USA > Ohio > History of the Central Ohio conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, 1856-1913 > Part 5
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127 00
" Temperance Society 67 00
66 Conference Claimants
9,505 00
General Conference Expenses
262 00
Central Office Expenses Epworth League. 57 00
Episcopal Fund-E. R. Graham ..
1,816 00
Printing. Incidentals. and Service, etc. 487 00
Other Benevolent Causes
46 00
Amount of Vouchers returned by Pastors
53,022 00
Grand Total $104,96S 00
JOHN PARLETTE, Treasurer Central Ohio Conference.
542 00
General Conference Expenses
66 Temperance Cause 1,006 00
Local Educational Society
VI. Personal Mention.
TO MENTION with words of commendation and estimate all the men who have been and those who are to-day members of the Central Ohio Conference would not only be impracticable, but in the case of those still living, possibly unwise. But there are some names appearing on the original roll of the Conference and others who entered the Conference later, and have passed to their reward, who are deserving of more than a passing word.
William L. Harris, the first secretary of the Conference, was highly influential and conspicuous in the counsels and services of Methodism not only in Ohio, but throughout the connection.
He was a model secretary, courteous, prompt, and accurate; and in recognition of his superior abilities in secretarial work, he was repeatedly chosen secretary of the General Conference.
He was large and rotund of body, carrying a stature which made his physique symmetrical and commanding. He possessed a strong and well-trained voice, and had a pleasing and natural address.
His ability as a presiding officer and parliamentarian marked him as one among many who could wield the gavel successfully without pounding the desk, and command to silence and order a tumultuous Conference without growing dark in the face or show- ing anger on the brow.
As a preacher he was always instructive and Scriptural, his public discourses abounding in quotations from the sacred Word, so interwoven with argument and the exposition of the text as to produce the impression of the divinity of his message. He was possessed of a rich and varied fund of anecdote and humor, with which, in the cabinet and elsewhere, he could sweeten a sour face and enliven a tedious hour.
His career as professor in the Ohio Wesleyan University, as secretary of the Missionary Society, and as bishop has added luster to his memory and dignity to the offices he so faithfully filled.
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History of the Central Ohio Conference.
He was a member of the Central Ohio Conference from the time of its organization until his election to the secretaryship of the Missionary Society in 1860.
His death occurred in May, 1887, at the age of eighty years. He was buried in Delaware, Ohio, where for a number of years he had lived, and where he had been an honored teacher in the Ohio Wesleyan University.
Thomas Parker is a name precious and fragrant in the memory of the Conference and with the Churches he served. He was slight of build, medium in stature, quick and springy in step, and had an eye steady in its look and penetrating in its quality. His soul was always on fire with the passion of work, ever animate with convictions of the right, wielding in sermon a Damascus blade, but never with a slash; direct and positive in utterance, with an aim, arrow like, at some truth he wished to enforce or some false view in belief or ethics he sought to overthrow.
His endowments, abundant and varied, which he faithfully cultivated, and his insight into men and the Word, which he loved to proclaim, kept clear and sharp by constant and conscientious whetting, made him an eloquent and forceful preacher and a vic- torious foe of the sins of men and the insanities of society and business.
To hear him preach, to see him in action, to observe his fired spirit in its bursts of flaming and holy passion against the shams of profession and the worldliness of the Church, produced in the minds and feelings of his hearers such purposes and resolutions as men form when marshaled under some valiant leader against a strong and powerful enemy. The conviction wrought in the mind was to refrain from evil and to march in the ranks of the good and courageous.
He was scarcely more than thirty-six years of age when he died, but the brief time he lived had more in it of convictions pro- duced, of moral courage inspired, of great forces for righteousness generated than scores of years produce with many others. He worked so hard and burned so fast the fuel of brain and nerve and holy passion, that, as the light goes out when the switch is turned, so he expired and was gone.
Few men whom we have known are so keenly remembered, or so difficult to forget, if one would, as Thomas Parker.
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Personal Mention.
