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VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
George Braxton Taylor
FOURTH SERIES
Gc 975.5 T21 1277586
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
3 1833 02390 3872
VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
FOURTH SERIES
1885-1902
BY
C
GEORGE BRAXTON TAYLOR
Professor and Resident Chaplain Hollins College, C Pastor of the " Hollins Field," 11
and author of 1
"Life and Letters of Rev. George Boardman Taylor, D. D .; " ( 7 "Virginia Baptist Ministers, Third Series." -
WITH A FOREWORD
BY REV. EDGAR YOUNG MULLINS, D.D., LL.D. 1
PRESIDENT SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
1913 J. P. BELL COMPANY, INC. LYNCHBURG, VA.
Copyright, 1913 By GEORGE BRAXTON TAYLOR
1277586
To 1
JOHN ROBERTS MOFFETT
10/13/64
Regional -$1
FOREWORD
In the multiplication of books on all sorts of subjects, in our day, biography has, to a considerable extent, lost its position of influence and power. Fortunately, there are not wanting signs of the return of modern readers to an appreciation of this form of literature. No books which have ever been written have been more dynamic in a moral and spiritual sense than the biographies of faithful and great men. Human character is the best possible commentary upon great principles. The lives which, in a consistent manner, embody the moral and spiritual ideals of the race are among our choicest assets.
The humble and quiet preachers of the gospel are among the most potent forces of our civilization. Devoid of craving for notoriety, free from the taint of worldly ambition and the greed of gold, with single-hearted devotion pursuing their quiet calling, these are the true nation builders, unknown by the great, busy world, and unheralded in the public prints.
I have read the pages of this new series of sketches of Virginia Baptist ministers with absorbing interest. Here is recounted in a felicitous manner the deeds and exploits of a large number of as fine men as God has ever given to America. Some of the names are known throughout the nation and the world. The majority of them are little known, perhaps, save within the limits of their own State, but the narratives of all of them will richly repay the reader who has a faculty for appreciat- ing the real constructive forces of modern civilization.
Dr. Taylor has done his work surpassingly well. Again and again, I have been struck with his good judg- ment and taste in the selection and grouping of facts,
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FOREWORD
with a view to bringing into clear outline the portrait he is painting, or rather the life whose story he is tell- ing. His task was an unusually difficult one because the number of sketches was so great, and many of them were necessarily very brief. In such an undertaking everything depends upon the ability of the author to seize the salient points and state them effectively. The graphic and pictorial element in the narrative of these lives adds greatly to the interest. A little touch here and there makes the character stand out in relief.
The contributors to the volume, apart from the author, have also done excellent work. I venture the prediction that Virginia Baptists, and, indeed, all Baptists, will receive with pleasure this valuable contribution to the religious history of Virginia and the South. It will be the means of perpetuating the influence of these fine men through the coming years.
Louisville, Ky., September 16, 1913.
E. Y. MULLINS.
1
PREFACE
In 1837 the "Lives of Virginia Baptist Ministers" appeared, the author being Rev. James B. Taylor. The first edition contained "biographies of nearly one hundred ministers." The second edition had "nearly forty additional memoirs," but omitted the sketch of Lott Carey and that of Abner W. Clopton, since each of these sketches, by that time, had appeared "in a separate edition." The first edition opens with a sketch of Shubael Stearns, who was born in 1706, and comes down to about 1837. In 1859 there appeared the third edition of the "Lives of Virginia Baptist Ministers," which, by that time, had grown into two volumes. The sketches of the first volume (or "series") had been revised, and, in some cases, enlarged. The "second series" contained memoirs of men who had passed away after the publica- tion of the first edition. These volumes, like the first, were the work of Rev. James B. Taylor.
