USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > A history of the First Presbyterian Church of Dayton, Ohio : from 1845 to 1880 > Part 3
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flow of conversation and sparkling jokes were listened to with such eagerness and enjoyment, by the company, that none could question his rank as an Autocrat of the Dinner Table.
When the dinner service was half over, a servant entered and whispered a message to Col. Berryman, who begged to be excused for a minute, and withdrew. At this junc- ture, the Major gave a turn to the conversation by refer- ring to a discussion he had had with Judge M., before dinner, in reference to Senator Corwin. He said he wished to learn from Mr. Anderson whether it was true, as his friend M. claimed, that the people of Ohio had lost confi- dence in Mr. Corwin, on account of his speech in opposi- tion to the continuance of the war with Mexico.
Mr. Anderson replied that the speech referred to had no doubt greatly diminished Mr. Corwin's popularity with the masses in Ohio, but it had elevated him very much in the estimation of the more intelligent citizens of the State, who were not affected by the war fever.
This opinion strengthened the Major's position, and the discussion was renewed between him and his friend, whose superior knowledge and logical training gave him an easy victory in the controversy.
With the evident purpose of affording relief to her nephew in the unequal contest, Mrs. Berryman expressed a desire to hear Mr. Anderson's own views respecting Senator Corwin's course on the Mexican question. This proposition was seconded by several voices, and the Doctor yielded to their desire-the more readily, he said, because
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REV. DR. ANDERSON'S PASTORATE.
Mr. Corwin was his personal friend and neighbor, and had been grossly misrepresented by the political press of the country.
He then made a brief but lucid statement of Senator Corwin's position -which was, that our war with Mexico was unprovoked, unnecessary, and unjust-that it was President Polk's war-brought on by himself, without authority from Congress or the people; that the prosecu- tion of such a war upon a weak sister republic was a mon- strous wrong, and that in opposing it, he (Mr. Corwin) was impelled by a high sense of duty to his own conscience, and public justice. He delivered a glowing eulogy on Mr. Corwin's integrity of character, closing with the following words: "The time will come, when the moral heroism of Mr. Corwin's great anti-war speech in the Senate, will shed a brighter lustre on his name, than all the other triumphs of his matchless eloquence."
When the Doctor finished, the company remained silent, they seemed spell-bound by the unexpected grace and power of his deliverance. At length Mrs. Berryman thanked him for the great pleasure he had given her, a pleasure in which the whole company professed their hearty participation.
"There is a lady near me," said Mrs. Berryman to the Doctor, "who wishes me to ask you a very impertinent question. I will not do it without your permission." "I am your liege servant, Madam," said the Doctor. "You have no need to ask; command and I will obey." " Well, then, she wants to know if you are Charles Anderson, of
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Dayton, Ohio. She does not know Charles Anderson per- sonally, but she is one of his ardent admirers." "If that be so," said the Doctor, "then am I sorry that my name is not Charles but William."
Dinner being over the "gentlemam from Ohio" has- tened to resume his work beside the threshing machine. His comrades were not there, but he found two Hibernians lying on the straw pile; they were hunting a job of work, and learning that Mr. Berryman had gone with the men to recover a runaway team, were waiting his return. The Colonel and his posse soon came back with the team, all in good order.
The Hibernians pressed their request, but the Colonel thought he had all the help he needed; just then Dr. Anderson interposed the remark :
"It will probably be to your advantage, Colonel, to hire these men and dismiss me."
Col. Berryman. "Why so ?"
Dr. Anderson. "You can hire both of them for less than you pay me."
Col. Berryman. "Indeed! May I ask what wages your last employer paid you ?"
Dr. Anderson. "My last employers paid me $1200 for fifty-two days work-averaging about $23 a day."
Col. Berryman. "You didn't get that much for thresh- ing wheat, did you ?"
Dr. Anderson. "No; I worked in the harvest field."
Col. Berryman. "In whose harvest field ?"
Dr. Anderson. "In my Master's."
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REV. DR. ANDERSON'S PASTORATE.
Col. Berryman. "And who is your master ?"
Dr. Anderson. "Brother Berryman, you and I serve one Master," and, saying this, he reached out his hand, cor- dially, which the Colonel seized, and held silently in his warm pressure, for, at the word "brother," the truth flashed upon his mind, and if an angel had stood before him he could not have been more astonished than he was on the recognition of his old friend.
