USA > Texas > History of Methodism in Texas > Part 9
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their course, and provided them with arms, poison, and combustible material for burning houses. Henderson was burned, and attempts made to fire other places. Families had been murdered in cold blood by their slaves : still others believed themselves poisoned. Indians were committing unheard-of barbarities along the frontier. While the pub- lic mind was in this feverish state, a letter, addressed to Mr. Bewley, was picked up, disclosing a fearful plot. The letter may have been, and probably was, a forgery. But unfortu- nately, just after this inflammatory epistle was made public, some parties in Arkansas caught Rev. Anthony Bewley, a member of the Timber Creek Conference, and brought him back to Texas. He was brought back under the impres- sion that the Texans had offered a reward for him, which was not true. The Texans were glad he had left, and sin- cerely hoped they had seen the last of him. But here he was, and on the 13th of September, 1860, at Fort Worth, a company of irresponsible men took him to a tree where several others had suffered death, and hung him .*
If any apology can be offered for murder by a mob in extenuation of this case, it may be said there was a fever- ish excitement in the public mind when this horrible affair took place. If there are any now living who partici- pated in the hanging, they doubtless sincerely regret the part they bore in it, and condemn the act. Politically, how- ever, this act, in the language of Talleyrand, was worse than a crime : it was a political blunder. Before this time the M. E. Church had taken comparatively little interest in politics. The hanging of one of her ministers by a Texas
* The Northern Indiana Conferences adopted Mr. Bewley's chil- dren, and are educating them.
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mob, made that church almost a unit in the support of the Republican party, and probably added hundreds of thou- sands of votes to the Lincoln ticket. In Texas the people entered heartily into the secession movement. Gov. Hous- ton, and most of the State officers, opposed it. But the people, in mass-meetings, demanded action, and, without the sanction of the Governor, elected delegates to the State Convention. A few ministers of the gospel participated in this popular movement. Judge O. M. Roberts, President of the Secession Convention, pronounced the Texas Chris- tian Advocate the ablest exponent of Southern principles in the State ; Mr. Carnes, the editor, made speeches in Galves- ton ; Mr. Seat prophesied for the Confederacy in Houston ; Dr. G. W. Carter spoke in Chappell Hill, Houston, and other places, and made a two hours' speech in Austin, be- fore the Convention, the evening before the vote was taken ; James C. Wilson spoke in Gonzales, and Dr. Jesse Boring in San Antonio. When war finally broke out, a goodly number of our preachers entered the Confederate army, a few wearing swords and epaulets, but the great majority as chaplains or missionaries, or for service in the hospi- tals. If their history could be written it would no doubt reveal a genuinely Christian work performed amid the per- ils of the battle-field and diseases of the hospital, and en- countering, for months and years, the privations and dis- comforts of camp-life.
The history of local churches is without incident during that trying period. The preachers who remained at home kept up the regular administration of Christian ordinances. Some taught school ; others collected goods and provisions to supply the families, whose husbands and brothers were in the army. There were occasional revivals, both in the
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army and among the people at home; and upon the whole the church in Texas did not materially deteriorate during the four years of war.
SECTION V.
Necrology-Kavanaugh-J. W. Cope-Henry Fullingen-Wm. F. Hubert-H. D. Hubert-H. B. Hamilton-M. C. Robertson- W. P. Senson-W. A. Shegog-John Haynie-J. C. Wilson-J. W. Kinney-D. Carl-Wm. Craig-H. Yoakum-J. W. Hodges-E. J. Mercer-John Rabb.
DURING the period between 1855 and 1865, some twenty- five travelling preachers died. Some of them had been but a short time in the itinerant work. Of others there are no memoirs published, and we are unable to supply the omission.
Alfred Leroy Kavanaugh commenced preaching in Ar- kansas in 1842; came to Texas in 1844; joined the East Texas Conference in 1851, and died May 31st, 1857. He was a man of a good mind and fine social qualities-kind, polite, and affable ; but when he thought principle was involved, he possessed firmness almost to a fault.
J. W. Cope died in Bastrop, August 31st, 1856. His last words were : "I cannot conceive a wish that the con- solation of the Gospel does not afford me."
Henry Fullingen had been four years in the East Texas Conference. His death was more than peaceful-it was triumphant.