No further volume, in this series, appeared until the fall of 1912. At the General Association in Charlottes- ville, in November, 1905, Rev. Alfred Bagby offered a resolution which called attention to the need of a Third Series. No further action in the matter was taken by the General Association until the meeting in Portsmouth, in 1909, when, upon motion of Rev. Alfred Bagby, a committee was appointed to "secure the services of some brother competent by reason of age and intellectual gifts" to prepare a Third Series. At the meeting of the Association in Roanoke in 1910, this committee was con- tinued. At the meeting of the Association in Norfolk in 1911, the committee reported, through its chairman, Rev. W. F. Dunaway, that the manuscript of the desired volume, prepared at their request by Rev. George Brax- ton Taylor, was ready, and that the J. P. Bell Co., of Lynchburg, agreed to publish the book, assuming the financial responsibility, if they should receive five
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PREFACE
hundred subscriptions. Practically this number of sub- scriptions was at once obtained. At the meeting of the Association, in 1912, at Petersburg, the committee reported that an edition of 1,000 volumes of the "Third Series" had been published. They also reported that it had been impossible to include in the Third Series sketches beyond the year 1886, and recommended that a Fourth Series be prepared. This volume is now pre- sented. In view of the limits, as to size, set by the publishers, it has been impossible for this volume to reach down to the present year. So it comes about that the Third Series covers the period from 1860 to 1886, while the present volume contains sketches of ministers who died between the end of 1885 and of 1902.
The attempt has been made, both in this volume and the Third Series, to give sketches of all Virginia Bap- tist ministers who died in the two periods indicated, but doubtless the list is incomplete. Not a few of these sketches will call attention to lives that otherwise had not been known. So recent has been the death of many whose record is in this volume, that doubtless many, as they read, will exclaim, remembering those whom they have loved and with whom they have labored :
"But, oh, for the touch of a vanished hand, And the sound of a voice that is still."
It is devoutly hoped that, by this volume, these good and useful lives may become a help and a blessing to many who never saw these servants of God in the flesh. May it be that we, following the path they trod,
"Shall find the toppling crags of Duty scaled Are close upon the shining tablelands To which our God Himself is moon and sun."
GEORGE BRAXTON TAYLOR.
"The Hill," Hollins, Virginia,
August 16, 1913.
CONTENTS
PAGE
ATKINS, SAMUEL JOHNSON
76
AUSTIN, ISAAC T
168
BAGBY, GEORGE FRANKLIN 364
BANKS, HARRISON H.
109
BAPTIST, EDWARD GRANVILLE
290
BAYLOR, R. H.
53
BAYNHAM, WM. A.
31
BETTS, CHARLES NELMS.
412
BILLINGSLEY, JOSEPH ASCHAM
187
BITTING, CHARLES CARROLL
328
BOOKER, RICHARD EDWARD.
373
BOSTON, SOLOMON CHARLES
29
BROADDUS, ANDREW
367
BROADUS, JOHN A.
23
BROWN, PLEASANT.
93
BROWN, JAMES D.
81
BUCKNER, R. H. W
26
BURROWS, JOHN LANSING
170
BUTLER, J. M
114
CARROLL, JOHN LEMUEL
285
CHANCELLOR, MELZI S
259
CHAPLIN, GEORGE H
297
CLARKE, F. C.
46
COREY, CHARLES H
323
COULLING, DAVID
27
CREATH, THOMAS B
165
CROWDER, HOSEA
37
DAVIDSON, A. F 372
DILLARD, EDWARD FARMER
327
DILLARD, JAMES M
192
DOLL, JOHN A
292
DOOLEY, THOMAS WILLIAM
408
DULIN, BURR P
274
FERGUSON, HENRY GRADY 375
FISHER, WILLIAM.
318
Fox, RICHARD ANDREW
376
FRY, CYRUS FRANKLIN
152
FULLER, SAMUEL THOMAS
106
GLASS, JOHN S
358
GLEASON, R. E. 413
GOGGIN, THOMAS CLARKE
277
8
9
CONTENTS
PAGE
GRAY, GABRIEL
410
GREER, THOMAS W
360
GRIMSLEY, ALDRIDGE MADISON
194
GRIMSLEY, MILTON ROBERT
357
HALL, FERDINAND H. 162
HALL, WILLIAM CAUTHORN
169
HARDY, ALLEN FORREST.
158
HARDY, LESLIE T.
157
HARRIS, HENRY HERBERT.
