USA > South Carolina > Charleston County > Charleston > Two centuries of the First Baptist Church of South Carolina, 1683-1883. With supplement > Part 12
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In the same year Rev. James O. Furman preached the first sermon ever delivered by a Baptist in Charlotte, N. C .; the fruit of this visit was a wonderful revival of religion and the con- stitution of a Baptist Church, of which I have now the honor to be pastor.
In 1847 was begun the habit of holding two sessions of the school, viz .: The white school at 9.30 A.M., and a school for colored children imme- diately after morning service. This was among the first efforts made for the education of the ne- groes in the South, and continued until the sur- render of Charleston to the Union forces. The colored school was first held in the vestry, then in the south gallery of the church, and afterwards, when it had grown to two hundred and fifty schol- ars, in the lecture-room. The superintendents were James Tupper, who served two years; Tris- tram Tupper, Jr., two years; and Simeon Hyde, from 1855 to its close.
The superintendents of the white school, with dates as near as can be ascertained, were: R. Misseldine, 1816; W. Riley, 1824; Thomas Sy- monds ; R. F. Reynolds, 1832 ; C. H. Lanneau, Dr. M. Mendenhall, 1843; B. C. Pressley, S. Hyde.
During the war the school was closed after 1863.
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It was reopened with B. C. Pressley as super- intendent. His successors were-S. Hyde, Wm. Swinton, Wm. B. Heriot, Wm. Thayer, A. C. Palfrey, O. F. Gregory, K. B. Tupper, T. S. Nipson, G. A. Norwood and the present incum- bent, T. T. Hyde.
The following Baptist ministers have been at some time connected with the school, either as scholars or teachers; Rev. Drs. James C. Fur- man, Basil Manly, Jr,, Jno. J. Brantly, Wm. Roy- all, J. L. Reynolds,* Jas. P. Boyce, H. Allen Tup- per, Wm. J. Hard,* H. H. Tucker (possibly C. W. D. Bridgman and J. T. Zealy), Revs. Isaac Nichols,* I. M. Springer,* Thos. Symonds,* R. Misseldine,* J. K. Mendenhall, Thos. W. Melli- champe, B. W. Whilden (went to China in 1848), R. F. Whilden, Isaac Edward H. Seymour,* Jas. Tupper * (licentiate), R. W. Seymour, Jr., M. R. Suares,* O. F. Gregory, Jas. Du Pre,* Kerr B. Tupper and H. Allen Tupper, Jr., twenty-seven in all.
. Those marked * are deceased, the rest are still in the active ministry.
In the fifty-fourth anniversary report of the school special mention was made of a teacher then present, who was a scholar at the opening 16
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of the school in 1816. The first person baptized from the school was a scholar from this lady's class. The name of MISS JANE HANDS is identi- fied with the history of this school almost until the hour when the Master called her, saying, "Friend ! come up higher."
Among the many excellent and consecrated workers of these sixty-seven years, the classes of Miss Jane Hands, Miss Maria Budd, Mrs. Josiah Axson, Bros. C. H. Lanneau and Simeon Hyde, Sr., were remarkable for the number of pupils under their charge who put on Christ in baptism. Several of the scholars of these ladies became ex- cellent ministers' wives, while a large number of the male pupils became ministers of the gospel.
What a galaxy of glory awaits, for instance Chas. H. Lanneau, the man who so faithfully taught the class, which included among its mem- bers James P. Boyce, honored and useful as president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ; Basil Manly, a professor in the same institution, men who were to do so much in the grand work of giving to the Baptists of the South an educated ministry ; Wm. Royall, long a professor of Wake Forest College, N. C., who has done much in moulding the Baptists of North Carolina, by imprinting his own Christ-
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like character upon the future ministers of his adopted State; and T. W. Mellichampe, a faith- ful minister of the Word in South Carolina. Time would fail me to even sketch the careers of usefulness of those who were once Sunday- school boys here; to tell of how much has been done for Christ and his cause by Jas. C. Furman, a name honored and beloved, and J. L. Reynolds, H. H. Tucker, J. J. Brantly and W. J. Hard, as educators and as preachers of the gospel ; by H. Allen Tupper, Sr., the faithful corresponding sec- retary of the Foreign Mission Board, Southern . Baptist Convention, not only in preaching the gospel at home, but in sending it into the regions beyond; by Thos. Symonds and B. W. Whilden, who went down into the darkness of heathendom in Burmah and China; and of others who have . lived and wrought for Christ in our own native land.