For nine years Wm. F. Hubert had been a useful mem- ber of the Texas Conference. He died of yellow fever at Lavaca, in 1858. His brother, Henry D. Hubert, died in Bastrop, October, 1860, in the fifth year of his ministry. These were young men of fine promise, cut down in the prime of life.
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H. B. Hamilton entered the Arkansas Conference in 1844, and East Texas in 1849. He died during the session of the Conference in 1859. In his last hours he was delirious, and imagining some of the preachers from Con- ference were in his room, he inquired: "Where is my appointment ?" The Master had given him his final dis- charge, his last transfer, and final appointment.
M. C. Robertson, " as a preacher, was earnest, practical, and useful." He had been seven years in the East Texas Conference, and died August 4th, 1860, exclaiming : "Glory to God ! I am going home to heaven."
After twelve years' service in the East Texas Conference, Wm. P. Sanson died at his post, declaring he had fought a good fight.
Byron S. Carden entered the Arkansas Conference in 1849, came to Texas in 1854, and died January 11th, 1862. When informed that he was dying, he expressed his resignation to the Divine will, his firm trust in Christ, and his happiness in the prospect of the joys of heaven.
Wm. A. Shegog entered the Alabama Conference in 1853; came to Texas in 1860, and died in 1864. When in the throes of death, he took Dr. Cox by the hand, saying: "Brother Cox, meet me in heaven. Praise God for all His goodness to me. All is well." Then, clapping his hands, with the halo of heaven upon his countenance, he shouted : "Glory, glory," and thus died, praising God.
At the Conference in La Grange, in November, 1859, John Haynie, then in feeble health, and suffering from paralysis, was carried into the Conference hall to look for the last time upon his brethren. Besides the members of the Conference present, the venerable Jesse Hord was there to ask that his name be transferred to the West
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Texas Conference. Father Thomson and his sister, Mrs. Kerr, who had been present at the organization in 1840, were also here. (Father Thomson died soon afterward.) When the venerable Haynie, surrounded by so many of the vete- rans of the cross in Texas, pronounced the word "Fare- well," it was such a spectacle as those who witnessed it can never forget. John Haynie died August 20th, 1860, and his excellent wife did not long survive him.
James C. Wilson was an Englishman by birth, but came to Texas in his youth. He was one of the unfortu- nate Mier prisoners. While in chains in Mexico, he was proffered his liberty if he would claim British protection. This he declined to do, claiming to be a Texan. Subse- quently he made his escape from the Castle of Perote. Coming back to Texas, he was appointed clerk of one of the courts in Brazoria. Here he studied law, married, and settled down to the practice of his profession. After serving several terms in the Legislature, he was appointed commissioner of the court of claims at Austin. It is not often that men who have been in public life decline a high and honorable position when tendered them. James C. Wilson's friends tendered him the position of United States Senator; his party was in the majority, and he had no reason to doubt his election. Instead of entering the United States Senate, he received license to preach, and entered the Texas Conference. His ministerial course was brilliant, but of short duration. He died February 7th, 1861. Just before he expired, Rev. B. D. Dasheill, stand- ing by his side, asked him if he realized the promises of the Gospel to be true. He said: "I am a sinner, but Jesus died for me. My peace is made with God, and my way is clear. Glory be to God." His death was univer-
6*
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sally regretted throughout the State. In commemoration of his virtues and patriotism, his fellow-citizens gave his name to Wilson County.
John W. Kinney died January 9th, 1865. Nominally, ยท he had been a local preacher during a considerable portion of the time he had lived in Texas; in reality, he was a most laborious itinerant. There was scarcely a neighbor- bood between the Trinity and San Antonio Rivers he did not visit ; often spending weeks together away from home. He was an able expounder of Methodist doctrines. A Baptist preacher having stirred up a controversy on that subject in Bastrop, Mr. Kinney went up there and preached one sermon that settled the Baptist controversy for ten years in that section of country. So a sermon of his on the apostolic succession settled that controversy in the minds of hundreds who heard it at Brenham, Inde- pendence, Chappell Hill, Anderson, and other places. Whenever and wherever he preached, crowds flocked to his ministry, and his popularity continued unabated as long as he was able to occupy the pulpit. His life furnishes some admirable illustrations of the principles of Chris- tianity. We give an instance: In 1858 corn was exceed- ingly scarce in western Texas. Some gentlemen from the Gaudalupe River applied to Mr. Kinney for corn. It was late, and he invited them to spend the night with him. They offered him a high price for his corn. In the morn- ing, he pointed to various small houses in sight of his own, and told the gentlemen from the west that certain poor families occupied those houses. "They," said Mr. Kinney, "have no teams, and no money to buy bread. If I sell my corn, these families will suffer for bread before new corn comes in. I shall keep my corn. You gentlemen
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have teams and money ; you can go on to the Brazos River and buy your corn." John Wesley Kinney ! We love to write his name. We esteem it a great privilege to have been associated with so noble a specimen of humanity. We have often enjoyed the hospitality of his open house, and have in turn entertained him in our humble dwelling. While the form of Christianity known as Methodism exists in Texas, the name of Kinney will be cherished with affectionate gratitude.