298
HARRIS, JOHN W
156
HARRIS, SAMUEL
95
HARRIS, WILLIAM FRANCIS
325
HARRISON, JOSEPH R.
402
HATCHER, HILARY E.
159
HAYNES, JAMES ANTHONY
416
HILL, WILLIAM ALEXANDER
79
HUFF, SAMUEL POINDEXTER
286
JESSIE, JOHN
116
JOHNSON, THOMAS NICHOLAS
256
JOHNSTON, PETER BUTLER.
23
JOLLY, W. T.
316
JONES, TIBERIUS GRACCHUS
280
JONES, REUBEN
11
JONES, W. T
359
KENT, JAMES M., SR.
52
KERFOOT, FRANKLIN HOWARD 397
LITTLE, A.
359
LONG, JOHN CRALLE
202
LUCK, GEORGE I
110
MACFEE, W. V
51
MANLY, BASIL, JR.
139
MANSFIELD, JOSEPH A 360
MARTIN, JAMES DANIEL
154
MARTIN, WILLIAM
26
MASSEY, JOHN E
380
MASON, JOHN S.
163
MASON, SAMUEL GRIFFIN
57
McMANAWAY, ALEXANDER
GILMER.
361
MCLAUGHLIN, J. T.
415
MEADOWS, JOEL W.
380
MERRYMAN, CHARLES GORSUCH.
221
MOFFETT, JOHN ROBERTS
83
MONCURE, W. R. D.
372
MOSES, CHARLES REED.
413
10
CONTENTS
OWEN, REUBEN R.
PAGE 101
PEDIGO, WILLIAM B
108
PERKINS, JESSE CLOPTON
18
PERRY, WILLIAM S
161
POWERS, JOHN A
21
RAYMOND, CHARLES A
409
RAYMOND, J. E
262
REAMY, ROBERT N
227
RICHARDSON, JOHN A
362
RITTENHOUSE, DAVID C
356
RODGERS, WILLIAM M
193
ROUTH, ASA
346
RYLAND, ROBERT
348
SANDERSON, T. N
374
SANDS, ALEXANDER HAMILTON
38
SCOTT, AZARIAH FRANCIS.
313
SLATE, WILLIAM
294
SPENCER, JOHN
55
STREET, W. A.
371
SYDNOR, THOMAS W
71
TAYLOR, D. G.
62
TAYLOR, EDWARD S
16
TAYLOR, R. R
28
TAYLOR, WM. H.
54
THOMAS, A.
386
THOMAS, WILLIAM DANDRIDGE
387
TOWILL, MARK W
34
TYREE, CORNELIUS
117
VAIDEN, VOLUSCO 190
WALKER, JOSEPH
263
WALLACE, ISAAC T
104
WHITFIELD, THEODORE
196
WHITESCARVER, WILLIAM AYLETT.
339
WILLIAMS, J. W. M
199
WILLIAMS, WHIT B
13
WILLIS, EDWARD J.
134
WILLIS, JOHN CHURCHILL
222
WINFREE, DAVID B
47
WINFREY, EGBERT BOLLING.
102
WOODSON, DRURY A.