The two Irishmen were put to work, and Col. Berryman taking the Doctor's arm, returned to the house, where they found the family and party in a high stage of won- derment over Tom's revelations. Tom had communicated to the kitchen his knowledge of Mr. Anderson's status as a laboring man, and the kitchen hands all felt the disgrace of having one of the poor white trash sit down with the ladies and gentlemen at massa's own table.
There was a general protest among the blacks against the strange proceeding, and the elder females vowed they would "go back to Ole Vaginny agin if dem poceedins was gwine to be carried on 'heah."
Mrs. Berryman heard of the commotion and summoned Tom to explain. Tom entered the sitting-room, looking somewhat nervous. The fact that Mr. Anderson had given him a quarter for blacking his boots made him suspicious that the stranger might possibly be a gentleman after all, and that he had pitched the straw just for amusement. Major J. noticed his agitation, and, by way of restoring his equanimity, said, in a tone of muffled emphasis, "Tom! if I catch you telling any lies about Mr, Anderson, I will skin
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you to the lowest fibre of your tendo Archilles, and will have your hide tanned and made into a drum for Mr. Anderson's children to play on, when he goes back to Ohio." Tom, trembling, told what he knew, which com- ported with his statement in the kitchen.
The company were dumfounded; that Mr. Anderson should be a common laborer was simply preposterous, and yet, there stood Tom willing to swear that he had seen him working with the threshers the best part of the fore- noon. At this moment Col. Berryman and the Doctor were seen entering by the front gate, chatting in an ani- mated and familiar way; when they entered, the company were all on their feet eager for an explanation. "The Rev. Dr. Anderson " was now introduced, not so sum- marily as his namesake had been an hour before. It was the Colonel's hope that the company might not identify his reverend friend with the stranger who had dined with them. He was not aware the stranger had attracted any attention at the table. "If they find out what a stupid blunder I have made, I shall never hear the end of it," said he, and begged the Doctor not to betray him. The Doctor promised to be solemn and passive, but it was of no avail. The exposure of his feeble pretence only added to his wretchedness, and the unfortunate Colonel was doomed to bear the slings and arrows of pitiless friends for many a long day.
The Doctor's adventure was a success. He remained over the Sabbath, and occupied the pulpit of the pastor loci. Mrs. Berryman requested him to preach on Hospi-
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CENTRAL CHURCH.
tality, and he selected for his text the scripture account of Abraham's treatment of strangers. Much to Colonel Berryman's relief, he avoided a comparison between the conduct of Abraham and the Blue Grass patriarch.
THE CENTRAL CHURCH.
During the interval between the outgoing of the Rev. Mr. Barnes and the incoming of Dr. Anderson, a small band of Christians who were specially devoted to Mr. Barnes, determined to leave the First Church, and form the "Central Church," which was located on St. Clair Street, near where the Third Presbyterian Church now stands. Elder Henry L. Brown and Samuel McPherson were the leaders in this movement.
After securing a house and an organization, they for- warded a call to Mr. Barnes to become their pastor. Mr. Barnes declined the call, but consented to occupy their pulpit for a short season. On his arrival he found the new society wrangling over a musical instrument, that a majority of the members had introduced with a choir. The two elders were divided on the instrument, and Mr. Barnes' influence was thrown into the scale against it, but without avail. The instrument triumphed and led to the disorganization of the Church, about a year after its forma- tion. Dr. Anderson foresaw the catastrophe and piloted the foundering colonists back to their old harbor, on the corner of Second and Ludlow Streets.
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REV. PHINEAS D. GURLEY'S PASTORATE.
The Rev. Phineas D. Gurley, then of Indianapolis, was next elected to the pastorate of the First Church. The call on the part of the congregation was unanimous, and Dr. Gurley accepted it promptly, and entered on his minis- terial duties at Dayton, on the 6th of November, 1849. He continued to minister with much zeal and success until January, 1854, when he accepted a call to the F Street, now New York Avenue Church, of Washington, District of Columbia, where, by the power of his preaching, the purity of his life, and his great practical wisdom, he ac- quired vast influence, not only in his immediate field of pastoral labor, and in the general councils of the Church!, but also in the affairs of the government. He was the pastor and intimate friend of Abraham Lincoln, and dur- ing the dark and trying period of our civil war, his prayers and advice were often solicited by the President.
