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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02397 5318
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/firstcenturyoffi00rich
1
THE FIRST CENTURY'
OF
B
OF
Va.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.
1780-1880.
RICHMOND: CARLTON MCCARTHY, 819 Broad Street, 1880.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, BY CARLTON MCCARTHY, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
1502857
To JAMES THOMAS, JR. THIS VOLUME, MEMORIAL OF THE CHURCH HE LOVES SO WELL AND SERVES SO LIBERALLY, IS APPROPRIATELY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. The Editor.
CONTENTS.
I.
PAGE.
INTRODUCTION.
9-39 1
II.
DISCOURSES; SKETCHES, AND ADDRESSES . · 41-334
History of the Church, by J. L. Burrows . 43-105
Deceased Pastors, by W. D. Thomas
. 107-139
Houses of Worship. . 141-152
" House of One Franklin," by W. H. Gwathmey I43
Houses of Worship, by C. Walthall
148
Officers of the Church, by J. B. Watkins . . 153-172
History of the Sunday-school, by C. Walthall . 173-184
Jeter Memorial 185-209
Relation of the Church to Education, by J. L. M. Curry 187
Address, by J. B. Hawthorne 190
2II
The Church in its Relation to Missions, by H. A. Tupper. Origin and History of the First African Church, by Robert Ryland
245
Fraternal Addresses .
. 273-294
By Basil Manly 275
By E. W. Warren
283
By H. McDonald
292
Sermon, by T. T. Eaton
295
Extempore Addresses
319-334
By Thomas Hume, Jr.
32I
By W. H. Williams . 325
By J. Wm. Jones
330
By J. B. Hawthorne, Pastor
333
III.
SUPPLEMENTARY STATISTICS AND STATEMENTS · 335-350
INDEX
.
. ·
351
I. INTRODUCTION.
BY H. A. TUPPER.
L
3 1833 02397 5318
INTRODUCTION.
T HE First Baptist Church of Richmond, Vir- ginia, holds a leading position among the Baptists of the State and of the South. This eminence has been acquired by the number and strength of its membership, the ability and piety of its pastors, the variety and utility of its activities, the unity and conservatism of its spirit, the wide-spread influence it has exerted more or less directly in the counsels of the denomination, and the venerableness of its age crowned with memories of triumphs of grace all through its long conflict of faith. It was fit, therefore, that, with the approach of its one- hundredth anniversary, thoughts should arise of special thank-offerings to the Lord, and of some suitable commemoration of the Divine Goodness and Guidance.
At the first "Conference Meeting" of the
II
12
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
Church in the year 1880, on the evening of the twenty-sixth of January, the following paper, presented by Hon. J. L. M. Curry, LL.D., was adopted as the sentiment of the Church :
This First Baptist Church of Richmond was organized in 1780, before the Revolutionary War had closed, or the inde- pendence of the United States had been acknowledged by Great Britain. Richmond was then a village of less than two thousand inhabitants. The Church was organized, under the pastorship of Rev. Joshua Morris, with fourteen members. From these feeble beginnings, in those dark days, this Church has grown to be one of the largest and most useful Churches in America. It seems meet that we should take a review of the past, thankfully recognize the Father's goodness in our past history, set up our Ebenezer, and "take courage" for new and enlarged activities in the future. Therefore,
Resolved, I. That as a Church we here record our heartfelt gratitude to God for his abundant and continuing mercies, and recognize the duty of newly consecrating ourselves to the work of holding forth the word of life and showing our love in all holy conversation and godliness.
Resolved, 2. That a Committee of eleven be appointed, who shall take such steps as may be needful for celebrating by the Church, in a becoming manner, its one hundredth anniversary.
On Wednesday evening, the fourth of Febru- ary, the Pastor, Rev. J. B. Hawthorne, D. D., announced the names ensuing as the Committee appointed under the Second resolution :
J. L. M. Curry, H. A. Tupper, James Thomas, Jr., R. H. Bosher, A. P. Fox, Wm. G. Dan- dridge, P. H. Starke, Coleman Wortham, John
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 13
C. Williams, R. W. Powers, and Wm. H. Tur- pin.
On motion of Mr. R. H. Bosher, the Pastor was added to the Committee.