Daniel Carl, from the time of his admission on trial in 1839 to his death in 1865, was a faithful and useful min- ister of Christ. He filled acceptably the most important circuits, stations, and districts, in Texas. His preaching was not uniform. There were times when he seemed to be languid; then he was a little prosaic, but always in- structive. At other times he became fired with his sub- ject ; then his logic was clear, his delivery fluent, and the whole theme became radiant with intellectual life. After more than a quarter of a century of faithful labor, he died in great peace, and his body rests on an eminence in the Victoria Cemetery, located on the banks of the Gau- dalupe-the dark and beautiful Gaudalupe. He had mar- ried, and spent the whole of his married life on the banks of this charming river.
Wm. Craig, who had been in Texas since 1841, died in 1865. He was chaplain to the State Senate in 1857. There is no memoir, and we have no particulars of his death.
We note the death of a few persons not preachers :
A son of Rev. John S. McGee was killed by Indians in 1855. He was out hunting cattle on the Cibolo creek, near his father's residence, when the Indians surrounded and murdered him.
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Col. H. Yoakum, the historian of Texas, died in Hous- ton in the Fall of 1856. He was a lawyer, and useful lay- man in the church.
Major James P. Caldwell died the same Fall. He was an old Texan, and had been wounded at the battle of Velasco, the first fought for Texan independence. He was one of the first to join our church in Brazoria County, and to the day of his death was one of its most stanch supporters. The few last years of his life were spent in Hays County, though he died while on a visit to his friends in Brazoria County.
John W. Hodges, one of the first stewards in the old Egypt circuit, died in Goliad in 1858. Elijah J. Mercer, another of the Egypt stewards, died in 1856.
We have occasionally mentioned in these pages the name of John Rabb. He died near Austin, June 5th, 1861, in the sixty-third year of his age. He was a man of great energy of character, and one whose integrity was never called in question. Himself comparatively uneducated, he was one of the founders of Rutersville College, and spared no pains in the education of his children. He exhibited a spirit of enlightened enterprise, and was one of the first to erect a steam saw and grist mill in western Texas. He was regular in family worship, and a constant attendant upon preaching and social church-meetings. He pitched his tent at thirty-six camp-meetings, and thought nothing of feeding the multitudes for weeks together, if the meet- ing could be protracted with profit. He was a man of strong faith-a faith that, in a skeptical age, would be pro- nounced fanatical. He had lost two dwelling-houses and one mill by fire. The cry of fire again reached his ear; it was from his new saw-mill. Arriving at the place, he found
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a pile of lumber on fire and a strong wind blowing directly toward the mill. Water was scarce. Mr. Rabb saw that no human power could save his mill. He fell upon his knees and asked the Lord to change the wind. Almost instantly the wind changed and his mill was spared. Mr. Rabb would hear no philosophical explanations. He simply believed God answered prayer, and that was enough. John Rabb was a firm believer in dreams. On one occasion, a neighbor found the Rabb boys getting their stock out of the Colorado Bottom. He was informed that John Rabb had a dream that there would be a sudden rise.in the river. The water was then clear, and no sign of rain ; but sure enough, in a few hours one of those terrible overflows to which that river is subject, came rushing down, and all the stock left in the bottom perished. Mr. Rabb would declare, with the utmost sincerity, that in an early day the Lord had often given him warning in his dreams of approaching Indian raids, and by this means he had saved his family from destruction. When away from home, if he had a certain kind of a dream he always started home immediately, and invariably found some of his family sick or some necessity for presence with them. His last days were painful but peaceful. When he gave his hand to Mr. Kinney, in the church, in 1834, he exclaimed, " I belong to Jesus forever!" As his last hour approached he ex- claimed, "I am the Lord's forever! All is peace, all is well; I am in the arms of Jesus. Farewell, vain world, I am going home, home;" and died with the sweetest word in our language on his lips.