The influence of Furman, and Manly, and Brantly, and Boyce, and Winkler, on the history of the Baptists of South Carolina, can never be overestimated.
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Suffer a few reminiscences.
I. In the olden time, the Lord's day was the Lord's day. It was "hallowed " in the home, no
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question as to whether children should attend divine services was ever raised; the parent en- deavored to " train up the child in the way he should go, and was careful to go there himself." The little ones were carried to church almost as soon as they could walk, and it was not regarded as irksome, either. Well do I remember the little three-cornered stools which were in almost every pew, and which were placed on the seat, in the angle, and on which we were installed, as the youngest child, until the next in age was enabled to attend.
2. In 1832 we find that record books were used in class and library, and that 112 volumes were issued in a month.
3. The pastor visited the Sunday-school occa- sionally, and his presence was always greeted with joy ; but rarely, if ever, did the pastor attend regularly or teach a class.
4. A sermon in behalf of the work of the Sun- day-school was preached annually, and a collec- tion was taken to defray the expenses of the School.
5. Many of us will recall with tender recollec- tion the observance of the " Day of Ordinances," which occurred on the first Sunday of every other month. For many years there was no session of
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the school on that day. Immediately after the morning sermon, the candidates for Baptism, both white and colored, were placed in front of the " Font," males to the north, females to the south side. Every candidate was attired in a white gown, as was also the pastor; the candidate was always accompanied by and leant on the arm of the nearest male kinsman who was a communi- cant, and failing this, the Sunday-school teacher, or one of the deacons.
· The solemn questions of faith in Christ, a pub- lic renouncing of the world, etc., were propounded by the pastor ; the audible response of each can- didate could be heard in the stilled and solemn congregation, and then the ordinance of Baptism was administered.
In the afternoon, none being present but com- municants, the ordinance of the Lord's Supper was observed. Previous to the administration, " all who had been received by letter or baptism since the last communion season," again assem- bled around the "Font"; the covenant of the church was read, the assent given, and the Right hand of fellowship extended.
6. On April 12, 1835, Bayfield W. Whilden, William Royall and William B. Heriot, "the friend of God," were baptized.
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7. April 5. 1835, W. J. Hard, a scholar, and James DuPre, a teacher, were ordained to the work of the gospel ministry.
8. In 1831 uniform lessons were studied by all the classes of this school. In 1869 your speaker had the honor of being the first Baptist in South Carolina, preacher or layman, to use and advo- cate the Uniform (now International) System of Bible Study for Sunday-schools.
9. The following entry is candid and unique: March 9, 1832,-" Rev. Mr. Welch, an agent of the American Sunday-school Union, addressed or rather catechized the school, and concluded with prayer. Not satisfactory ; a good deal authori- tative; spoke as if addressing a heathen school."
10. It was the habit before 1860 for all the evangelical schools in the city to unite in anni- versary celebrations, recitations being made by scholars from the various schools. Pardon the personal allusion, that in 1853, being then nine years old, at the anniversary held in Central Presbyterian Church, I made my début in public speaking.
11. The first Sunday-school paper was pub- lished fifty-seven years ago,-the Sunday-school Repository. Now there seems to be no end to them.
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12. The first Sunday-school hymn-book we ever had was compiled by B. C. Pressley and George O. Robinson about 1852. "There is a Happy Land," "Little Drops of Water," "I want to be an Angel," " On a Hill stands a Beautiful Tree," were the only children's hymns that I can remember. Mear, Brattle Street, Old Hundred, St. Martin's and Watchman were favorite tunes. There was no instrumental music in the school until after 1865.
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THEN AND NOW.
If any ask : "Why were the former days better than these?" I would answer: "Thou dost not wisely inquire concerning this."
Let us learn these truths, as the result of the review of the history of this school :
1. That the toil and prayer and trust of our fathers were not in vain.
2. That the cause of Christ has made progress in the last two centuries, especially during the last, when Sunday-schools became a recognized power for good.
