USA > Virginia > Virginia Baptist ministers. 4th series, 1885-1902 > Part 26
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Martinsburg, Berkeley County, to the edge of Augusta County, a distance of 120 miles, he preached, in churches, schoolhouses, private houses, groves, and once in the upper story of a distillery. Through the influence of Dr. Robert Ryland, who had visited this section and seen him at work, for the rest of his life in the Valley, he was a missionary of the Virginia Baptist General Association. He was the only Baptist preacher between Winchester and Lexington, and what with the anti- missionary Baptists on one side and the Pædobaptists on the other, his road was not an easy one; it was the day of bitter denominational enmity. After his marriage, August 30, 1847, to Miss Margaret Ann Kable, Harris- onburg was his home until 1854, when he accepted a call to Mount Ed in Albemarle, and Adiel in Nelson.
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In 1862, his health failing, Mr. Massey, giving up the pastorate, purchased "Ash Lawn," in Albemarle, that once had been the residence of President Monroe, and this was for the rest of his life his home. During the War he raised all the grain and provender he could for the army and loaned money to the Confederate Govern- ment. In the summer of 1863 the First North Carolina Regiment and the Georgia Tenth Legion encamped on the "Ash Lawn" farm to recruit their horses, and Mr. Massey, having had a stand erected, preached to them a number of times.
The Reconstruction Period, in some respects more try- ing than the years of the War, was followed by a number of years when Virginia was agitated from one end to the other over the question of the State Debt. There were two parties, the "Funder" and the "Readjuster," both composed, in the main, of Democrats. The "Funders" proposed to pay the debt, except so much as was deemed an obligation of the state (West Virginia) carved out of Virginia. The "Readjusters" advocated a forcible compromise of the debt without consultation with the bondholders. Mr. Massey was probably the most promi- nent leader in the "Readjuster" ranks. He was elected to the Legislature, the Senate, to the office of Auditor, and was a candidate for governor in the Convention which nominated Wm. E. Cameron, who was elected. Mr. Massey stumped the State. The Campaign of 1879 was one of the most exciting in the history of the State. In this Campaign Mr. Massey crossed swords with such able speakers as John W. Daniel, J. L. M. Curry, James A. Walker, Ham Shepperd, and John Goode. The people did not at first realize how able a debater Mr. Massey was. Crowds that gathered expecting to see "Parson Massey," as he was called, utterly discomfited, realized that not Mr. Massey, but rather his opponents,
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needed their pity. He wielded a keen Damascus blade. His sarcasm burnt and scorched. His wit was quick and his humor was irresistible. In argument he was logical and clear. His voice was strong and with good range. In repartee he was most ready. Those who did not agree with his contentions had to admit his power. It is to be questioned if Virginia has produced since Revo- lutionary days a debater superior to John E. Massey.
The Readjuster Party held sway in Virginia for some years, but never succeeded in its desired compromise of the State Debt. Gradually the party under the potent leadership of Wm. Mahone joined forces with the Re- publicans. At this point Mr. Massey broke from their ranks and cast his influence henceforth with the regular Democratic Party. In this relationship he was a candi- date in the Convention for governor, and this nomination having gone to General Fitzhugh Lee, Mr. Massey was placed on the ticket as Lieutenant-Governor, and was, along with the other nominees, elected. Later he became Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State. The duties of these high and important offices he discharged with fidelity and ability. Just before his death, which occurred April 24, 1901, at his home, "Ash Lawn," he was elected to the State Constitutional Convention. He was buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Charlottesville, the funeral services having been held at the First Baptist Church.
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ALSON THOMAS
Alson Thomas died at his home, near Oakville, Appo- mattox County, Virginia, in the 85th year of his age, Monday, April 22, 1901. He united with Shiloh Church, Nelson County, when he was seventeen years of age, and when twenty-eight years old began to preach. He was ordained at Mount Moriah Church, Amherst County. He was pastor, first and last, of the following churches: Piney River, Prospect, Red Oak (Appo- mattox ), Mount Hope, and Chestnut Grove. He
preached no little in meetings and at other times through- out Appomattox and Campbell counties. He was married twice, his first wife being Miss Mary Martin, of Albemarle County, and his second wife, who survived him with eight children, was Miss Virginia C. White- head, of Amherst County. For some years before his death he had not been able to preach. His last sermon was at a schoolhouse near his home. At the time of his death he was a member of Red Oak Baptist Church. He was buried at his home.
