USA > Virginia > Virginia Baptist ministers. 5th series, 1902-1914, with supplement > Part 11
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Before going to West Virginia Mr. James had been pastor at Pulaski. While there he held a meeting at the
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church's Mt. Olivet mission which resulted in the bap- tism of nineteen persons, seven of whom were buried with Christ in baptism in a running stream (the baptis- tery was undergoing repairs), a new scene, the pastor believed, to many in the large crowd. His ordination took place in King William County, July 4, 1893, and his first pastorate was at Sharon and Colosse Churches, in King William County, Virginia, where for seven years he labored. His preparation for the ministry was made at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. At the age of thirteen years he had been baptized into the fellowship of the Wilderness Church by Rev. W. A. Hill. He was born at Bristerburg, Fauquier County, Virginia, July 21, 1861, the first year of the Civil War, his parents being Benjamin Hiter James and Nancy Maria James. After an illness of a few weeks he passed away at Graham, Va., on Friday, November 2, 1906, and the following Sunday the funeral services were held at Pamplin City, Va., being conducted by Rev. S. H. Thompson, assisted by Rev. J. J. Cook, Rev. S. R. Winn, and Rev. P. T. Warren. The burial took place in the family cemetery of Hon. John W. Harwood. His daughter, Ellen Holmden Harwood, who became Mr. James' wife November 24, 1897, survived her husband.
ALFRED ELIJAH DICKINSON 1830-1906
The Dickinson family has for several centuries given to England and America many distinguished and useful men and women. The founder of the family is believed by careful students to have been Walter of Caen, whose name appears with those who came over to England from Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066, and whose name also is found upon the battle roll of Hast- ings. "According to an English record, in order to Anglicize his name he received a grant of land in the old Saxon manor of Kenson near the city of Leads, York- shire." Walter de Kenson easily was changed to Walter Dickenson or Dickinson.
Henry Dickinson emigrated from London to America in 1654, settled in Virginia, and was the direct ancestor of the subject of this sketch. Among the many famous men bearing the name in our Colonial and Revolutionary period were Jonathan Dickinson, first President of Princeton College, and John Dickinson, member of the Colonial and of the Continental congresses, President of Pennsylvania, and one of the greatest political writers of his time.
In quite recent years two bearing the name have been members of the Cabinet at Washington. However, it may be justly said that few, if any, individuals of this family have been so widely known or so genuinely useful to humanity as Alfred Elijah Dickinson, who was born December 3, 1830, in Orange County, Virginia. His father, Ralph Dickinson, was a successful farmer and a quiet, devoted Christian. His mother, whose maiden
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name was Frances A. S. Quisenberry, was of a well- known family and a woman of great vigor of body and mind and of a warm, impulsive heart. While the subject of this sketch was an infant the family moved to Louisa County, where his father purchased a large plantation in sight of the lower Blue Ridge Mountains and about two miles from Trevilian's Station on the Chesapeake & Ohio R. R. This locality and county were always very dear to Alfred E. Dickinson, and throughout his life he revisited these scenes many times each year. The old home was full of happy children, always open for visitors, and permeated with a strong Christian spirit. The parents were members of Foster Creek (now Berea) Baptist Church, and here Alfred was baptized, when about seventeen years of age, by Rev. E. G. Shipp. He felt an overwhelming desire to preach, and, being urged to aid in a new and struggling church recently organ- ized a few miles away at Forest Hill, he took his church letter to that body. After several months he was both licensed to preach and ordained there. At this time he was teaching a small school near his father's home. One day in the spring the famous and devoted Dr. Robert Ryland, President of Richmond College, appeared at the home, spent the afternoon and night there, talked with the young teacher about his life purposes, and, before he left, had made him promise to enter college. The next fall (1849) Alfred entered Richmond College, where he studied until his graduation in 1852. During his three vacation summers he worked as a missionary colporteur in the Goshen Association, going, on horseback, from house to house and from church to church with Bibles and good books, and preaching as opportunity offered. This was a very helpful experience, and often in later years he urged a similar work upon men thinking of entering the ministry. It was while at Richmond College