As the result of their deliberations, the Com- mittee reported to the Church, on the twenty- fourth of May, that the eighth and ninth days of June next had been set apart for a Centennial Celebration, which would be utilized for the proposed Jeter-Memorial; and that they had advertised the following Programme-modified by the editor into accord with the actual facts of the occasion :
PROGRAMME.
TUESDAY, 8TH JUNE, 10 A. M.
MUSIC.
READING SCRIPTURES. By the Pastor, Rev. f. B. Hawthorne, D. D.
PRAYER. By Rev. H. A. Tupper, D. D.
MUSIC.
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. By Rev. F. L. Burrows, D. D., of Kentucky. 2*
14 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
MUSIC.
SKETCHES OF DECEASED PASTORS. By Rev. W. D. Thomas, D. D. of Virginia.
DOXOLOGY.
BENEDICTION.
AFTERNOON SESSION, 4 O'CLOCK.
-
MUSIC.
READING SCRIPTURES. By Rev. B. Manly, D. D., of Kentucky.
PRAYER. By Rev. J. H. Eager, of Virginia.
MUSIC.
THE HOUSES OF WORSHIP. By Deacon C. Walthall.
MUSIC.
SKETCHES OF OFFICERS. ' By }. B. Watkins, Esq.
,
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
I 5
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. By Deacon C. Walthall.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE FIRST AFRICAN CHURCH. By Rev. Robert Ryland, D. D., of Kentucky.
DOXOLOGY.
BENEDICTION.
NIGHT SESSION, 8 O'CLOCK. JETER MEMORIAL.
MUSIC. PRAYER. By Rev. E. W. Warren, D. D., of Georgia.
MUSIC.
RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO EDUCATION. By Hon. J. L. M. Curry, LL. D. Read by Dr. Burrows.
MUSIC.
Address by Rev J. B. Hawthorne, D. D.
MUSIC.
Address by Rev. Wm. E. Hatcher, D.D. Collection Conducted by f. L. Burrows, D. D.
DOXOLOGY.
BENEDICTION.
16 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
WEDNESDAY, 9TH JUNE, 10 A. M.
MUSIC.
READING SCRIPTURES. By Rev. E. W. Warren, D. D.
PRAYER. By Rev. B. Manly, D. D.
MUSIC.
THE CHURCH IN ITS RELATION TO MISSIONS. By Rev. H. A. Tupper, D. D.
MUSIC.
FRATERNAL ADDRESSES. By Revs. B. Manly, D. D., E. W. Warren, D. D., H. Mc- Donald, D. D.
DOXOLOGY.
BENEDICTION. 4
EVENING SERVICE, 8 O'CLOCK.
SERMON. By Rev. T. T. Eaton, D. D.
EXTEMPORE ADDRESSES.
MUSIC BY CHOIR.
DOXOLOGY.
BENEDICTION.
17
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
The morning of the eighth of June, 1880, dawned brightly and blandly, as in sympathy with the joyous scenes to be inaugurated by it, and by which itself was to be made a lasting remembrance. At an early hour-perhaps two hours before the appointed time-many per- sons found their way to the Church. Some were attracted, doubtless, by the rumors of the tasteful floral decorations provided by the ladies. For over the vestibule was wreathed in green and gold: "Constituted 1780." The same, in gold letters, was displayed over the pulpit, be- tween the portraits of Andrew Broaddus, Sr., and J. B. Jeter. The whole front of the rostrum was enclosed and concealed by a deep and conical arrangement of choice plants and flowers -native and exotic-the apex of the cone, or rather its truncation, on a level with the upper line of the speaker's stand. Other adornings were in keeping with this central ornamentation.