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WILLIAM DANDRIDGE THOMAS
William Dandridge Thomas, the only son of James Thomas, Jr., and Mary Cornick Puller Thomas, was born October 15, 1833, at "Mill Farm," the home of his maternal grandmother, in Caroline County, Virginia. When he was only three years old his mother died, whereupon, he and his sister Ella, only three months old, were sent to the home of his uncle, Archibald Thomas, who had married his mother's aunt. The second wife of Mr. James Thomas, Jr., who was Miss Mary Wool- folk Wortham, proved a mother, indeed, to her stepson. "She gave herself with such whole-hearted devotion to his nurture and training that he always entertained for her the affection and veneration due to a mother." A's a man he was wont to say that while he had had Latin at school and Latin at college, his "mother" had taught him more Latin than any one else. He "must have been wisely handled in his childhood. His well-poised life testified to that fact. To the end of his days he was the embodiment of reverence. He had an innate respect for law, and was an ardent believer in goodness and truth. He grew up in a city, and city boys are often precocious in evil and wanting in respect for authority and truth. He was an only son, and to most boys that brings serious peril. He lived in a home which abounded in plenty and knew no lack, and many of those who have all they want in youth, make haste to forget God. All gates opened to him; but, with the broad gate in full view, he took the narrow path that led to eternal life." He attended several Richmond schools, one being taught by Mr. Pinckney Burrus and another by Mr. Martin Sumner. A book, which he won as a prize at this last school, is still to be seen. In 1846 there was a protracted meeting of
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great power at the First Baptist Church in Richmond. Dr. J. B. Jeter, the pastor, was assisted by Dr. Richard Fuller. During this meeting young Thomas made a pro- fession of his faith in Christ, and was baptized (Dr. Jeter for some reason being absent) by Dr. Fuller.
From the Richmond schools he passed to Richmond College. Among the teachers in the College at this period were Thomas Bolling Robertson, John Lawson, Lewis Turner, John M. Murray, S. E. Brownell, N. H. Massie, T. L. Snead, and Arthur Frise. Dr. Robert Ryland was the president, and in 1850 B. Puryear became professor of Natural Sciences. In 1851 the College sent forth to the world its third graduating class, consisting of W. S. Bland, M. B. Howell, Geo. Wm. Keesee, G. B. Taylor, Wm. D. Thomas-Thomas being at his last birthday seventeen; the subject of his graduating essay was: "The Relations of Animal and Vegetable Life." From Richmond College Mr. Thomas went to the University of Virginia. Here his progress was retarded by reason of serious trouble with his eyes. A cataract formed on one eye and then he discovered for the first time that the other eye was of little value. He was obliged to drop some of his classes, to have some one read his lessons to him, and to add a year to his University life. As the representative of the Washington Literary Society, he delivered, one year, the address on Washington's Birth- day. On June 29, 1855, he received his Master of Arts degree.
He now began reading law with Judge Arthur Mor- son. Before long, however, he decided to become a minister of the gospel. This decision greatly disgusted his teacher, who declared that he was giving up the pros- pect of being a brilliant lawyer to become a poor Baptist preacher. He was ordained October 10, 1856, Dr. J. B. Jeter being one of the presbytery. As most young Bap-
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tist preachers in Virginia, Mr. Thomas began his work in the country. He became pastor of Mount Carmel Church, Caroline County, in the Shiloh Association, a church which had been organized some six years. On his twenty-fourth birthday he was married to Miss Ella H. Jones, a daughter of Colonel John R. Jones and Gil- ley Marshall Jones, of Charlottesville, Va., the ceremony being performed by Rev. Jno. A. Broadus.