He died in Washington, on the 30th of September, 1868, after suffering a short period from malignant disease of the stomach.
In the second year of Dr. Gurley's pastorate, the senti- ment in favor of establishing a mission church in the east- ern part of the city (which originated in the last year of Dr. Anderson's ministry), was revived. The Church fa- vored the outgoing of a large colony in order to strengthen the enterprise, but when the set time arrived for entering on the work, only twenty-three communicants were willing
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REV. PHINEAS D. GURLEY'S PASTORATE.
to leave the old hive-Joseph Barnett, John F. Edgar, and John Morehouse taking the lead, and organizing what is now the Third Presbyterian Church of this city, commonly called the "Park Church."
Notwithstanding this new center of Presbyterial attrac- tion the average annual accession of communicants under Dr. Gurley, was greater than that of any other pastorate in the history of the First Church.
The correspondence between Dr. Gurley and the congre- gation, in reference to his proposed resignation, is worthy of a place in this history. It reveals something of his deep affection for the people of his charge, and their warm attachment and devotion to him.
This relationship is most interesting, and happy must the church ever be, wherein the same beautiful spirit of harmony and love prevails.
Dr. Gurley had been but four years in Dayton, and during that time the evidence of divine favor on his ministerial labors could not be doubted. His influence and usefulness were daily increasing. When the call came to him from Washington, he could not believe it was the Master's will that he should abandon his present field. After careful and serious deliberation he told his people he would decline the call, but before his declination was mailed, he received another communication from Wash- ington. Not a louder call, in the vulgar acceptation of that phrase, but a call of distress, from a weak church struggling against the tide of error and ungodliness then prevailing at the national capital.
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The following is Dr. Gurley's letter of resignation with the reply of the congregation :
" To the First Presbyterian Church, of Dayton :
"My Beloved People: One of the hardest duties of my life is now before me. May God help me to discharge it in his fear and for his glory. On last Sabbath morning I told you that the question, Shall I go to Washington to labor for Christ or shall I remain in Dayton? had been to me the most serious and perplexing question of personal duty I had ever been called to consider. I also told you that, after long and anxious deliberation, I had concluded to remain in Dayton. With the light I then had perhaps that conclusion was correct; perhaps it was not. I an- nounced it with many misgivings, known only to myself and to God, and after the announcement, through the remainder of the Sabbath, those misgivings increased with the lapse of time and I became unhappy. I felt that per- haps I had refused to hear the voice and follow the leading of Providence. On the following Monday and Tuesday, before I had written the declination which I had intended to send to the F Street Church, I received unexpected communications from Washington, so remarkable in their character, so strong in their arguments and appeals, and so significant as indications of the will of God, that I felt it to be my solemn duty to reconsider the whole ques- tion-to look at it anew and very carefully, that I might know of a truth what the Great Head of the Church and King of Zion would have me to do. I have reconsidered
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REV. PHINEAS D. GURLEY'S PASTORATE.
the question; I have looked at it anew with earnest, prayerful reflection ; and in so doing I have come clearly to the conclusion that I must reverse my decision.
"That God has called me to go and labor for his cause and glory in Washington City I can no longer doubt for a moment. The case is clear; the evidence to my own mind is clear and irresistible. I must yield to it or do violence to my conscience and sin against my God. 1 must go or be unhappy. This decision is final, and, in making it, I find peace. I believe it is the peace which God gives to his people, when, at the cost of many sacri- fices and in the face of many difficulties and dangers, they resolve to do their duty. And, now, my beloved people, you must acquiesce in this decision and say to me, 'Go, and the Lord be with thee.' You may think me mistaken- greatly, strangely mistaken, but I beseech you, lay not a single obstacle in my way. Trouble me not with unavail- ing arguments and entreaties, deal gently with one whose heart will bleed and quiver with agony as he leaves you ; and while he goes in the name of Jesus to occupy a most responsible and difficult position for his glory, follow him with your sympathies, your kindest wishes, and your prayers.
"My pastoral connection with you has been pleasant, exceedingly pleasant, I have loved you all and loved you well, and you have given me love and kindness in return.