Among the earlier members of the Conference there were some quaint and humorous figures. They were men who could by some anecdote related, or some witticism perpetrated, chase away the blues and dispel the despondency with which some persons are afflicted, and set an audience in an uproar of laughter at the expense of some unwary intruder.
Elnathan C. Gavitt was an illustration of this reflection. He was of slight but not of subnormal size; one of the pioneer preach- ers of Methodism in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Chicago when it was a small town.
Gavitt, one of a family of twelve children, was born in Gran- ville, Ohio, in 1808, his parents, who were natives of Rhode Island and emigrants from Massachusetts, having come into the State in 1805. His early religious impressions and education were of the Puritan faith among the Presbyterians. He was converted at the age of six years, and when a youth was granted a letter of dis- missal from the Church of his parents to the Methodists. He preached his first sermon in 1819, when but eleven years of age, at a quarterly meeting held upon the South Fork of Licking Creek, to some sixty persons who had come too late to be admitted to the love-feast; and being not a little discomfitted by their failure to participate in the earlier meeting, and with nothing to do but to wait for the public service, which did not commence until eleven o'clock, Gavitt, secing their disappointment, proposed, if they would be gracious enough to hear him, to preach to them, and, mounting a horse-block some distance from the log church so as not to inter- fere with the love-feast, he announced his text: "The Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance or the height of his stature, for the Lord seeth not as a man seeth, for man looked upon the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Sam. 16: 7.) It is stated that as a result of his sermon a young woman professed to be converted.
During his early years Mr. Gavitt wrote, as he tells us, many sermons on doctrinal subjects, which, as he reviewed them in his maturer life, he thought "would hardly pass muster."
Along with most if not all of his contemporaries Gavitt during his early ministry was compelled to meet many hardships and undergo countless privations.
The educational advantages of the pioneer Methodist prcacher 5
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History of the Central Ohio Conference.
were very meager, but those that did exist were usually put to the best use.
The books then extant bearing on subjects of such thought and study as would interest and assist the minister in his work were seized upon with an avidity as keen as a healthy appetite at dinner time.
But in the matter of scholarship he made not even any pre- tensions, being comforted with the reflection in his late years that he had sought to be diligent in the cultivation of his mind and heart by the use of such literature and reading as were available in early times.
When there had been conferred upon him quite late in life- so late, as he expressed it, that it came very nearly missing him- the degree of Doctor of Divinity, he said to a brother minister who called to extend congratulations, when expressing his surprise and at the same time his gratification at its bestowal, "I do not feel worthy of the title, for, as the dying man said to the preacher who had come to render consolation and to ask of his prospect of heaven, it is nothing to brag about, so I may say of my learning, 'It is nothing to boast about.'" Gavitt, if not the faculty of repartee, had the power of story and anecdote-as full of them as a fig of seeds-with which he could enforce a statement or slay an opponent ; and woe be to the one who fell in the way of his weapon, for by its ready and skillful use he could put his antagonist into a ridicu- lous light and "laugh him out of court."
In any category of personal references to members of the Cen- tral Ohio Conference, the list would be noticeably and sadly incom- plete were no mention to be made of William G. Williams.
William G. Williams, besides being the ideal secretary of the Conference for twenty-three consecutive sessions, "his accuracy in scholarship, his breadth of learning, his mastery of the English language, and his thorough and stimulating methods of instruction," so long and splendidly exemplified as professor in the Ohio Wes- leyan University, where from the founding of the college until his death at the mature age of eighty years he was honored and lovingly esteemed, he was a constant inspiration to young men entering the ministry to desire and acquire such literary preparation and train- ing as would be commensurate with the growing intelligence of the people and the larger demands upon the preacher.
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His voice was not frequently heard on the Conference floor in debate or counsel, but nevertheless he exerted on the minds and lives of young ministers, and also upon those of maturer years and experiences. an influence and impression which are lasting in the thought and memory of the Conference, so long honored by his service and example.