From Mount Carmel he went to the pastorate of the church at Warrenton, Virginia. During his Warrenton pastorate he preached for a season, twice each month, at Blue Run Church, Orange, and later, once each month, at Broad Run Church, Fauquier. During his pastorate in Warrenton a Female Institute was established and the church built a commodious meeting-house. Just as this edifice was nearing completion the Battle of Manassas was fought and the new church was used for a hospital. The pastor and his wife also cared for the wounded in their home, some of the poor fellows remaining under this hospitable roof for many weeks. Mr. Thomas, though gifted in many ways, was altogether lacking in musical talent. At Blue Run Church, the negroes, as was the custom in those days, occupied the gallery. One day Mr. Thomas gave out a hymn. Nobody raised the tune. Just as he was about to announce a more familiar hymn, a big negro walked up the aisle, stood in front of the pulpit, scratched his head, and said: "Marse Preacher, if you jist sot that tune, I'll jine in." Dr. Jas. L. Jones, the preacher's brother-in-law, and several others who were present, knew that "Marse Preacher" could not "sot that tune," and shook with laughter, and a smile went over the congregation. One Sunday morning a lady in Orange County found at the hour when it was time to start to church that her horses could not be used. She continued her preparations for church. Upon being
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asked if she had forgotten about the horses, she answered that she had not, but that she would willingly walk several miles to hear Wm. Thomas preach. Dur- ing Mr. Thomas' years in Warrenton the Southern Bap- tist Theological Seminary was established at Greenville, S. C., and he was made a member of the Board of Trustees. On September 8, 1859, he wrote to Rev. Jno. A. Broadus bidding him farewell upon his removal to Greenville, exclaiming in the course of his letter: "My dear brother, may the Lord go with you to Greenville and abide with you there!" On October 9, 1860, he wrote again : « I have concluded that the surest way to convert our brethren, who oppose theo- logical education, from their error, is to make them try the work of pastors without such training. If this were done, they would soon be forty thousand miles off from opposition to Greenville." When the tide of war swelled all around Warrenton, Mr. Thomas, with his family, retired within the Confederate lines and joined his father's household, who were refugees in Danville, Virginia.
In the spring of 1863 Mr. Thomas became pastor of the Baptist Church in Greenville, S. C. This brought him into an atmosphere that must have been most delight- ful to him. He had always been literary in his aptitudes, and increasingly a scholar; now he was in the town with Furman University and the Seminary which he had loved from its very start. Yet to preach acceptably Sunday after Sunday to Jas. P. Boyce, Basil Manly, Jr., John A. Broadus, Wm. Williams, Jas. C. Furman, and a crowd of Seminary and college students, was not an easy task. Dr. Broadus declared that he would be glad to have Mr. Thomas as his pastor for the rest of his life. A delightful companionship must have existed between the pastor and his brethren and members, the Seminary
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and college professors. At this time Dr. Broadus was at work on his "Preparation and Delivery of Sermons," and in a letter to Dr. J. L. M. Curry, he says : "W. D. T. has, with exemplary patience, nay, with characteristic kindness, encouraged me to read my successive chapters to him, and has made useful criticisms and suggestions." During these years 160 were added to the church by baptism, and over 80 by letter. More than once Mr. Thomas offered his resignation, but, being urged by the church, withdrew it. At this time Kind Words was established and had a large circulation, for though the paper on which it was printed was indifferent, its con- tents were of a high order. Mr. Thomas was one of the contributors, writing over the name "Didymus."
It may be fitting at this point to consider Mr. Thomas' rank and ability as a preacher. Dr. C. B. Fleet heard him constantly during this Greenville period. He set out with a prejudice against Mr. Thomas, namely, that his father's wealth and not his own ability had been the cause of his call. Before long he absolutely reversed this opinion, coming to regard him as "one of our ablest preachers." Dr. Fleet says: "It always seemed to me that, in his pulpit services, he realized that he was speaking for God. He loved to preach on the great doctrines of Christianity-God's majesty, election, the atonement, the incarnation." Even before this time, a man well qualified to judge, after hearing him preach for over a week, wrote to Dr. Broadus: " His sermons are equal to anybody's-powerful, interesting, effective." From the very beginning of his ministry his preaching must have been most impressive. During his last illness, not long before his death, two ladies visited him, one who had heard him preach forty-one years, and the other thirty-six years, before. They remembered the outlines of two sermons, one preached at Broad Run
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and the other at Charlottesville, and spoke tenderly of the influence on their after-lives. Here is Dr. Wm. E. Hatcher's. estimate of him as a preacher: "It is just to say that Dr. Thomas was not an equal man in the presence of the public. He sometimes lacked ease when confronting assemblies. But he had seasons of rare and almost unequalled elevation. At times he was a prophet of surpassing power. While I could not speak of him as possessing that blinding magnetism which thrilled and mastered impulsive crowds, he did possess a wonderful pulpit power. It was a thing I often said-that Dr. Thomas was the best occasional preacher in Virginia. But he was a preacher for the few and not for the many. I heard our brother preach a number of times, and every sermon left upon me a distinct impression; and two of these sermons-one on the Temptation of Jesus, and the other on the Ascension of Christ-I ranked with the few exceptionally great sermons that I have heard in my day."