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that he formed the acquaintance of Miss Frances E. Taylor, daughter of the eminent and godly Rev. Dr. James B. Taylor. This acquaintance, a few years later, ripened into a happy marriage that took place in 1857. After graduating at Richmond College, Dr. Dickinson taught school for a session in Louisa County (one of his pupils became the honored Greek teacher, Herbert H. Harris), and preached for a year at the Lower and Upper Gold Mine Churches in the vicinity. He then studied at the University of Virginia two sessions, where he formed many happy and lifelong friendships. While there he was asked to become pastor of the Baptist Church at Charlottesville to succeed the famous John A. Broadus, who was about to begin a term of service as Chaplain of the University of Virginia. Dr. Dickin- son's two years' pastorate at the Charlottesville Church was marked by several great revivals, and he baptized hundreds of converts. In his diary of that period we have this entry for one Sunday: "I baptized this day four times." After two years he removed to Richmond, where he had been invited to come as Super- intendent of Baptist Colportage and Sunday-School Work of the State, which then meant all of Virginia from the Ohio River to the ocean. For nine years he held this important and laborious position, and it was one of the most fruitful and thrilling periods of his life. Thousands of ministers and Sunday-school missionaries and colporteurs were employed, hundreds of Sunday schools and churches were organized, thousands of per- sons were converted, and large sums of money were secured. The guiding, energizing human agent behind all this was Alfred E. Dickinson. During this period raged the terrible Civil War, the chief theater of which was the State of Virginia. For four years Dr. Dickin- son pushed his work among the soldiers, and in one year
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raised one hundred and eighty thousand dollars for the distribution of Bibles and religious books and for other work in the Army of Northern Virginia. He traveled widely, toiled unceasingly, preached continually, made warm friendships with many famous military and political leaders, including Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and held a number of great revival meetings among the soldiers. At the close of the Civil War he became pastor of the Leigh Street Baptist Church, then and now one of the largest churches in Richmond. This was a very happy pastorate, and lasted for five years, and was marked by several great revivals. One of these came as a great surprise, when apparently few were pray- ing for it. This revival lasted, with great spiritual power, for several months, and about two hundred were baptized as the fruit, in part, of the meetings. Dr. Dickinson afterwards rejoiced to trace this spiritual quickening to the prayers of one quiet and aged woman. While pastor of Leigh Street Church the honored Rev. Dr. J. B. Jeter called on him one morning to invite him to join with him in the editorship and publication of the Religious Herald, whose office had been burned at the close of the War. The paper itself, one of the oldest and most influential journals in the United States, had suspended publication for some time. In the fall of 1865 the firm of Jeter & Dickinson was formed for control and editorship of this paper. One of the keynotes of both editors was peace, the healing of the wounds of the Civil War. Probably no man did more than Dr. Dickinson, by pen and voice and his spirit of conciliation, to bring together North and South in a new fellowship of Christian love and service. He was a brilliant writer of editorial paragraphs, and the success of the paper for several decades was largely due to the fertility of his resources. He traveled widely and continually, attending religious gatherings all over
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the country; he gave his aid to every worthy cause, helping scores of struggling churches and young men studying for the ministry. He preached more frequently than many settled pastors do. Several times he under- took the work of a financial agent for Richmond College, and the present endowment of that institution is in a good measure due to him. He held temporary pastorates in the Pine Street and Fulton Churches, Richmond, and the First Church, Manchester, and in a number of country churches, and in several cases was the leader in the erection of new church buildings. It is estimated that more than fifty young men were aided by him through the years in preparing for the Christian ministry. It was his delight to aid pastors in evangelistic meetings, and he had remarkable gifts of pathos and persuasion in this work.
Dr. Dickinson always cherished a warm and affection- ate interest in the colored people, frequently preaching in their churches, counseling with their ministers, and trying in every way to uplift them religiously and educa- tionally. When, a few years after the Civil War, the American Baptist Home Mission Society started a theo- logical school for colored preachers in Richmond, he was one of the chief helpers. Dr. S. F. Smith, the famous author of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," came to Rich- mond for some days to study the field, and was the guest, while there, at Dr. Dickinson's home, and wrote later of the invaluable aid received from him. Between him and Dr. Charles H. Corey, the president of that school for many years, there was a warm and intimate friendship until death came.