35
.WOODSON, WILLIAM ABEL
151
WOODYARD, ALMARINE
44
WRIGHT, JAMES HENRY
137
WYER, HENRY HARTSTEIN
377
REUBEN JONES
Reuben Jones was born in Isle of Wight County, Vir- ginia, November 30, 1808. In early manhood he made profession of his faith in Christ and, entering the Meth- odist ministry, "endured the hardy toils of a circuit rider among the rugged hills of Western Tennessee." He soon found that by conviction he was a Baptist, so join- ing this denomination, he labored as a minister in these ranks for some forty years. While he was pastor for a season at Helena, Arkansas, and for thirteen years of the Cumberland Street Church in Norfolk, his real life work was his pastorate of the Shoulder's Hill Baptist Church (now known as Churchland), Norfolk County. As a preacher and leader he took rank in the Portsmouth As- sociation, the General Association and the Southern Bap- tist Convention, being in this last-named body at the time of his death one of the vice-presidents. He was the Poet Laureate of the Portsmouth Association; was for several years its moderator and was counted its patriarch. Dr. Paul Whitehead says that in his later years "he looked solid, grave and good." In the Herald "Corvejon" pic- tures him "with the silvery threads in his bright auburn hair, the twinkle of boyish merriment in his eye, death- less youth in his soul and a heavenly radiance on his face." His sermons were carefully prepared and effec- tively delivered. On the platform he blended in such equal proportions the humorous and the pathetic that he kept his audience "suspended between a roar and a cry." On August 24, 1882, in recognition of his worth as a pas- tor and preacher, he received the honorary degree of Doc- tor of Divinity. For many years before his death he
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VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
was a widower. In his home, a "cottage embowered in vines and cedars," a short distance from his church, he lived happily, entertaining most hospitably his brethren who visited him. He was one of the speakers at an all- day Sunday school celebration at Upperville, Virginia. Of his own speech he wrote: "Whether that address was solemn or lively, frivolous or instructive, poetical or otherwise, those readers who know the brother must imagine." He died December 9, 1885, and was buried beneath the trees he had planted with his own hands. Of these trees he had said: "These will be memorials when I am gone." His funeral was conducted by Rev. Dr. T. G. Jones.
WHIT B. WILLIAMS
Not the least conspicuous thing in the story of the life of Whit B. Williams is the legacy of pathos and suffering given to it by the Civil War. And we are reminded of how war goes on in many of its awful consequences after the treaty of peace has been signed. When will civilized, Christian nations decide that there shall be no more war? Surely it is a bloody, fearful business, leaving its traces of sorrow along the pathway of men for years after the clash of arms has ceased. May the story of this Virginia Baptist preacher help to bring in the day when spears shall be turned into pruning hooks and swords into plowshares! Anderson Williams was a well-to-do farmer in Campbell County, Virginia. Two of his children came to be preachers of the gospel. While Whit, who was born February 13, 1843, did not have early educational advantages, with a vigorous mind, he used every opportunity that presented itself for intellectual improvement. His warm heart and genial disposition made him a favorite at home and among his young companions. When the call to arms came he was among those who went forth, although he had not yet reached full manhood. In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Eleventh Virginia Regiment. Scarcely had twelve months gone by before this young soldier had received a wound which was to give him years of suffering, and finally cause his death. It was on May 5, 1862, near Williamsburg, that the Minié ball, which was never to come out, entered his left breast and lodged under his left shoulder joint. The wound, which sent him home disabled for active service,
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VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
may be regarded as the occasion of his conversion. It was while he was at home that he made a profession of his faith in Christ, and was baptized by Rev. R. E. Booker into the fellowship of the Union Hill Baptist Church, Campbell County, Virginia. At the time of his conversion he had serious convictions as to his duty to become a preacher, but years passed before the decision for the ministry was made. After the War he sought educational advantages as best he could. While engaged in teaching vocal music he attracted the attention of Rev. Dr. A. B. Brown, and received from this scholarly preacher no little assistance. After having spent one session in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, then located in Greenville, S. C., he entered the gospel ministry, and in 1875 he began his first pastorate, with the Childrey Church, Halifax County, Dan River Asso- ciation. The next year he took charge of the Ellis Creek and the Hunting Creek churches in the same Associa- tion. In 1878, he succeeded Rev. Dr. A. B. Brown in the pastorate of the Catawba (Dan River) Church. Later he was pastor of County Line, Dan River, Republican Grove, and Vernon Hill churches. During his ministry of something over ten years he won a warm place in the hearts of those to whom he was under- shepherd. His sympathetic nature and ability to come into touch with people made him a favorite. He seemed never so happy as when helping some poor or afflicted home. This had always been his way. When his father found him in the hospital, after he was wounded, al- though the blood was trickling down his side, he was leaning against the wall trying to cheer a fellow-sufferer by telling an amusing anecdote. He knew and loved men and never was the weather too bad for him to respond to a call for help. While as a preacher he often failed to have in his sermons systematic arrangement,
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WHIT B. WILLIAMS
yet there was always a plain, sound presentation in a practical way of the truths of the gospel. He knew how to express himself in language that the people to whom he spoke could understand. His presence was commanding, his countenance benevolent, and his voice musical and affectionate.
