USA > Virginia > Virginia Baptist ministers. 5th series, 1902-1914, with supplement > Part 14
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Amidst the multiplied activities of his pastorates he still found occasions to aid other pastors in special meet- ings, and in many parts of the State and beyond its bounds his labors were blessed in the conversion of hundreds of souls, and many a mature Christian along the track of these labors gratefully acknowledged that he derived from his earnest spirit and burning words impulses towards a higher and holier life.
Our brother was for thirty-five years a member of the Rappahannock Association, and during this long period was never absent from one of its annual sessions. He served this body as clerk for over twenty years, and became a recognized and trusted leader in its affairs. His deep interest, sound judgment, fervid speech, and
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cordial manner bound the brotherhood to him in con- fiding and tender bonds. When death removed him from them they placed on their minutes this testimonial to his work: "The Rappahannock Association has sustained no greater loss in thirty years or more; we shall not soon see his like again." He was scarcely less interested in the General Association and its work, and had become a familiar figure in its sessions. He served often on important committees in that body, and his voice was not infrequently heard in addresses and discussions before it.
For a year or more previous to his death he showed symptoms of failing health, but his ever-sanguine and hopeful temperament forbade his looking upon his con- dition as serious. A fatal malady, however, was insidi- ously preying upon his vitals, and in the spring of 1908 his loss of flesh, frequent inability to retain his food, and growing weakness made the suspension of his work imperative. All that the tenderest care of friends, the thoughtful kindness of his churches, the skill of phy- sicians, and the change of scene could do, was done for his relief; but it was God's will that he should lay his armor down and exchange his cross for his crown, and after weeks of increasing debility, without suffering or loss of his serene and cheerful composure, on the after- noon of July 31, 1908, he gently and calmly fell on sleep.
His burial was made at Upper King and Queen Meeting-House, and the funeral services, on a sweet Lord's Day morning, drew together a sympathetic multi- tude, amongst whom were hundreds whose moistened cheeks and irrepressible sobs betokened their sense of grief and loss. His intimate friend and beloved co- laborer, Andrew Broaddus, delivered the sermon, in the course of which he said: "He was so good, so noble, so brave, so tender and true, so inexpressibly dear to me
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that I know not how to speak. I am overwhelmed, I am crushed, I am broken-hearted. As I think of his life, so crowded with work, so rich with achievements, so fragrant with grace and godliness, my first thought is what a blessing he has been to the world. When God called Abraham to go forth from kindred and country, his parting injunction to him was: 'Be thou a blessing, and so I think when He called Frank Beale to his life's work He gave him the same command. How faithfully he kept it !"
While he reclined on his couch of illness, and the deepening shadows gathered, the Trustees of Richmond College conferred upon him the honorary title of D. D., and when he had been laid to his rest Upper King and Queen Church, and other friends, placed a monument at his grave; Centennial Church commemorated him by changing its name to Beale Memorial; Menokin Church paid him the tribute of a marble tablet beside the pulpit, and the Maryland Avenue Church, of Washington, D. C., held a memorial service in his honor. Thus approved and honored of men, he passed to the high reward of those who, having "turned many to righteousness," "shall shine as the brightness of the firmament" and "as the stars forever and ever."
G. W. Bealc.
I. T. KERN
--- 1908
The obituary in the Minutes of the General Associa- tion of Virginia furnishes the only information secured about the life of Rev. I. T. Kern. His father was the Rev. Isaac Kern, who for fifty-four years preached the gospel in the bounds of the Clinch Valley Association, Southwest Virginia, the same section in which his son preached for fourteen years. The son, whose death occurred about the end of the summer 1908, was a good and faithful minister of Christ. The obituary in the Minutes of the General Association was prepared by Rev. J. B. Craft.