The building was soon crowded. The church and community were quick with the spirit of the Celebration. It was to be more than the festivity of a single church or even denomina- tion. In directing public attention to the anti- cipated anniversary, a city-paper voiced the spirit of the occasion in this language:
18 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
The numerous denomination of Christians of whom this Church has been a century plant of wondrous growth and be- neficence will take and diffuse a genuine interest in this en- suing memorial of a religious body whose history is almost the history of Richmond. But the interest will by no means be confined to Baptists. For that large catholicity of religious sentiment which pervades the pious people of Richmond will joyously hail an opportunity, such as this, to express itself in fraternal gratulations and gratitude to the good Giver who has preserved and strengthened the weak and tender plant, until, with strong root, towering trunk, and broad branch, it stands an object of moral beauty, and better, a source of moral and spiritual blessings to thousands who have crossed the flood and others who are crossing now. There is scarcely a State in the Union in which there does not live some former member of this illustrious old Church. Her sons and daughters will come from afar to offer thank-offerings for her life and history.
The general interest was deepened by seve- ral circumstances;
The Pastor was permeated with the Centen- nial idea, and dispensed himself "in season and out of season"-in pulpit and parlor; in stores and on the streets; and seemed bent on lifting up the people to his own lofty conception of the occasion.
Rev. J. L. Burrows, D. D., who had been pastor of the Church for twenty years, and was one of the most popular men that ever lived in Richmond, had, the night previous, delivered in the Church a grand lecture on "America's Con- tribution to the Wealth of the World." The
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 19
day before that, on Sunday, the sixth of June, the pulpit had been occupied by two other ex- pastors, Rev, Drs. Basil Manly and E. W. Warren. The sermon of the one was elegant and elevating, mellow and melting: that of the other proved the instrument in God's hands of quickening into new life at least one soul-a precious and prayer-begirt daughter of the congregation. Besides, Dr. Robert Ryland- "the noblest Roman of them all"-was among the people who will never cease to lament his quitting the "Old Dominion."
Around each of these men of God clustered associations, tender and sacred. They belonged to different periods of the history of the Church ; but each period was represented in the Church and congregation. At their appearance blessed memories came trooping up, and each was in- vested with peculiarly loving and reverential regard. These generous sympathies moved in circles; but these circles crossed, and blended, and were in perfect harmony, until the forces attracting to the several centres caught and held every member and every family of the Church.
Further, the city had not recovered from the shock of Dr. Jeter's death, and it was commonly
20
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
understood that some memorial to him would be advocated in the celebration. Finally, the people were in a mood for public gatherings. The General Association of Virginia, held in Petersburg, only twenty miles distant, was just adjourned. Many of our people had attended the inspiriting sessions of that body. Delegates and visitors accompanied, or followed, our citi- zens to Richmond. This and other company, enlivening many homes with beauty and bril- liant talk, kept alive and intensified the social and public sentiment, and added no little to the occasion by the profound personal interest of these almost strangers.
These circumstances all tending to the com- mon end, the first session of the celebration found a grave audience instinct with eager ex- pectation and undisguised enthusiasm.
Punctually at ten o'clock, the choir burst forth in the anthem: "We praise thee, O Lord." With this announcement, Dr. Haw- thorne, accompanied by the gentlemen who were to participate in the morning exercises, appears on the platform, like Saul among his brethren. After the music, he holds up an 'old time-worn Bible, with lower edge literally worn away some half of an inch by the preacher's
2I
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
peculiar habit of thumbing while preaching, and says: "This was John Kerr's Bible, which he preached from when Pastor of this Church, fifty years ago." Here was started another current of exciting interest. With sonorous voice, he read from the venerable volume the Ninetieth and Ninety-First Psalms-Scriptures as appro- priate as if written for the occasion. After prayer, an old Hymn-book was exhibited, as "the one first used in the present building." The Pastor said: "Some people criticise our modern music. Suppose I 'line out' a hymn that our fathers used to sing from this book, with twenty-one stanzas, and request that the last stanza be repeated!"