For twenty-four years he carried the fatal bullet. The skill of the most eminent surgeons in Virginia was unable to remove it. Able representatives of the medical profession in Philadelphia also failed. For several years before his death, he would suffer great agony for months at a time. No doubt but for his splendid physical development (he was six feet tall and a fine specimen of muscular manhood), the wound would have cut short his life long before it did. Finally he took to his bed. His friends hoped he would rally, but it was not to be so, and on March 30, 1886, at the home of his father-in-law, Col. John A. McCraw, he passed away. In 1897, at a ministers' and laymen's meeting, at Catawba Church, a movement was set on foot by Mr. R. Hunter Beazley to erect a monument in memory of this faithful pastor. The undertaking was completely successful. The remains were removed to the Catawba Church cemetery, and there, with appropriate services, in which Rev. W. J. Shipman, Rev. Wm. Hudson, Rev. S. H. Thompson, and others took part, the marble shaft was unveiled. The occasion brought together a large concourse of people.
EDWARD S. TAYLOR
Edward S. Taylor, the son of Benjamin Franklin Taylor, was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, July 11, 1833. His father was a highly intelligent, upright, and influential man, and his mother, who was a member of the Society of Friends, aimed to bring up her children in the faith and practices of that people. Edward made a profession of religion early in life, and became a Baptist. At the age of twenty-one he was sent forth by the church at North Fork, Salem Union Association, to preach the gospel. His ministry began in the section of Virginia that gave him birth. He was pastor of two churches in Loudoun County; Waterford, in the Columbia Association, and Mount Hope, in the Salem Union. In 1856, he was working as a missionary of the State Mission Board in Loudoun and Fairfax counties, during which year he preached 135 sermons, baptized twenty-two persons, visited 270 families, distributed twenty Bibles and ninety-five volumes of religious books, organized four Sunday schools, and collected $163.75 for the Board; besides, thirty persons were baptized as the result of protracted meetings in which he helped pastors. The larger part of his ministry was given to churches in the southern section of Virginia, namely : Mount Tirzah, Ash Camp, Shiloh, Bethel, New Chapel, in Charlotte County; Spring Creek, in Prince Edward County ; Emmaus, in New Kent County; Mount Pleasant, in Charles City County; New Hope, in Mecklenburg County ; Mount Zion, Tussekiah, Meherrin, in Lunenburg County ; Jonesboro, in Brunswick County, and Mount Lebanon, in Nottoway County.
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EDWARD S. TAYLOR
On June 15, 1860, he was married to Miss Mary Bass, of Brunswick County. His widow survived him with four sons and two daughters. A few weeks before his death a cold he had contracted was greatly aggravated by efforts he made to extinguish a fire which endangered the house of a neighbor. After the fire was under con- trol he drank imprudently of cold water and bathed his face profusely. This brought on pneumonia, which in ten days took typhoid form. For eight days he suffered intensely, most of the time wild with delirium, some- times singing, sometimes praying, sometimes preaching. Before the end, his delirium left him, but he was too weak to speak out of a whisper, and so he passed away quietly and peacefully. Rev. Dr. T. W. Sydnor says of him that he was humble, unassuming, meek, mild, simple-hearted and artless as a child, unselfish, obliging, benignant, hospitable, and generous to a fault. He died in Charlotte County, Virginia, April 28, 1886.
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JESSE CLOPTON PERKINS
The story of the life of Jesse Clopton Perkins might well be made the text for remarks upon how God moves in a mysterious way; upon how lives that seem past redemption and noble service can yet be transformed and glorified, and upon how little children may lead their elders to higher things. These and other inspiring thoughts suggest themselves as this life is contemplated. But let this life story preach its own sermon. He was born in Henry County, Virginia, March 14, 1822. His early years were not rich in educational or religious advantages. His mother died when he was some five years of age and with no education save the barest rudi- ments, as given by the country schools of that day, he reached his majority and entered business. His own testimony proves that he was "profane, desperately wicked, and thoroughly worldly-minded." In after years, however, when he remembered "the sins of his youth," it gave him comfort to recall the fact that he had never been a slave to drink. In 1844, he was married to Miss Jane Fleming, who, though possessed of traits of char- acter that were to be developed under the power of the gospel so as to render her most useful in an important sphere, was at the time of their marriage not a Christian. For eleven years their married life went on without the leaven of the gospel in their hearts and home. As the children, who had been born to them, grew, his thoughts became more serious, and he found that he was unwill- ing for his little ones, at least, to go on without religious influences. So he took them to the Sunday school week by week. Finally a meeting began in the community.