CHAPTER VI.
FROM 1866 TO 1871.
-SECTION I.
The New Departure-Changes wrought by the War-Proposed Changes in Church Economy-General Conference of 1866-Suggestion of the Bishops -Class-Meetings-Probationary Church-Membership- District Conferences-Lay Representation-Extension of Pastoral Term.
NECESSARILY a great Civil War, such as that which pre- vailed in the United States from 1861 to 1865, must leave its impress upon all the institutions of the country. The emancipation, immediate and unconditional, of four millions of slaves, was in itself an event of no ordinary magnitude. It disorganized, for the time being, the whole labor-system of the South. The placing of the government of cities and States in the hands of these newly emancipated slaves was an event unparalleled in history. Our church, principally confined to the late slave-holding States, was most seriously affected by these events. The course of other ecclesiastical bodies, it was supposed, would affect the M. E. Church South. Scarcely had the smoke of the battle-field cleared up, until the Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the South had gone North, and effected the reunion of the Episcopal Conventions of the South and North. Outsiders, especially political editors, who knew nothing of the real points at issue, were anxious to see the two branches of Methodism
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reunited. Many plausible reasons were urged in favor of the measure, but those familiar with the non-intercourse policy which had sprung up between the Northern and Southern Methodist Churches, knew that such a reunion at that time was simply impossible. To add to the un- pleasant complications, some leading men in the North boldly avowed a determination to disintegrate and absorb Southern Methodism. Eighteen preachers in Kentucky left the Southern for the Northern Church. It was not known how far the disaffection might spread, and our church and people were in an unsettled state of mind. Considering the changes which had been wrought in our political and domestic institutions, and the feverish state of public feeling, it was not to be wondered at that a good many suggestions for changing our church policy were broached in the newspapers. Some of these writers wished to " differentiate (which we suppose means to de-Methodise) Southern Methodism." In the midst of these discussions, the General Conference of 1866 met in New Orleans. The delegates from East Texas were: William H. Hughes, J. B. Tullis, L. R. Dennis, J. M. Binkley, J. W. P. Mckenzie ; reserve, W. A. Shook. From Texas: R. Alexander, William McK. Lambden, Thomas Stanford, William G. Veal, A. Davidson, I. G. John, J. W. Whipple, William H. Seat ; J. E. Ferguson, reserve. From West Texas : Jesse Boring, J. W. De Vilbiss ; reserves, R. H. Belvin, J. W. Cooley. In their opening address to the Conference the Bishops say :
" If we are to judge of the tone of the religious press, and the action of many of our Conferences, great concern is felt in respect to certain changes in our economy. It is obviously unbecoming in us as Bishops to occupy any other than an impartial relation to these matters. But we take this occasion to urge upon you the impor-
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tance of giving these subjects your sober and prayerful considera- tion. From our extensive observation of the state and wants of the church, we hesitate not to say that some improvement in our econ- omy may be wisely undertaken at this time. Well for us if we can happily avoid extremes, and do neither too little nor too much. Let us remember that while innovations are not necessarily improvements, wisdom may demand, in the department of ecclesiastical expediency, new applications and developments of fundamental principles."
In accordance with this suggestion of the Bishops, the Conference appointed a new committee, one never before heard of in a General Conference ; it was called the " Com- mittee on Changes of Economy," and composed of one mem- ber from each Annual Conference. A marvellous quantity of petitions, resolutions, and memorials, were placed in the hands of this omnibus Committee. The petitioners evi- dently felt, with the gallant Sir Hudibras,
" That religion is intended For nothing else but to be mended."