It was difficult for young men, while he was a member of the Conference, who had small appreciation of the necessity and im- portance of mental study and discipline to gain admission into the traveling connection.
And no one when in Professor Williams's company ever dared to indulge in the relation of obscene stories or in senseless frivolities, for he lived a life as straight as a "gun barrel" and as clean as white linen.
To have been his pupil, to have observed his sincere and gentle- manly bearing in every association of life, to have known and loved so noble a man and so exemplary a Christian, and to have passed through the fine mold of his personal and intellectual fashion- ing, is a rare privilege and a munificent blessing.
And what an influence of goodly impression and great inspira- tion spreads itself to-day, and shall through the generations to come, over the young life he has touched in the countless numbers of young men and women who have gone out from his presence and teaching into the various vocations of the world !
Here we shall see him no more, but yonder where the holy abide we hope to meet him.
Alexander Nelson, the father of the late Professor E. T. Nelson, of the chair of Biology, and Professor Clara Nelson, teacher of French in the Ohio Wesleyan, had been in young manhood a teacher in the Norwalk Seminary for a short time.
His call to the ministry, his experience as an instructor, and his educational equipment made him a useful and successful minister for a time in the Central Ohio Conference, and for a more extended period in the North Ohio. He occupied in both Conferences many of the more important charges, among them William Street, Dela- ware, for two terms.
In the pulpit he was analytic, Scriptural, and convincing; in the pastoral relation, brotherly and affectionate, helpful and assidu- ous in the watch-care of the flock.
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History of the Central Ohio Conference.
It was during a pastorate in William Street in the middle sixties that a revival of wonderful influence and results occurred. The inspiration of the revival was due to two sermons, delivered on two successive Sabbathis, by Bishop Thomson, who was a temporary resident of the place. At the request of Dr. Nelson, the bishop preached the first Sabbath on "Chance Work," and the impression produced was so transcendently great, so convincing in argument, and so sweeping in eloquence, that before the services were con- cluded the bishop, at the urgent solicitation of the pastor, had con- sented to preach the following Sabbath, and it was so announced at the time.
At the conclusion of the sermon, Dr. L. D. McCabe led the congregation in a prayer characteristic of him, so adoring in thanks, so fervent in petition and supplication, and so eloquent in appeal to the Throne of Grace, that that even enhanced the interest and heightened the spiritual situation.
A profound silence and awe swept over the people, and it seemed indeed that Pentecost had returned. During the week that followed the sermon and occasion of the Sabbath before were the universal theme of conversation and remark, and by the time the next Sabbath had come and the hour for worship had been sounded. the great church was filled to its utmost capacity, many being com- pelled to go away because there was no room. The sermon of the bishop the second Sabbath was even more wonderful and effective than on the former. The theme, "Is there a God?" was developed in the thought and discourse of the hour from every possible stand- point, not from the Bible alone, but from nature, from creation, from science, from the consciousness and intuitions of the race, from history and religion, and from necessity and the destiny of men, while through it all there swept such a spiritual force and such streams of heavenly baptism as to make the great scholar, the classical speaker, and the peerless preacher to seem as if some supernatural being, redeemed by the blood of Christ and fresh from the throne of God, had come down to unfold the mysteries of creation and the destiny of the race.
Again Dr. McCabe led in prayer, more touching and eloquent than before, until the sense of God's presence and power became well-nigh oppressive.
That night sinners were at the altar, and on the nights im-
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Personal Mention.
mediately following, under the wise and judicious leadership of the pastor, assisted by members of the Faculty and other ministers; scores came forward, reaching as many as one hundred and twenty, night after night when the meeting had reached its zenith of power and interest. The two colleges then were still separate, and the two hundred young women in the Female College were all of them, those who had not been Christians before, brought into the ex- perience of pardon, while the university, dismissing its classes, turned the tide of its young and vigorous life into the Kingdom of God.