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JOHN BROADUS TURPIN 1848-1909
John Broadus Turpin was born at "Woodwell," Hen- rico County, Virginia, the home of his maternal grand- father, Jesse Frayser Keesee, September 28, 1848. His father's father was Rev. Miles Turpin, whose name is associated with Four Mile Creek Baptist Church, his only pastorate. His parents were Elisha Straughan Turpin and Elizabeth Keesee. When he was five years old his parents moved to Richmond. He attended school, as a boy, in Richmond, and was a diligent scholar. As he passed from boyhood to youth he was able to escape the temptations of this period of life, and one who knew him well testifies that "no impure word ever escaped his lips, no doubtful associations soiled his life." While still a youth he made a profession of religion and was bap- tized into the fellowship of the Leigh Street Baptist Church by the pastor, Rev. Dr. J. B. Solomon. A little later he, with two other youths, S. C. Clopton and J. A. French, came into fine fellowship and friendship during a great meeting in the pastorate of Rev. Dr. A. E. Dick- inson. While still a youth he manifested great interest in public speaking and talent in that direction. He loved to frequent the court room, where he heard many of the ablest lawyers of the day. In a Temperance Society of the Leigh Street Sunday School, and in the Church Hill Literary Society he took an active part. Although at this period of his life he was for a season a clerk in the hardware store of James L. Porter, 17th and Franklin Streets, his ambition pointed to a path in which public speaking was important. Soon he decided to be a lawyer.
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With this hope he entered Richmond College. A spell of sickness having prevented his completing the academic course, he became a member of the law class, and in 1871 received, along with C. V. Meredith and others, his B. L. diploma. At the same commencement J. E. L. Holmes won his B. A. degree. He and Mr. Turpin, during their student days, had established in Fulton, a section of Richmond, a German Sunday School.
The young lawyer set out upon his chosen profession. Before long, however, he was laid low by a very severe spell of illness. His life hung in the balance. He came near to the gates of death. Public prayers were offered for his recovery. Upon his restoration to health he informed his loved ones that during his illness he had made a vow that if his life was spared he would become a minister of the gospel. He at once took steps to keep his vow. He abandoned the law, and, without any train- ing at a theological seminary, began to preach. He supplied for a season, first at a church in King William County, and then for Dr. Thomas Hume, Jr., the pastor of the First Church of Danville, Va. Shortly after Mr. Turpin decided to become a preacher, Rev. A. H. Sands congratulated him on the change he was making, saying that it was harder to preach than to be a lawyer. Mr. Turpin replied that doubtless to do both was still harder. (Mr. Sands was for a time both preacher and lawyer. )
Upon being called to the Black Walnut field, in Hali- fax County, Virginia, his ordination to the ministry took place, at Leigh Street Baptist Church, June 22, 1873. Dr. J. L. Burrows preached the sermon, his text being Acts 9:20; Dr. J. B. Jeter delivered the charge, Prof. H. H. Harris made the prayer, and Dr. J. R. Garlick delivered the Bible. The following fall, on November 13, he was married to Miss Susie Lamar Curry, the only daughter of Dr. J. L. M. Curry. Mr. Turpin
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remained in the Halifax pastorate some five years, until he accepted a call to the Baptist Church in Warrenton, Va., to succeed Dr. John L. Carroll. Here another five years were spent, and here Mr. Turpin exhibited some characteristics which were to be important factors in his subsequent career. We see him at Warrenton organizing his young people for Bible study and Christian work. Remember that this was before the days of Christian Endeavor and B. Y. P. U. Societies. He always had great success in reaching and training children and young people of his churches. He deserves the credit of having organized the first young people's society in Virginia, at least in the Baptist ranks. While in Warrenton he suf- fered a great sorrow in the death of his wife. She left two children, Mary Lamar and Manly Curry.
On July 4, 1884, Mr. Turpin accepted a call to the Charlottesville Baptist Church. In Charlottesville he did his real life work. He was pastor here twice, first for twelve years and then for eight years. Between these two terms of service in Charlottesville was a pastorate of two and a half years in Americus, Ga., and another at Carrollton, Mo. The fact that he was twice pastor in Charlottesville, each time for so many years, is a sug- gestive commentary on the character of his work in this university town. This church had had such remarkably able pastors as Wm. F. Broaddus, Jno. A. Broadus, and Jno. C. Long, and a mile away was the University of Virginia. Mr. Turpin was a decided success in his work in Charlottesville. He could scarcely be called a great preacher, but he was unquestionably a great pastor. He had great tact, he was interested in people, he remem- bered faces and names, he was systematic and unceasing in his work, he was cordial in his manner, he was skilful in organization, he was careful as to his dress, he knew how to reach young people and children, he was consider- ate of others. Above and beyond all these things, he had
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the "shepherd heart," and he loved God and his neighbor. He was a great believer in tracts, which have been called the side arms in Christian work and warfare, and he always kept a good supply of them on hand, having them so arranged in pigeonholes as to be able, in a moment, to lay his hand on just what he wanted. The Charlottes- ville Church made great demands on their pastor in the matter of visits, and perhaps no pastor ever came nearer meeting these demands than did Mr. Turpin. At one time he had a buggy and a little black horse, and this trio seemed almost ubiquitous. Charlottesville is not a large place, and yet for its population it has magnificent distances. The Sunday school was prosperous in a high degree, and the congregations from week to week were large, while upon an extra occasion, such as a Children's Day, the crowds taxed the capacity of the spacious meeting-house, and a more reverent and enthusiastic crowd it would have been hard to find. While it has been said that Mr. Turpin was not a great preacher, let it not be supposed that he was weak in the pulpit. He was faithful and conscientious in the preparation of his sermons. He was felicitous in his use of illustrations. He did not have a voice of unusual range, but it was pleasant, and he used it well. His manner, when he spoke, was easy yet dignified. He commanded attention for his message. He had a forceful English style. While in Charlottesville Mr. Turpin was an active cham- pion of the temperance cause, and before moving away the second time he had the joy of seeing the town go "dry."