In 1871 he accepted a call to the pastorate of the Free- mason Street Baptist Church, Norfolk. This position he filled for ten years. Reference has been made to Mr. Thomas as a preacher. One who knew him well speaks of the faithful work he did on his Wednesday night addresses and of the good attendance at these services. As his eyes were ever more or less of a hindrance to him, he rarely wrote his sermons in full, but often committed to memory what he proposed to say. With his return to Virginia he began to take his part in the work of the denomination in the State. He was the President of the Foreign Mission Board ( for the State) at Norfolk, and it was his custom to attend every year the General Association. He was most able in debate. Dr. Hatcher says: "The combative element had a dis- tinct place in his make-up. When aroused he was
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tremendous as a platform speaker, and now and then swept the field clean with the storms of his argumenta- tive eloquence. I saw him rise to speak on a pending proposition which had been upheld by several of the leading men of the State. He was well prepared, and by his almost matchless logic he turned the tide and had a mighty majority. After the meeting was over, I said to the brother who had brought forward the proposition, that I was surprised to see the way the vote went. 'After William Thomas finished that remorseless speech,' he said with genuine humor, 'I was glad to get away with my life.' " In 1872 the General Association met in Staunton. A letter of Dr. Jno. A. Broadus, written as the train approached Richmond, gives quite a picture of the returning delegates: "Great crowd leaving Staunton this morning. Very interesting to be with so many dear friends. Have had a long talk with Doctor Jeter, at his request, about the location of the Seminary. Also many talks with many others. A. Broaddus and his wife sit across the aisle of the car. W. D. Thomas comes by and says: 'Give my love to your wife and your ma,' talks a while, and goes off saying, 'Finish your letter.' Dr. Curry, who was president of the Gene- ral Association, and hard-worked, is on the seat behind me, asleep. Bilting is over yonder, gayly talking with some lady, etc., etc." Doubtless, that day the brethren had heard more than once Mr. Thomas' laugh, which was peculiar, yet very jolly and contagious; A. E. Dick- inson described it as "ringing," and Thomas Hume as "bubbling."
At the Commencement of Richmond College, in June, 1881, Rev. Dr. J. B. Hawthorne, at the request of the Trustees, made several very interesting announcements. One was that through a gift of $25,000 from Mr. James Thomas, Jr., and another of $1,500 from a friend who
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desired his name to be withheld, two new chairs were to be established in the College. Another was that A. B. Brown and Wm. D. Thomas had been elected to fill these chairs. Dr. Thomas, as a member of the Board of Trustees, had earnestly advocated another man for the chair of Philosophy, but the Board insisted on electing him. For twenty years he ably discharged the duties of this important position. "He brought to the College,
ripe scholarship, wide experience, and keen in- sight into human nature. His old students, scattered in many states, will recall his suggestiveness in the class room, his searching questions, his power of inciting thought, and, above all, his earnest sincerity and open- eyed love of truth. The man's nobility of character and his life were, after all, his best teaching. No student who ever heard him pray could get away from his influ- ence. As a student of his, now a professor in a great university, once remarked: 'I loved him the first time I ever heard him pray.'"
He took up his work with "unfeigned diffidence" but earnestly he strove "to equip and adjust himself to and in his new place," and always clung to his place with unflinching devotion. A friend upbraided him, almost quarreled with him, for not escap- ing more frequently from his class room to recover the spring and buoyancy of spirit. "But he was not to be moved. His hand was to the plough." Yet, in the summer-time he did go out to represent the College at the Virginia District Associations. Dr. Hatcher says : "I was with him at one of our Baptist Associations in the Piedmont of Virginia. He delivered an address so thrilling and overmastering that the people were well- nigh frenzied with enthusiasm, and it was written that a mountaineer Baptist had said that if the Baptists desired to have people interested in Richmond College they had better keep that Professor on the road all the time." In
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January, 1891, Dr. Thomas was married to Miss Maria L. Powell of Loudoun County, the ceremony being per- formed by Rev. Dr. H. H. Wyer.