The situation seemingly thrust upon the Church at this time was successfully handled by Dr. Nelson. There were no false fires built in the meeting; the fires that burned were kindled by the Holy Spirit and fed with God's grace; there were no extraneous methods, no artificial devices, no blare and glare of trumpets, but a great revival, simple in its forms of service, deep and searching in its gospel appeals, characterized by no wind or storm of excite- ment. The unsaved who attended it became convicted, grew deeply penitent, sought the Lord in prayer, laid hold by faith, were con- verted to God and gave evidence of it, and then, with the benediction invoked, went out to their homes, their rooms, their halls of learning, and to their occupations, to live another life and to rejoice in sal- vation. That was all, and that was sufficient.
Never before, and possibly never since, has Delaware witnessed such scenes of grace and such demonstrations of saving power as when Dr. Nelson was pastor of the Church. This man of culture and grace lived to a venerable age, and was laid away hard by the town where his name is not only precious in the memory of the community, but prominently identified with the history of the in- stitution.
And what shall be said of Leonard B. Gurley besides being beautiful in spirit, poetic in imagination, a writer of poetry, and an eloquent preacher? A man who discoursed on great themes, giving them the setting of beauty, the touch and finish of the artist, the strength and effect of persuasive thought, and that spiritual in- toning without which no sermon can be great.
His mental faculties never grew dull, his powers of thought and passion were never caged by advancing years, nor by cessation from work which length of days had exacted.
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History of the Central Ohio Conference.
His star as an eloquent divine never set until he lay down in death. The Churches he so ably served, the congregations he con- structed, and the noble life he spent are the monuments which time can never tarnish, nor the ages ever overturn.
He was buried in the cemetery at Delaware amid many who, by the characters they formed and the work they did, hallow the soil that covers them from our sight.
Two brothers, Amos and Harvey Wilson, beloved by their com- rades in Christian warfare, can not pass without notice.
Amos, the older brother, was aggressive in spirit, in haste in- deed to achieve his aims and to strike at once. The study and mastery of English grammar was a difficult task for him, not because he could not learn it, but because he could not see any great necessity in learning its technique; and for his failure to master the study in the first year of the preacher's Conference course he was continued over until the next. He failed again and, being asked why, he replied by saying, "Grammar does n't make my soul happy." Nevertheless he finally made a passing grade and was admitted into the Conference. He was a strenuous patriot ; he believed in the Union, and prayed for the cause of freedom. His voice was lifted, strong and decisive, in the days of the War of the Rebellion against the doctrine of secession, and when the South made trouble for the North and worse trouble for themselves, he warmly espoused in sermon and speech everywhere the cause of the Union, never forgetting to pray for "the boys in blue;" nor was he ever deterred from expressing his sympathy with the North and his loyalty to the Stars and Stripes by any threat, however violent or full of menace. This incident is related of him:
His charge was in a portion of Ohio where there was wide and inveterate hatred of the Negro, and where there was organized sympathy with secession in the South.
In the vicinity of the appointment which he was to fill one Sunday afternoon there lived a local bully, rough and stalwart. This local Hercules had made the threat that if the preacher should refer in any way to the war he would assault him and put him out of the "meeting house." By some means, it may have been Provi- dential, for God was present in those days to look after His cause and its friends, Mr. Wilson got word of the bully's intention while on his way to the church. The preacher before he reached his
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appointment had taken the precaution to forcibly arm himself and, after securing the necessary weapon of defense, went on his way to the place of service. On his arrival at the church a friend of his, and one deeply loyal to the flag, informed Wilson that the man who had offered the threat was in the house and seated on the front bench, just in front of the pulpit.