3. That we have reason for joy and gratitude in contemplating the way in which God has led us as a church and denomination all these years,
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and that we have not been going backward. Our homes are happier; our children are more gener- ally taught the Scriptures; social life is better; the standard of morality is higher. God has not forgotten his people.
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How about the next century ?
Our advantages are lost, if we do not " Remem- ber the works of God, and tell to our children, and the generation following, the praises of the LORD, and of his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done, in order that they might set their trust in God, and not forget the works of the Lord, but keep his commandment."
" The children are, the Bible is,"-this is our reason of hope for the future. The places that know us shall " know us again no more." This pulpit, these pews, the offices of the church and school must soon be filled by the children of to- day. God bless you, boys and girls, and make you earnest and faithful workers in his vineyard. God grant that under your care the history of our beloved mother, the old First Church, shall be even more glorious in the coming years than in those we have imperfectly reviewed.
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IN MEMORIAM. ..
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E. T. WINKLER.
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MEMORIAL SERVICES.
T HE most touching thing connected with this celebration was the melancholy fact that, in- stead of Dr. E. T. Winkler being a participant in the celebration, according to the plan proposed by the church, he was the subject of memorial services held by mourning churches and Conven- tion on Sunday evening, November 25, 1883. The News and Courier noticed the solemn occa- sion in this way :
THE WINKLER MEMORIAL.
Solemn services at the Citadel Square Baptist Church last night in memory of the Rev. E. T. Winkler, D.D .- Formal close of the Baptist State Convention.
The high esteem and deep affection of this community for the late Dr. E. T. Winkler could not have been more touchingly exemplified than by the services which were held last night in the Citadel Square Baptist Church, in honor of his memory. The large building-pews, aisles and
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galleries-was filled with a deeply sympathetic congregation, composed of almost every class and creed in the community. The pulpit and the front of the rostrum were heavily draped in black, while there was hung in a succession of graceful folds around the rear of the pulpit al- cove the sable emblem of a church's grief. The rostrum was occupied by the Rev. Drs. Tupper, Cuthbert, Tichenor, B. Manly, Bitting, Furman, Shuck and the Rev. O. F. Gregory, the pastors of the two city Baptist Churches, Dr. Brackett, of the Presbyterian Church and Dr. Maynardie, of the Methodist Church.
The exercises were introduced with a beautiful voluntary by the choir, " Vital spark of Heavenly flame." This hymn was beautifully rendered, after which the Rev. A. C. Stakely said: "A great and useful man has fallen, or rather he has risen. A mighty spirit has winged its flight to the realms of day. A brilliant sun has set at noonday, has set to rise higher, and mightier, and more brilliant in a purer world. Dr. Winkler was for twenty years a citizen of Charleston, for a number of years the pastor of the First Baptist Church and during the last four years of his resi- dence in our city the pastor of this church. We feel called upon to offer some tribute of respect
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and honor to the memory of this great man whom we all admired and loved."
. After this tasteful preface, Mr. Stakely read a number of exceedingly appropriate selections from the Scriptures.
An earnest prayer was then offered by the Rev. Lucius Cuthbert. The Rev. L. H. Shuck, D.D., was introduced as the first speaker. Dr. Shuck referred to his close association with the distin- guished dead for years, to the sublimity of his Christian character, to his power as a preacher, to his devotion to the cause of Christ and humanity, and his abundant labors in the great cause in which he was enlisted, and to which he had always given the best energies and talents of his high nature. The speaker concluded with an appeal to the Christian ministry to. draw an inspiration from the services of the evening, and to impress upon their memory the life and labors, and imi- tate the zeal and courage of him who has gone out from their ranks forever.
. Dr. Shuck spoke with much feeling, and im- pressed every one with the solemnity of the occa- sion.
The Rev. Dr. Tichenor, of Atlanta, was the next speaker. He spoke with intense feeling and touching pathos. He recalled his first meet-
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ing with Dr. Winkler, their long and intimate association in ministerial work, and told of the hard service, the untiring zeal and the indomitable courage always displayed by the lamented dead in the service of the Master. He paid a high tribute to his intellectual stature, his great elo- quence, his splendid capabilities, the influence he had exerted in the sanctuary, among the suffer- ing, and in the social circle which flowed out from the great current of his life and the influence of which can never die.