He was married to Miss Frances E. Taylor in 1857, to Miss M. Lou Barksdale in 1879, and to Miss Bessie Bagby in 1899. The children who survive him are Rev. Dr. James Taylor Dickinson, Miss Nellie Taylor Dickin-
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son, Mrs. Samuel M. Torian, Miss Janie P. Dickinson, and Mrs. Edward A. Hobbs.
Among the characteristics of Dr. Dickinson, those who knew him before his last sickness would always think of his exuberant vitality. Six feet in height, well rounded in figure, his face ruddy with health, his step quick and elastic, his eyes sparkling with happiness and humor, his bodily presence arrested attention in any assembly, and his simple geniality, kindly wit, and unostentatious piety won friends in any household. By intuition and experi- ence he possessed a shrewd knowledge of human nature which served him well in many a difficult situation. He was a wide and rapid reader of books, with a special fondness for biography. For many years he always kept close at hand the life of some religious leader, into which he would dip after his morning Scripture meditation. He was especially fond of the biographies of those saintly men Edward Payson and Robert Murray McCheyne, and read and re-read them many times. He had a deep and unspeakable love and reverence for the Bible, and the first hour of each day, following the morning meal, he gave to loving reading and study of it. Familiar with much of modern thought, the New Testament in its story, parable, and inspiration lifted itself in his thought and reverence high above all the dust of human controversy to the heights of heaven. In its revelation of Christ and God and duty and immortality it met his own sense of need.
Dr. Dickinson had great gifts as a popular speaker and preacher. Humor and pathos, a rare fund of illustra- tions, sympathy with humanity and the individual, and a power of ad hominen appeal-these were some of the sources of his influence as a speaker.
As an illustration of some of his bright experiences as a traveler and of some of his genial and effective charac-
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teristics as a speaker and a man, it will be of interest to introduce here Dr. Dickinson's own account in the Religious Herald, written several years before his death, of one of his visits to the North to secure funds for Richmond College. The " 'possum story" alluded to, he told with inimitable humor and charm at many gather- ings in the North, and after the passage of about twenty years it is still vividly remembered by those who heard it from his lips. Dr. Dickinson's account is as follows :
"Some twelve years ago I visited Boston in the interest of Baptist educational work in Virginia and the South, and obtained permission to deliver an address on a Sun- day afternoon in Tremont Temple on 'The Truth about the South.' The subject was well advertised, and I had a large congregation. The next morning I found that my remarks were reproduced almost verbatim in the most widely circulated Republican paper of the city. I called to thank the editor of that paper for the kindness he had done me; but he said: 'You owe me no thanks. Your people at the South do not believe it, but the truth about the South is just what many of us up here most desire to know, and, hence, as soon as I ascertained that that would be the subject of your address I determined to print a full report of it.' That great daily was then, and is now, the leading Republican paper in New England. For much of the success I had in Boston I am indebted to that Republican editor. The same little talk on 'The Truth about the South' I repeated in many places and with good results.