Dr. Thomas was remarkable for his humility, his generosity, his trustfulness, his hospitality, and his un- flinching adherence to what he believed to be truth and duty. He underestimated rather than overestimated his own ability, but had a noble appreciation of the gifts of his brethren. He loved to extend the hospitality of his handsome home to his brethren and friends. On one occasion, it may have been when his father's house was full of guests, his father said: "William, what is the gospel?" After the son had given an elaborate answer, the father said: "I declare unto you the gospel, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures." The list of the preachers who broke bread with him or slept beneath his roof would be a long one. At the General Association, which met in Richmond in 1896, he had arranged a schedule of all of the meals during the sessions of the body. For each meal he invited as many of his brethren as his table would accommodate. As each one accepted, his name was carefully entered by this generous and systematic host at the proper place on his schedule. One of his daughters says: "My father trusted everybody until given a cause not to; consequently, was often imposed upon. Once, before I was grown, a man stayed at home ten days or two weeks. He hadn't been away a month before he was arrested, being a celebrated imposter." In a letter to Dr. Jno. A. Broadus, written May 21, 1870, speaking of the Convention in Louisville, he says: "I certainly said nothing which ought to offend any man North. My convictions on the whole subject are clear and strong. I am in favor of cultivating kindly feeling,
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in favor of fraternal intercourse, in favor of correspond- ing in a brotherly way, through messages, with Northern societies, but utterly opposed to having our Boards in any way complicated or associated with theirs."
In February, 1901, he tendered his resignation to the College Trustees, but they declined to accept it. In April he went to Baltimore for treatment. An operation was performed. It was successful. He was thought to be doing very well, when suddenly, three weeks after the operation, without warning, at one o'clock in the morn- ing, May 22, he passed away. "God's finger touched him and he slept."
FRANKLIN HOWARD KERFOOT
In an old daguerreotype, still extant, Dr. Kerfoot, his wife and two boys are seen. The smaller of the boys, "dressed in the dainty, ruffled velvet jacket of those days, a fair, winsome baby of about three summers, with soft, curling dark hair and large, earnest blue eyes," was Franklin Howard Kerfoot, familiarly known in those early days as "Howdie." He was born, August 29, 1847, at "Llewellyn," his father's home, near Berryville, Clarke County, Virginia. Before his fourth summer passed, his mother died. As he grew, "with the head of a philoso- pher and the heart of a child," he showed a willingness to help wherever he could, developing at the same time a genial humor, as when his apology to his sister for eat- ing so many of her rolls was that they "sot so light" he could not tell how many he had eaten. Even at this early age he was intensely religious. In his fourteenth year the Civil War broke out and his native Valley of Virginia saw many battles and regiments marching back and forth. The older sons being in the army and the father a busy physician for a large section of country, Howard was the one upon whom much of the work fell. When still not eighteen years old he went off to the army, enlisting under Mosby. Scarcely had he taken his place in the ranks when the War came to an end at Appo- mattox. The Kerfoot sons returned home. Thanks to a countermanded order, "Llewellyn" had not been burned, but the stable, wheat stacks and fences had not escaped. Without faltering, these young men took hold of the farm, which their father turned over to them. To carry on things at home and to complete their education they set to work. The road to college diplomas was
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longer for Howard than for his brothers. He got a threshing machine, and with it secured funds for his college expenses. Upon a certain morning two years after the War, Dr. Shute introduced to several students of Columbian College, at his breakfast table, the young man who a little while ago was so busy on the farm. At this time Dr. G. W. Sampson was president of the college; James Nelson, J. Taylor Ellyson, still wearing his grey uniform, and F. R. Boston were members of the student body.
After graduating at Columbian "he felt impelled, com- pelled to preach the gospel." At Columbian he had re- ceived the degrees of B. Ph., A. M., and B. L. In his earlier days he had confessed Christ and been baptized into the fellowship of the Berryville Church. Doubts and temptations he must have had, but "in his practical faith there seemed never a halt, and when in troubled waters he would strike rock bottom in some such words as this: 'If there is a Christ, I do believe in Him.'" One of his favorite hymns was "My hope is built on nothing less." In a letter to one tortured with doubts he wrote: "Despair ought not to begin anywhere this side of eternity. Even with those who feel nearest to despair the grounds of hope are as strong as the promises of God." Soon after his decision to preach, he set out for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Green- ville. In a letter dated January 11, 1870, Dr. J. A. Broadus wrote to Dr. J. L. M. Curry : "We have a fine young man here from Berryville, Kerfoot (graduate of Columbian), who heard you two or three times on your tours and speaks with unbounded enthusiasm of the addresses." An attack of bilious fever and the tragic death of a classmate and personal friend so shattered his nerves as to compel him to return home. He next turned his steps towards Crozer Theological Seminary. Here
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