The Rev. Dr. Basil Manly, of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, gave some inter- esting facts about the life of Dr. Winkler. He was born in Savannah, November 13, 1823 ; was pre- pared for college at Chatham Academy, in that city; was graduated from Brown University in 1843 ; entered the Newton Theological School in the same year, and in 1845 entered the ranks of active life. He became associate editor of the Baptist Index in Georgia, and supplied at the same time the pulpit in Columbus. In 1846 he was called to the church at Albany, and after- wards to the church at Gillisonville, in this State. In 1852 he was elected Corresponding Secretary of the Southern Baptist Publication Society in Charleston, and editor of the Southern Baptist.
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In 1854 he was elected pastor of the First Church in this city. He was one of the professors origi- nally elected for the Theological Seminary at Greenville, but declined to accept the chair. In 1868 he was elected pastor of the Citadel Square Church. In 1872 he removed to Alabama, the closing years of his life being the crowning glory of his career. Dr. Manly spoke of the great learning, the exalted piety, the broad charity and the great zeal and usefulness of Dr. Winkler in every department of labor. His address con- tained many interesting recollections of his close association with the deceased, and concluded with an eloquent tribute to his memory.
The Rev. Dr. J. C. Furman was the last speaker. He spoke of the fine personal appearance of the deceased, of his magnetic eloquence, his great kindness of heart, his genial disposition, his power as a preacher, his devotion as a patriot, his elo- quence as an advocate for any cause in which his heart was enlisted, and his great love for little children. Dr. Winkler was a man of mark; he would have been singled out in any crowd. He was loved by all who knew him, and his memory will ever be cherished as a most precious heri- tage.
Upon the conclusion of this address the choir
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and congregation sang with much impressiveness the familiar hymn, "Servant of God, well done," after which Colonel B. W. Edwards, the president of the Convention, announced that the parting hour had come, and begging that the women mission- aries who had been sent to foreign lands by the Baptists of this State might be made the subjects of special prayer, called upon the Rev. J. A. W. Thomas to conduct the concluding exercises.
While the old hymn, " Blest be the tie that binds," was being sung the members of the Convention crowded about the pulpit, and shaking each other by the hand, then knelt in prayer, led by Mr. Thomas, and so the work of the State Conven- tion was consecrated and the solemn memorial services of the evening were emphasized, and the great congregation slowly dispersed.
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RECENT PASTORATES.
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HOUSES OF WORSHIP
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MURAL TABLETS.
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RECENT PASTORATES.
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RECENT PASTORATES.
I N the Bi-Centennial Celebration it was not thought meet to dwell elaborately upon the pastorates of brethren, honored and beloved, who were still living and were present at the celebra- tion. But this volume would be incomplete if it did not contain further notices of these important pastorates. The following pages, therefore, give, with other things, some account of the works and experience, with the grand old mother church, of ex-pastors W. H. Williams, L. H. Shuck and A. J. S. Thomas, of whose labors of love much more might be said, and will be said, when their eyes cannot see what their self-denying spirit might shrink now to behold. The present noble pastor, the Rev. R. W. Lide, we leave for another gener- ation to rise up and call " blessed."
PASTORATE OF REV. WILLIAM H. WILLIAMS, D.D.
By a special request of the editor of these papers, repeated several times, Dr. Williams fur- nished the following sketch of his pastorate in Charleston, which is so admirably drawn that it
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has needed no touch of the pen of the editor, who might have added, however, one or two striking points of this pastorate modestly omitted by the writer of the sketch :
In the month of July, 1868, shortly after gradu- ating at the Southern Baptist Theological Semi- nary, I accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Baptist Church, Charleston, S. C., and took formal charge about the first of the following October.
The church had been greatly weakened by the depletion consequent upon the Civil War, and was placed at a disadvantage because of its loca- tion in the lower part of the city, from which location there was a tendency, on the part of many of the residents, to migrate. But there was a noble band of godly men and women re- maining in the church, and these, with undaunted faith and unflagging zeal, gave themselves to the work of the Lord. Never was a young pastor more warmly received or more fully sustained by any church, large or small. And, indeed, it was with no small degree of trepidation that I under- took to stand in the place from which Manly, Brantly, Winkler and others like them had preached the gospel. But the hearty sympathy and ready co-operation of my people were to me
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a source of strength and encouragement. Be it said, to the undying honor of the preceding pas- tors, that they had inspired the congregation with love for the Word rather than love for the man ; and while these good men were regarded with highest esteem and devoted affection, yet the truth they proclaimed was more valued than the instruments through which it came. This made the work of the young pastor all the less burden- some. He was always sure of ready and appre- ciative hearers. Oh, that every pastor would keep in mind the duty he owes to his successors! Among the sweetest and most inspiring memo- ries of the past are those which cluster around the " Old First Church." .