" In all my ministry among you I have aimed at your highest spiritual welfare, and, so far as my labors have been successful, to God be all the praise. I shall leave you in
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the confidence that the 'Bishop of your souls' who has cared and provided for you heretofore, will not forsake you now. Under shepherds may leave you ; but the great and good Shepherd will be with you to the end. Trust in him; cleave to him, as your nearest, truest, mightiest helper, and he will comfort your hearts, supply your need and do for you 'exceeding abundantly above all you ask or think.'
"Unto him be glory in the Church throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."
A meeting of the congregation was called, at which the following response was made to Dr. Gurley's resignation :
"WHEREAS, In the Providence of God, a call from the F Street Presbyterian Church of Washington City, has been received by our beloved pastor, and he has felt it his duty to look at the subject and proposition for his removal very carefully, that he might know of a truth what the Great Head of the Church would have him do, and, with much prayer and reflection, he is very clear in his convic- tions of duty, that God has called him to go and labor in his cause and glory in Washington City; and therefore it was that he presented the communication read in our hearing, by the Rev. Mr. Rossiter, on Sabbath morning, December 25th, 1853, asking the dissolution of his pastoral relations with us.
"And now, in view of the circumstances of the case, and notwithstanding our own feelings rise up against it, and we are strongly opposed to our pastors decision, yet we
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REV. PHINEAS D. GURLEY'S PASTORATE.
are constrained to acknowledge our firm conviction that true love and devotion to the cause of Christ has led him, at the cost of many sacrifices, and in the face of many dangers and difficulties, to do his duty in this matter, as impressed by the Spirit of God. And, therefore, although we do truly feel that he is mistaken, strangely mistaken, yet we will not lay any obstacle in his way, nor trouble him with unavailing arguments and entreaties, but firmly trusting that he goes in the name of Jesus, to occupy a most responsible and difficult position for Christ's glory, we will continue to respect, honor, and love him, and will follow him with our sympathies, kindest wishes, and prayers, and say, 'Go, and the Lord be with thee' and thy family.
"Our thanks are due to our heavenly Father for the directing influence of his spirit, when leading us to seek the ministerial labor of our beloved pastor, friend, and Christian brother (the Rev. Phineas D. Gurley), and we here record the great goodness of God, in following with his continued blessing the relation of pastor and people, so that our friendship, respect, and love has been gaining strength with the successive days of his ministry. And we most heartily agree in testifying that in all his preach- ing and intercourse with us, he has aimed at our highest spiritual welfare, and under the divine blessing has been successful in winning souls to Christ, and building up the people of God in the most holy faith; for all of which we unite with him in giving God the praise.
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" We consider it not only proper but a duty to publicly record our thanks to the giver of every blessing, for his kindness in so directing all our social and Christian inter- course with our pastor's family, that it may truly be said, we love them, and earnestly pray that God's choicest blessings may follow and abide with them. With these feelings, therefore, be it
" Resolved, That it is only the kindest feelings of duty towards our beloved pastor, and of Christian submission to God's providence that lead us to acquiesce in his appli- cation to the Presbytery for the dissolution of the pastoral relation.
" Resolved, That we deeply feel this resignation to be our loss and humbly pray it may be his gain, by extending his usefulness in advancing the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom on the earth."
REV. J. H. BROOKES' PASTORATE.
Some two months after Dr. Gurley's resignation, the Rev. James H. Brookes was elected to succeed him, and was ordained and installed on the 20th of April, 1854. Though a young man, and a recent graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Mr. Brookes proved himself a worthy follower of the great and good man who preceded him. Nature had endowed Mr. Brookes with gifts far above the common allotment. To a commanding and graceful person was added a mind of extraordinary capacity, and well-balanced faculties, together with a disposition at
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REV. J. H. BROOKES' PASTORATE.
once frank, generous, and enthusiastic. He soon acquired distinction as a public speaker, for in addition to the usual attributes of the orator, he enjoyed the advantage of that mysterious element commonly called magnetism, which comes not by hard study or academic training, but in con- sequence of its extreme rarity, is generally looked upon as a special gift of Providence.
These qualities, combined with his burning zeal for the salvation of men, soon won the hearts of the people, and the Church prospered abundantly under his ministry.