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JESSE CLOPTON PERKINS
Sunday he would not go, but Monday he could not stay away. He laid aside his business and invited his wife to go with him. During the service, both asked for prayer, being under deep conviction. The next day his serious thoughts seemed to have vanished. A severe storm, however, caused him to seek shelter at the house, and there he found his wife in deep distress. He took down the Bible and opened at the sixth chapter of John, and soon they were partaking of that bread which came down from heaven whereof if a man eat he shall live forever. The next day both of them were baptized into the fellowship of the Fine Creek Church, Powhatan County, whose pastor was Rev. C. Tyree. Very soon he was conducting prayer-meetings and talking in public for Jesus. Almost before he knew it, he glided into the ministry.
To enter the ministry at the age of thirty-four, with no special preparation for the work, was certainly com- mencing an arduous task with a serious handicap. Yet after his removal to Cumberland, a year before, he had been a hard student of the Bible. While his mind was not trained it was naturally strong, and he never forgot the pit from which he had been lifted. Upon his ordi- nation he entered fully into his work as a minister, be- coming a practical, impressive, and earnest preacher, and a bold defender of Baptist doctrines. In the course of his ministry he was pastor of Cumberland, Forks of Willis, and Tarwallet churches, in the James River Association. He was earnest in his work, his holy ambition being to serve God as faithfully for the rest of his life as he had served the devil before his con- version.
In the hour of his death a hope that he had often expressed was realized. On Sunday, September 19, 1886, he went to Tarwallet to preach to the people whom
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VIRGINIA BAPTIST MINISTERS
he loved so well. His sermon had been prepared during the foregoing week and was designed to help young converts, a number of whom he expected to baptize that day. A large congregation had gathered. A hymn had been sung and he had offered a prayer. As he was read- ing the passage where his text was found he threw his hand to his head with an exclamation indicating pain. He seemed to rally, but a moment later staggered, fell heavily to the floor, and expired instantly. He had wished to die "in the harness and in the pulpit." On Tuesday, September 21st, his body was laid to rest in the graveyard of Forks of Willis Church, Cumberland County, of which church he was a member and also pastor at the time of his death. A large crowd gathered around the grave and there were few who were not weeping as the singers sang :
"Servant of God, well done, Rest from thy loved employ ; The battle fought, the victory won, Enter thy Master's joy."
JOHN A. POWERS*
It is not hard to read God's providential plan in the long and pious life of a useful minister of the gospel. To understand why one whose life promised usefulness, when his proclamation of the glad tidings of salvation had just begun, should be cut off, is more difficult. Yet we know that this and all other mysteries of God's grace can wait, while we trust, until we know even as also we are known. John A. Powers was born in King and Queen County, Virginia, in December, 1856. When fourteen years of age he was baptized. His narrowness of means made his course at Richmond College, even with the assistance of the Education Board, far from easy. In the summer of 1878, during the meeting of the Middle District Association, an unusual arrangement was made. The church at Matoaca, a mill village near Petersburg, was extremely weak, yet they wished for preaching. A delegate from the church met Mr. Powers, and learned of his desire to go on with his work at the college, and also of his impecuniosity. The church agreed to pay the young man's traveling ex- penses if he would come and preach for them, with the understanding that if the cause prospered they would pay him whatever salary, within their power, they thought his services worth. So the church and the studies went on. His ministry was blessed, and the salary the first year was one hundred dollars, besides which, in many little ways, the people added to his com- fort at college. After another year his ordination took
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