"I sought the President of the Baptist Social Union of Boston and asked to be permitted to speak at the meet- ing of that body, which was to be held at Tremont Temple the same day on which I made the request. He replied that the arrangements were all made and there could now be no change in the programme; but he
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gave me a ticket which entitled me to a seat on the plat- form and said: 'You can not speak on this occasion. At some future time we may hear you, provided you make no appeal for money. The Social Union has very strict rules on that subject, and nothing is allowed looking to raising money at these monthly gatherings, unless the circumstances are very peculiar and very urgent.' I took the hint and the ticket and heard a very fine address from Governor Long, now a member of Mr. McKinley's Cabinet, then Governor of the State of Massachusetts, and one from Bishop Brooks, now deceased, but then the great Episcopal preacher of New England, and one from a certain distinguished Congregationalist, whose name I can not now recall. No one of the speakers was a Bap- tist, but all three of them said handsome things about the Baptists. Just as the last speaker closed, the president stepped over to me and whispered thus: 'I will call on you for a three-minute talk if you will not speak longer than that and if you will not say anything about the object of your visit to Boston-not a word about money.' Then he said to the audience: 'We have heard from these distinguished brethren of other denomina- tions, and here is a Baptist brother from old Virginia, an ex-rebel, who wishes to say a word. Shall we give him just three minutes-that much and no more?' I began by saying that I had often heard of "Free-Speech Boston," and that no man could be gagged in Boston, but that limiting me to three minutes reminded me of an old colored man down in old Virginia who went 'possum hunting. He came back about midnight, tired and hungry and sleepy, but he had his 'possum. He dressed it and put it in a skillet and placed it on a few hot embers and said: 'Now, old 'pos., you cook here while I get a little nap.' Then he threw himself down on his cot and was in a moment sound asleep. But while he
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was asleep another colored brother came in and found the 'possum all right and ate it. He then pushed the table, on which was the plate, with knife and fork and bones, up against the sleeper, and, that there might be no doubt as to who ate the 'possum, he rubbed some of the gravy upon the sleeper's lips and then slipped out. After a while the sleeper awoke, and, before his eyes were well open, he began saying to himself: 'This is the hungriest nigger God ever made; but I have a good 'possum, and it's all right now.' Then, looking around and failing to see the skillet, he said : 'How is this? There was no one here but the 'possum and me, and now the 'possum is not here.' And then, seeing the plate and the bones lying by him, he said: 'Well, I must have eaten that possum, for here's the plate and the bones and the gravy upon my lips. Of course I must have eaten that 'possum ; but never have I had a 'possum to lie so light upon my stomach and to give me so little consolation as that 'possum.'
" 'Brethren,' said I, 'it's that way with me to-night. To come so far and to be dealt with this way gives me no consolation at all.' From every part of the room came cries : 'Tell what you came to Boston for,' and the presiding officer said: 'Brethren, you have taken the responsibility off of me. Now the brother can tell it, if you insist upon his doing so.' They did insist, and I told it as well as I could under the circumstances.
"Now, concerning the collection. Well, there was none taken-none at all; but they gathered around me and took me by the hand and said pleasant things. A dear old brother of more than fourscore years said: 'Meet me at my office on Devonshire Street at 10 o'clock to-morrow morning. Sharp,' said he, 'at 10.' Of course I was there on time, although a great snow storm was sweeping over Boston that morning. The first thing the
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old gentleman said to me as he came into his office and threw off his overcoat was: 'You have gotten me into trouble.' And then he explained : 'My wife asked me at breakfast this morning what it was that I was laughing about in my sleep last night, and I told her it was your 'possum story, and I undertook to tell the story to her, but failed in the attempt, and I left my family laughing at the idea that I should enjoy a thing so much as to laugh about it in my sleep and yet be unable to explain it in my waking hours. I wish you to tell it over to me, that I may tell it to my family when I go home to din- ner.' Then, pausing a moment, he said: 'Wait until I can go out and bring my brother and my nephew in, that they may hear it too.' In a few minutes he returned with his brother and his nephew, and, locking the door, he said : 'We are all ready now. Let us have the 'possum story.' Then he said: 'Stop; tell us what a 'possum is. Is it a thing that flies or something that crawls?' I answered his question, and then repeated the story-and then wrote the old man's name in my book for $1.000 for Richmond College, and his brother's name for $250; but the nephew said: 'Please excuse me. I think my father and uncle have paid enough on that 'possum for the whole family'."
Dr. Dickinson, as a writer, not only had remarkable gifts as a racy paragraphist and as a reporter of religious assemblies and as a writer of editorials, but he also was the author of a number of religious and denominational booklets and pamphlets which have had a very wide influ- ence. One of these has been translated into several European languages.