On entering the pulpit, which was a box-like structure, reached by a number of steps, Wilson asked one of the class leaders to bring him a bowl of water, the congregation supposing it was brought for baptismal purposes. This done, he proceeded without any obvious trepidation at least with the preliminary exercises, the congregation singing, it may have been, "Am I a soldier of the cross?" or some other militant hymn, and the preacher offering prayer, holding one eye half open on the supposed antagonist all the time and not forgetting to ask the Almighty to bless the cause of freedom and the soldiers contending for it; and then, with- drawing from beneath his coat the gun he had secured, said: "I have been informed while on my way here to-day, and by a friend since I arrived, that there is a man in the house," and his gaze went straight down at the author of the insolence and insult, "who has threatened my safety and indeed my life in case I make any reference in my sermon or remarks to the soldiers of the Union, or to the cause they defend; and I wish to say further that, however great the danger to which I may be exposed, I can not and will not refrain from expressing my convictions, if I shall be so moved; and the least movement or motion I observe by any one to molest the hour or to assail my person, he will be shot on the spot," and thrusting the squirt-gun, which he had made from the branch of an elderberry bush, into the bowl of water and directing it at the man below, said, "He will get this," and away went the watery contents of the pop-gun at the bully below.
A local tradition has come down that the fellow who went to church that Sunday afternoon to assault and eject Mr. Wilson from the house of worship left the country shortly after the battle never to return.
Mr. Wilson went West shortly after the war closed, where he spent a number of years in faithful service for the Master, and some time in the practice of medicine, to which he had been ad- mitted in earlier life. He returned to Ohio fifteen years ago and
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settled in Ada, where he pursued his profession until disabled health forced him to retire. He did not live long after he quitted his medical practice. He died in the faith of the gospel.
Thomas H. Wilson, the brother of Amos, was a man to whom nature was very generous in the gifts and qualities bestowed. Neither he nor his brother had ever enjoyed the advantages of a literary education. As was the case with most Methodist preachers in the early days, their education, besides that which the country schools furnished, was gotten chiefly in the university of experience.
Their theological studies were pursued on horseback, and at the fireside of the pioneer settler, from a small number of books, and in contact with nature, so variously and charmingly expressed ; and in these associations Thomas Wilson found great delight and gathered useful lessons. The birds taught him music and song, the flocks on the plain and hillside taught him innocency and docility ; the opening spring, with her buds and bloom, her sun- shine and glow, her fresh fragrance of flower and soil, spoke of the laws of expanding life; while summer and autumn, with their growing grain and ripening fruits, taught him of maturity and completeness. His strolls were often amid the shades of evening and the glories of morning, in the leafy wood and through the parted grasses, where deep retreats and quiet scenes lured him to thought and meditation.
From all these he drew lessons and pictures, hints and sugges- tions for sermon and discourse. His style of speech, therefore, was the teaching of nature, and his diction of that grace and beauty so rich in the landscape about him. He could hear and loved to listen to the undertones audible all around and responsive to a poetic imagination.
No surprise, then, that at times at least his pictures and words were as irresistible as the dew; no wonder either that when he preached, his heart, sensitive and vibrant with the breathings of the gentle Savior, strong men would weep and sober souls would smile !
Then, too, there was Joseph Wykes, with a nature unperturbed by cloud or storm; a man whom everybody loved to hear sing, for his voice was clear as note of bird and as melodious as seraph's song.
For long years, when attending the sessions of the Conference,
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the brethren would turn instinctively to Joseph Wykes to start the hymn, and then in strains cadent and finely measured he would lead the singing, which, through its flow of melody and grace, would spread over all the Conference a sense of holy joy and heavenly rapture. He was a thoughtful and acceptable minister of the glorious gospel, and by his gentle manner and loving in- struction in pulpit and the home he won friends by the hundreds, and at last left behind a legacy of service and sacrifice that has enriched the Church. When advanced to a ripe old age he passed away to the life where the spirits of just men made perfect will chant forever the praises of God.
Among the ministers active for a long time in the ministry of the Conference was Ambrose Hollington.
At times his power of eloquence was almost overpowering. The absorption of his theme and his obliviousness of his surroundings so accentuated his personality and so intensified his faculty of utterance as to cast a spell of alternating awe and emotion over his eager listeners.
And then, too, there was such independency of belief and doc- trine with him, which, though at first somewhat startling, would lead up to positions and arguments unquestionably tenable and challenging contradiction.
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