It was thought by some that the intense con- servatism with which many of the good people clung to the old building and grounds and to the customs of other days was inconsistent with the movements and changes necessary to the pro- gress of the church, Without attempting to de- cide this matter, it is sufficient to say that such a sentiment was a noble one. Every brick in the building and every inch of ground in the sur- rounding grave-yard was associated with tender and ennobling recollections of the past. The sacred soil had been consecrated as the last rest-
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ing-place of friends and relatives for generations. To many of the stricken ones the only spot on earth which had for them any special attraction was the place where their dead lay in the old church-yard. And within those walls had been seen the glory of the Lord often and powerfully displayed. Here souls had been born again ; here the tempted had been delivered; here the broken-hearted had received the balm of consola- tion. With all these links binding them to the past, it was not strange that the membership of the church should hope and long for the return of the "times of refreshing" and for the general spiritual prosperity they had once enjoyed. It had been unnatural for them to have felt other- wise. And they showed their faith by their works. In labors and sacrifices they were abun- dant, while with liberal hand they gave of their means to the cause of Christ.
Of some who were members of the church at the time of my pastorate it may not be inappro- priate to speak specially.
Mrs. Eliza Yoer Tupper was indeed a " mother in Israel." She was the preachers' friend. It was the privilege of the writer to call her " Mother Tupper," and she always spoke of him as "my boy." At the time I first met her she was a
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woman of commanding presence, of noble char- acter, of keen judgment, great versatility of char- acter and intense devotion to the cause of Christ. She kept her sorrows, of which she had many, within her bosom, while she had nought but smiles and words of cheer for others. And yet it was touching to see how quietly upon a week day she would go around to the church-yard and moisten with tears of affection the graves which contained her treasures of love. At seventy she possessed the vigor of mind and body of her earlier years-her life was for her church and her God. She has gone to her reward, but her hon- ored and useful children and grandchildren rise up and call her blessed.
Deacon Simeon Hyde was a quiet man, who recoiled from publicity, but whose lovely Chris- tian spirit, whose genial disposition, and, most of all, whose devotion to Christ, awakened in the hearts of his brethren the most profound esteem. The bare suggestion to him of a possible service to the church was sufficient to insure his immedi- ate response.
Deacon Thomas S. Budd was as noble a speci- men of the Christian gentleman as one ever sees. He took the young pastor by the hand, and went with him from house to house on his first pastoral
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visiting tour. He thought no labor too great for the cause he loved so well.
Of many others I would speak with affectionate appreciation did the limits of this paper permit. I must, however, be permitted to mention one other deacon and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Silcox, whose generous contributions to the church, whose quiet benefactions to the suffering poor and whose unostentatious yet sincere piety made their lives a sweet benediction and their departure a great affliction,
I regret that in the changes of residence that have occurred I am unable to place my hand upon any documents relating to my Charleston pastor- ate. But the work of the church went forward in its various departments and the baptismal waters were troubled ever and anon. Following what seemed to be the leading of Providence, I left Charleston in August, 1869, and in September of the same year entered upon my duties as pastor of the Baptist church at Staunton, Virginia.
PASTORATE OF REV. LEWIS H. SHUCK, D D.
Soon after the resignation of Rev. W. H. Wil- liams, Rev. Lewis H. Shuck was called to the pastoral care of the church. He was at that time pastor of the Baptist church at Barnwell, S. C.,
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and being impressed with this call to a wider field, he accepted the invitation to the pastorate, and entered fully upon his work in Charleston in De- cember, 1869. . Mr. Shuck was the eldest son of Rev. J. Lewis Shuck and Henrietta Shuck, the well-known Baptist missionaries to China. He was born while his parents were on their way to their field of labor among the heathen.
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