Following music-not from the old Hymn- book-Dr. Burrows was introduced as "need- ing no introduction." His paper, with the other papers, will be duly noticed. After his dis- course, Rev. Wm. D. Thomas, D.D., was feli- citously presented by Dr. Hawthorne, who, by the way, in introducing speakers, and turning every incident to good account, and in presiding generally over the meetings, excelled himself. As we are touching now merely the incidentals of the celebration, let it be remarked, that the occasional jeux d'esprit were delicate and titti-
3
22
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
lating, and diffused good feeling throughout the audience. At times, the humor was broader, and, as the Psalmist says: "Our mouth was filled with laughter." As suggestive-though only dimly suggestive-of the mild pleasantry that sometimes blended with the beautiful and the pathetic during the Celebration, this item from a report of the State is selected :
Dr. Hawthorne said, thirty years ago, when he was a " very little boy," Dr. Manly was called as a pastor to this Church.
Dr. Manly, of Kentucky, said if Dr. Hawthorne was a very little boy thirty years ago, he had grown marvelously since. Somebody had treated him well. He had helped and been instrumental in having the Richmond Female Institute estab- lished. . Had been its president and teacher. He went there yesterday to see if, in the sweet pupils, there was as much beauty as when he was there. No, he said, not so much beauty because there were not as many beauties. . The gentle daughters of his pupils he saw. Like another, he felt like weeping and raining tears on the golden tresses of the young maidens he saw, for the sake of their mothers under the sod, whom he had taught. To others beautifully and pathetically he re- ferred.
The afternoon session of the first day was enlivened by the exhibition from the rostrum of a large pencil-sketch of the old church-house on Cary Street, occupied previous to the year 1802, prepared by Mr. George A. Minor, to illustrate the paper of Deacon Walthall on the " Houses of Worship." A similar illustration, on a more
23
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
extended scale, by the same gentleman, of the " House of one Franklin," where the Church was organized in 1780, was also on hand, but was not presented to the audience, as the paper on that house, by Deacon W. H. Gwathmey, was not quite finished. These pictorial remind- ers of the humble beginnings of the Church will be committed, it is understood, to the "His- torical Society."
Like a General, Dr. Burrows, in conducting the collection-part of the "Jeter-Memorial " meeting, with pleasant peremptoriness, ordered Drs. Hawthorne and Warren, with the writer, to "go among the people," which they were " forward to do." The Pastor had said that the Celebration would " culminate " in this session ; but, in the glow kindled next morning by the " Fraternal Addresses," he exclaimed : " This is the great day of the feast." At night. amid the closing speeches, which he called " declarations of love," he revised again his judgment, affirm- ing this last session " the feast of fat things."
It was greatly regretted that Rev. D. B. Winfree, D. D., who had served the Church most acceptably during Dr. Burrows' engage- ment in the Memorial work for Richmond Col- lege, and whose name was on the original pro-
24
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
gramme, could not be present. Rev. Duncan McGregor, another admired supply of the Church, was on the other side of the ocean. The absence of Dr. Curry in Europe was de- plored.
No account of the Celebration could be satis- factory without some notice of the music. Now grand, then exquisite, always inspiring gratitude and praise, it heightened the enthusiasm of the meetings. The choir was composed as follows : SOPRANOS. MRS. JACOB REINHARDT. MISS C. V. WYATT.
ALTO. MRS. JOHN H. KNOWLES.
TENORS. MR. EDWARD H. HOFF. MR. FRANK W. CUNNINGHAM.
BASSES. MR. U. B. PLEASANTS. MR. ALEX. ABERNETHY.
ORGANIST AND DIRECTOR. PROF. JACOB REINHARDT.
As the hymns and tunes of our Fathers in- terest their children of this age, so the following
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 25
record may not be uninteresting to our poster- ity at the close of another century :
FIRST DAY.
MORNING.
I. TE DEUM .- WE PRAISE THEE O LORD. Warren.
CHOIR.
2. PALM BRANCHES-(Baritone Solo) .. Faure. MR. U. B. PLEASANTS.
3. I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVETH-(Sop.Solo).Handel. MRS. JACOB REINHARDT.
4. OLD HUNDRED.
CHOIR AND CONGREGATION.
AFTERNOON.
I. SOFTLY NOW THE LIGHT OF DAY Abbott.
CHOIR.
2. BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH (Tenor Solo.) Mendelssohn. MR. EDWARD H. HOFF.
4
3. ONE SWEETLY SOLEMN THOUGHT-(Barit. Solo.) Ambrose. MR. A. ABERNETHY.
4. OLD HUNDRED CHOIR AND CONGREGATION.
EVENING.