In November, 1856, a new colony went out under the lead of William King Sr., Herbert S. Williams, and David Osborn, and organized the "Miami City Church," now the "Fourth Presbyterian Church," of Dayton. Notwith- standing this depletion, it became necessary soon after to enlarge the capacity of the old church, and to this end several congregational meetings were held, and committees appointed to obtain subscriptions and report a plan for enlargement.
The following minute is from the record of a meeting of the congregation, held on the 16th day of January, 1857 :
"Resolved, That the plan of the committee be adopted, with the modification : that 20 feet of the present building be taken down, and an addition made of 40 to 50 feet wide, by 80 to 90 feet deep, in a cruciform manner, with projections, and such other modifications as may be recom- mended by a competent architect, and approved by the Building Committee, so as to preserve beauty and har-
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mony, in the general proportions and finish of the build- ing when completed; and that, after these modifications are determined upon, and the plans perfected, it be pre- sented by the committee to the trustees for their approval, and if approved and adopted by the trustees, that the com- mittee on behalf of this meeting request them to invite proposals and contract for the immediate construction of the addition proposed."
Before any further measures were taken in pursuance of the forgoing resolution, it was found that the members of the congregation were not in full accord, as to the charac- ter of the improvement recommended by the architect. During the suspense that ensued upon this disagreement, Mr. Brookes received a call from the First Church, of St. Louis, and, after some deliberation, announced his decision to accept it; at the same time, asking the congregation to unite with him in a request to Presbytery to dissolve the pastoral relation; which request was reluctantly assented to.
A few months prior to this action, Mr. Brookes had made a similar request, in order to accept a call from the Second Presbyterian Church, of Louisville. The Dayton Church, by its delegates appeared before Presbytery, and opposed their pastor's removal strenuously and success- fully. In a series of resolutions, the congregation set forth the eminent fitness of Mr. Brookes to labor in his present field, showed how richly his labors had been blessed, how much his usefulness was increasing, and how perfectly the people of his charge were united in their anxiety to enjoy
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DR. THOMAS E. THOMAS' PASTORATE.
a continuance of his ministry. One of the resolutions con- tains the following deliverance: * " We further believe it is the duty of the churches, everywhere, to ab- stain from the too-common practice of disturbing each other's harmony, by undue interference with the pastoral relation."
Mr. Brookes preached his farewell sermon, in the Frist Church, on the 14th of February, 1858.
DR. THOMAS E. THOMAS' PASTORATE.
On the 9th of March, 1858, a unanimous call was given to the Rev. Thomas E. Thomas, then at New Albany, Indiana, and on the 12th of April he began his pastoral work in the First Church. The congregation and people of Dayton had much reason to congratulate themselves on the acquisition of such a man at this particular juncture. The agitation of the slavery question was threatening not only the disruption of the States but of the churches also. The people of the South discovered that the anti-slavery sentiment of the North had crystalized in opposition to the further extension of slavery in the territory of the United States. Kansas had been saved to freedom, after a fierce and bloody struggle, in which, the slave power was aided by the military power of the government, under President Buchanan's administration.
Already the dark clouds of treason were visible in the political horizon, and wise men who comprehended the true nature of the issues involved, trembled for the coun-
.
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try's safety. Dr. Thomas, as a citizen, had always taken a deep interest in public affairs, and while he was regarded a prince among preachers within the bounds of the Presby- terian Church, he was recognized far and wide as the fear- less and uncompromising champion of human liberty.
In youth his manly sympathies were kindled in behalf of our southern bondmen, and at the age of twenty-four, he threw himself into the anti-slavery struggle with all the enthusiasm of his ardent temperament. The time will come, when the attitude assumed by the American churches in relation to slavery, in the nineteenth century, will be deemed incredible. With comparatively few excep- ยท tions, the practice of every ecclesiastical body in the United States before 1860, was conservative of American slavery. The doors of almost every prominent Presbyterian Church in the land were barred against those preachers who de- nounced slaveholding as sinful, and who advocated its abolition. It was degrading and dangerous to be an active abolitionist, even in many cities and communities of the free States. Dr. Thomas was treated to a large share of the obloquy and persecution of the times, but his zeal in the cause never flagged, nor did his courage faulter until the battle of freedom was ended, and the victory won.
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