It looked, indeed, as if every timber from base to dome of our ecclesiastical superstructure was to be replaced by some- thing else. Well, it is a source of profound gratitude that all is not lost that is placed in jeopardy. The first change proposed referred to the name of our church. This passed by a large vote, and we were to be known hereafter as the Episcopal Methodist Church. But this required the con- currence of three-fourths of the members of the Annual Conferences, and, as that concurrence was never obtained except in Illinois, and perhaps in Maryland, we are still known as the M. E. Church South. This Conference shortened the time of probation for undergraduates in the ministry, making licentiates eligible to deacon's orders at the end of the first year, and to elder's orders at the end of
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the second year. The only inconvenience in this arrange- ment is, that a four years' course of study is still prescribed and four committees appointed. That, however, can be re- adjusted in the future. The change is not a material one.
This Conference did away with class-meetings as a test of church-membership, but for twenty-five years we had never known any one excluded from the church for non- attendance upon class. So this change was not material. This Conference also did away with probationary church- membership; but, twenty-five years ago our Bishops had decided that a probationer who fulfilled the obligations of church-membership, became a full member of the church by the mere lapse of time, if the pastor failed formally to re- ceive him. So this was not a radical change. Provision was made for holding district Conferences, but as district Conferences had been held from 1820 to 1836, this can hardly be considered an innovation upon Methodism. These Conferences are working well, and materially strengthening all the interests of the church. This General Conference also provided for introducing laymen into the District, Annual, and General Conferences. As early as 1828 there had been some discussion on the subject of investing lay- men with a share of the responsibility of managing our church affairs. This resulted in the formation of the Methodist Protestant Church. And yet the main points at issue did not refer to lay representation. What, gave bitterness to that controversy was the ruthless attack upon the Bishops of the church. McCain, in his " History and Mystery of Methodist Episcopacy," charged that Bishops had been surreptitiously foisted upon the American Church. As to lay representation, Dr. Emory, in his report to the General Conference (see Bangs' History, vol. iii, page 422),
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more than intimates that if a proper plan could be devised, there would be no objections to introducing laymen into our Conferences. In Great Britain, laymen had always acted on the principal financial committees. For fifteen years some of our Conferences had associated laymen and ministers on joint boards of finance. And since 1870, the M. E. Church North, by a very cumbersome method, has provided for introducing laymen into their General Con- ferences. Lay representation has been introduced into our church without producing a jostle in our ecclesiastical machinery, or ripple on the surface of our societies. This, then, can hardly be denominated a " differentiating " meas- ure. The most important and vital change proposed was in reference to the permanency of the pastoral relation. An itinerant ministry has been one of the distinguishing features of Methodism. In Great Britain the pastoral term is limited to three years. In America, up to 1804, there was no restriction upon the time a preacher might remain in one charge, though changes usually took place every six months. In 1804 the pastoral term was limited to two years, and, with some local exceptions, this has been the law of the church ever since. On the first day of May the Committee on Changes of Economy brought in a report which permitted a man to be re-appointed to the same pas- toral charge his entire lifetime, if the Bishop would re- appoint him. This passed by a vote of 72 to 59. Among the Texas delegates, Messrs. Hughes, Alexander, Lambden, Stanford, Veal, Davidson, John, and Whipple, voted for an unlimited pastorate, and Messrs. Tullis, Dennis, Binkley, and Mckenzie, against it. Some thought that to leave the question of appointments entirely to the Bishops would be to give these chief shepherds a responsibility that would
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enable them to distribute the laborers all over the country, after the fashion of Bishop Asbury. Others thought, and they were equally honest, that if all restrictions were re- moved there would soon be but little use for Bishops, except to manipulate licentiates into deacons, and deacons into elders, and occasionally act as an arbiter, where wrangling factions in a congregation failed to agree upon the man they wanted for pastor. They cited the city of New Orleans, where, since 1828, there had been no restric- tion upon the appointing power. Bishops have been ac- customed, from year to year, to read out certain men to certain charges in that city. But, in reality, the Bishop had little more to do with making the appointments than the Archbishop of Canterbury. So it was thought would be the case in all principal cities and important charges, if the preacher, by annual re-appointment, could remain a permanent pastor. On the 2d of May a resolution was introduced to refer this question to the Annual Confer- ence for concurrence before it became a law. This passed by a vote of 80 to 54. Among the Texas delegates, Messrs. Hughes, Tullis, Binkley, and Mckenzie, voted to refer it to the Annual Conference, and Messrs. Alexander, Lamb- den, Stanford, Davidson, John, Whipple, and Seat, against such reference. As there was not the remotest probability that this proposition would pass in the Annual Confer- ence, this left the pastoral term where it was before.
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