemanly looking man ; I will ask him to direct me. "Can
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you tell me, sir, if there are any Methodists living about here ?" O dear ! now I have betrayed myself. I have told him that I am a green country boy. A very significant smile and a shake of the head was his only reply. Turn- ing to retrace my steps, I saw upon the corner of a house, "Jolin-street." It instantly occurred to me that I had seen this name in the imprint of our hymn book. Turning down the street, I soon came to our " Methodist Book Room," where I received a cordial greeting by Joshua Soule, the senior book agent, and I once more felt like myself.
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