Dr. Dickinson was by nature warm-hearted and impulsive. This natural impulsiveness, while often a source of power, sometimes brought him into trying situations. Those who knew him longest and most inti-
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mately believed that the two mighty forces back of his long life of unceasing activity and world-wide helpful- ness were personal devotion to Christ and ever-growing love for humanity. He had a deep, personal experience of God's redeeming grace in Christ, and he adored the Saviour as the only refuge of the soul. From early years to the end of his life he had a yearning love and sym- pathy for men and women and children-for the com- mon people. He could always see in the humblest types- and especially in young people-great treasures of spirit- ual possibility. So, as sorrow and disappointment and death came again and again, and as the swift years bore him on, and as at last, after long sickness, he came, at the age of seventy-six, to face the end of all things earthly, he was not cynical or bitter or lonely. The love and prayers of a great multitude of friends seemed to bear up his heart. The Saviour was very vivid to his faith and consciousness. Despite the long sickness and the weary body and the failing mind, it was light in the evening when his spirit passed away, November 20, 1906.
James Taylor Dickinson.
SIMEON U. GRIMSLEY 1839-1906
On January 16, 1879, a man who had worn, with courage and honor, the uniform of a Confederate soldier, was being set apart for leadership in the army of King Immanuel. This ordination service was held at Mt. Horeb Church, Caroline County, Virginia, a church organized in 1773. The new preacher in the ranks of the gospel ministry was Simeon U. Grimsley, who, having been born in the city of Richmond in 1839, was in his fortieth year. In 1876 he was licensed to preach by the Smyrna Church, Caroline County. His first charge was Mt. Horeb, Mt. Hermon, and Providence Churches, Caroline County, in the Dover and Rappahannock Asso- ciations. His salary did not warrant him in keeping a horse, but he "kept his appointments," though this meant walking, and his churches were not near together. In 1883 he accepted a call to the Union Church, on the Chincoteague Island. This island, lying in the Atlantic Ocean, and off the coast of Accomac County, is famous for its ponies that run wild, and once a year are sold for good prices. At the time of Mr. Grimsley's going to the island it was "dominated by an exceedingly immoral spirit. Religion was little more than bald fanaticism. Intemperance was rampant, and the outlook generally was dismal indeed." The new pastor was equal to the situation, and in five years the condition of things was very different; the saloons had been put out of commis- sion and his church was one of the best organized and largest in the Accomac Association. When he died the church had a well-appointed meeting-house and a good
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parsonage, and was forward in every good work. In view of the fact that he had had no training in the schools, his preaching was most remarkable, being always earnest, thoughtful, devout, and scriptural. He was effective in evangelistic meetings. He was a man of great moral courage, and was never known "to quail in the face of foe, man, or devil."
"For many weary months, in pain and suffering, he lingered, a helpless paralytic; with blended faith and hope he rested on the sure mercies of God." On Thurs- day, November 29, 1906, he passed to his reward. This sketch, in the main, is based on articles from the pen of Rev. J. W. Hundley.
RICHARD EDWARDS 1860(?)-1907
One of the gifts of the Portsmouth Association to the Baptist ministry of Virginia was Rev. Richard Edwards. His ordination, which took place in June, 1892, at his mother church, Millfield, had back of it a long and hard struggle for an education. His lack of funds might have altogether blocked his way, but Rev. Joseph F. Deans, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this volume, proved a friend indeed, enabling the young man to attend, for his secondary schooling, the Windsor Academy. From here he passed to Richmond College and then to Crozer Theological Seminary. His first charge upon leaving the Seminary was a field made up of the Jerusalem and Farnham Churches, in the Rappa- hannock Association. Here he labored for thirteen years, being warmly and deservedly esteemed. Towards all classes he was "cordial, warm-hearted, sympathetic, and unfailingly considerate and kind." The children, the Sunday school, the young people's meeting, the young men and girls, all had a place in his thought and care. From this field in Richmond County he went, in May, 1905, to take charge of Modest Town and Mappsville Churches, in Accomac. Here he soon "established him- self in the esteem and confidence of the people as a man of deep and unaffected piety and a minister of zeal, prudence, and singleness of aim in the Master's service." His gifts were "solid rather than shining, and his style of preaching was rather direct, simple, and practical than ornate and eloquent. The man, the true man, was behind his speech and gave it power." He was mar-
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