I. TRIO .- PROTECT US THRO' THE COMING NIGHT.
Curschman. MRS. REINHARDT, MRS. KNOWLES, MR. HOFF.
3*
26 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
2. HOME OF THE SOUL-(Tenor Solo). MR. F. W. CUNNINGHAM.
3. BEYOND THE SMILING AND THE WEEPING Bonar.
4. OLD HUNDRED. CHOIR AND CONGREGATION.
SECOND DAY.
MORNING.
I. VENITE .- O COME, LET US SING, ETC. Millard.
CHOIR.
2. HOW SWEETLY FLOWED THE GOSPEL-SOUND. Sir F. Bowring.
3. Go PREACH THE BLEST SALVATION Sidney Dyer.
4. OLD HUNDRED. CHOIR AND CONGREGATION.
EVENING.
I. CONSIDER THE LILIES-(Soprano SOLO) Topliff.
MISS C. V. WYATT.
2. IF WITH ALL YOUR HEARTS-(Tenor Solo) ... Mendelssohn. MR. EDWARD HOFF.
3. BLEST BE THE TIE THAT BINDS. Fawcett.
4. GLORIA IN EXCELSIS Mozart.
CHOIR.
Among the most interested and physically active in the celebration was " Jefferson," who having served the office of Sexton faithfully for
27
CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
many years, deserves here honorable mention ; as well as his predecessor, Carter Page, who seemed much like Anna of old, " which depart- ed not from the Temple," and who was so devoted to the very brick and mortar of the Church, that when some extensive changes were made he was overwhelmed with grief, and died, it is said by a physician, of " a broken heart."
Ample accommodations were made for re- porters ; and the press, secular and religious, furnished elaborate reports of the proceedings.
The two discourses of the first session occu- pied just three hours. Other papers and ad- dresses also were necessarily long. ~ All the documents are herein published. The editor has thought, however, that some synopsis of them might be of advantage to the reader. With this view, and in order to present a con- nected narrative of the several sessions, the report of the Religious Herald, of the seven- teenth of June, with a few needed changes, is here transcribed :
Rev. J L. Burrows, D. D., of Kentucky, from 1854 to 1874, Pastor of the Church, delivered the first discourse, which was a " Centennial History of the Church." Its delivery occupied nearly two hours ; but the author's fine elocution and the in- trinsic interest of the paper enchained the undivided attention of the assembly. In alluding to his entrance upon the pasto-
28 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
rate with a wife and little children, and leaving it, after twenty years, " a lonely man," family all dead or scattered, and to the death of " devout women not a few," the Doctor's emotion overcame him for a moment, and speaker and people were melted to tears.
The address began with a general view of Virginia's and Richmond's condition in 1780, in relation to politics, popula- tion, commerce, agriculture, architecture, and manufactures, the means and rate of travel, etc. Virginia's vast territory, war history, currency, historic names, and fabulous provision prices were vividly recited, and the village of Richmond, with eighteen hundred inhabitants, well described. Brief sketches of early Baptist ministers and churches also preceded the im- mediate history of the organization and growth of the Church. Fourteen members formed the Church, which met in the house of a Mr. Franklin, on Union Hill, who was, no doubt, a mem- ber. The loss of the first record book leaves us in ignorance of the names of the other thirteen. Though unregistered here, their "record is on high." After some moving about, the next place of meeting was between Second and Third Streets, front- ing Cary. The third, by the gift of Dr. P. Turpin, was the house of worship erected on the present site of the First Afri- can Church, which was abandoned for the spacious edifice now occupied by the Church. In 1790, the membership had in- creased to 200, in 1824 to 820, and in 1841 to over 2,000, when the colored element withdrew to form the African Church, leaving about 400 white members. Rev. Joshua Morris was pastor from 1780 to 1787, Rev. John Courtney from 1788 to 1824, the date of his death. Rev. John Kerr was pastor from 1825 to 1832, Rev. Isaac Taylor Hinton from 1833 to 1835, Rev. J. B. Jeter from 1836 to 1849, Rev. Basil Manly, Jr., from 1850 to 1854, and Rev. J. L. Burrows as above stated. The salient traits of these men were hastily delineated, as well as those of the co-pastors and pastors pro tem., Keeling, Broaddus, Taylor, Ryland, Jennett, Winfree, Curry, and Tupper. He concluded with a resume, showing that one church of fourteen
29
CELEBRATION OF TIIE FIRST CENTENARY.
members in 1780 had swelled to nineteen churches, in Rich- mond and Manchester, in 1880, numbering 16,847 members. Dr. Burrows ended his address by an appropriate reference to the pastorates of his successors, Drs. Warren and Hawthorne.
Rev. W. D. Thomas, D. D., of Norfolk, reared and baptized in this Church, followed in an admirable address, sketching dis- criminatingly the "Characters of the Deceased Pastors of the Church." Of Morris, the materials were meagre. Yet, from his career in Kentucky and glimpses of history, it was evident he was a useful, earnest minister of the gospel, though he had few advantages of education. The primitive simplicity, sin- cere piety, stern truthfulness, and ministerial industry of Court- ney, and his John-like tenderness in old age, were happily illustrated by incidents and occasional amusing expressions. The portrayal of John Kerr was striking and life-like. His superb natural gifts of oratory were exemplified by specimens furnished by the ready and retentive memory of the venera- ble Rev.'E. Dodson. The organizing ability and culture of Rev. I. T. Hinton, with his sound and impressive preaching, had due attention. Dr. Thomas then drew a bold and inde- pendent picture of Dr. Jeter's character, clearly reflecting his " father in the gospel " as a man, thinker, writer, and preacher. We regret that the limits of this article do not allow details. Dr. Thomas also sketched the characters of Bryce, Broaddus, Keeling, Jennett, etc. His paper was throughout chaste and thoughtful.
At the afternoon session Deacon Christopher Walthall, one of the oldest and best informed members, read two papers- one describing the structures, location, improvements, etc., of the several Houses of Worship, and the other giving a history of the Sunday School in connection with the Church. The probable date of its organization was believed to be 1817, and four teachers and six pupils, perhaps, its initial numbers. The names of the superintendents, some of the teachers, and other interesting facts were given, constituting a mass of information of much value for future use and preservation. General satis-
30 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.
faction was evinced at the manner in which the part assigned Deacon Walthall was performed.
J. B. Watkins, Esq., followed with a fine limning of the Officers of the Church. The earliest known officers, down to the latest departed, were depicted ; more length of portraiture given, of course, to those of longest service and widest noto- riety. Thus the traits of Clerks Crane and McCarthy, and Deacons Frayser, Winston, Farrar, Reins, Sizer, Thomas, and Crane, were more vividly drawn. The diversified features of the last four were critically analyzed and contrasted, we think justly, and the grateful fact adduced that, while God gives "diversities of gifts, there is the same Spirit." Mr. Watkins' address was carefully prepared and handsomely delivered.
Again, at night, a large congregation filled the Church, and the services were directed in the interest of the " Jeter Memo- rial."
Rev. Dr. Burrows read an excellent, brief paper, prepared by Dr. J. L. M. Curry, before his departure to Europe, on the "Relation of the Church to Education." It stated that, in 1833, as shown by the minutes, Elder John Kerr, the pastor, was President of the Virginia Education Society, out of which grew the Seminary, and afterwards Richmond College. The Treasurer and five of the Managers were members of this Church. Ever since, the Education Board has had represen- tatives from the Church, and also generous donations, and the College, in its Trustees and Faculty, has depended somewhat on the Church. Efforts for endowment have received from it efficient help, and it is the only Church in the State which has a scholarship in the College for the education of sons of Bap- tist ministers. Richmond Female Institute has ever found in the Church zealous and liberal friends, patrons, Trustees, and Teachers. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has always been the constant recipient of First Church benefac- tions, in efforts for endowment and support of students and Faculty. Reference was also made to the recognition, on the part of the Church, of the potency of education in moulding
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