During his first pastorate in Charlottesville his church, (indeed, it might rather be said the town) enjoyed three great revivals of religion. During his second pastorate the present meeting-house, an unusually handsome and attractive structure, was erected. He was ever most gracious to his brethren in the ministry, with a peculiarly
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cordial and helpful spirit towards the young pastor just winning his spurs. . In the Albemarle Association, of which body his church was a member, he was a leader. At the centennial session of the Association, held at Chestnut Grove Church, August 19, 1891, he preached the special historical sermon, which he afterwards enlarged and published in booklet form.
Mr. Turpin was not of a robust physical build. He was often in danger of overtaxing his power. Concern as to his health was one cause of his going to Americus, Ga. While in Americus he was called on to take part in the services at the funeral of Speaker Crisp, of the House of Representatives. The prayer which he made on this occasion so impressed one of the Congressional party that a copy of it was secured for the official printed record of the occasion. In his various pastorates Mr. Turpin was always cordial in his help towards the colored people, and always highly esteemed and loved by them. He had a keen sense of humor, loved a good joke, and with his hearty laugh more than rewarded the one who had furnished the fun. He was himself quite ready with a good story. For commencement addresses he was much in demand, and, at the time of his death, was engaged for speeches at two such functions. During his second pastorate in Charlottesville he was married to Miss Rosa Bibb Smith, the daughter of J. Marion and Nellie Timberlake Smith. Miss Smith was of Albemarle County, and this marriage took place at the First Baptist Church, Charlottesville, September 3, 1890. She sur- vives her husband. On Wednesday, January 20, 1915, she was married at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Vir- ginia, to Judge William Francis Rhea.
When Mr. Turpin resigned at Charlottesville the second time it was to accept the pastorate of the First Baptist Church of Parkersburg, W. Va. Scarcely had he been on this field a year when, February 3, 1909, he departed this life. The body was laid to rest in "Holly- wood," Richmond.
JOHN WILLIAM JONES 1836-1909 r
A class poem, called "The Boys," written in 1859 by Oliver Wendell Holmes, has these lines descriptive of Dr. S. F. Smith, the author of our national hymn :
"And there's a nice youngster of excellent pith, Fate tried to conceal him by naming him Smith ; But he shouted a song for the brave and the free, Just read on his medal 'My Country of Thee'."
The name of John William Jones is so associated with the Civil War and with its two great generals, Lee and Jackson, that he, like S. F. Smith, has overcome the dis- advantage of having a name borne by so many.
On the morning of April 17, 1861, as the Louisa Blues, a volunteer company, were drilling on the court- house green at Louisa Court House, Va., a telegram from the Governor of the State ordered the company to be ready to leave for the front by sunset. At that hour a great crowd gathered to see the young soldiers depart. A venerable minister of the gospel spoke tender words of farewell and made an earnest prayer to God. Amidst tears and shouts these boys, who were to wear the gray, went off. John William Jones was a member of this company. He was the son of Col. Francis William and Ann Pendleton Ashby, having been born at Louisa Court House, September 25, 1836. In a protracted meeting at Mechanicsville Baptist Church, Louisa County, in August, 1855, under the preaching of Rev. George B. Taylor, Mr. Jones was converted and baptized. That fall he entered the University of Virginia. This session his roommate was John C. Hiden, and they had as their
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quarters Room No. 1, Mrs. Daniel's boarding house. This room, which was close to the dining-room, became the rendezvous, after supper, for a half-hour of fun and song before hard work began, such men as these drop- ping in: H. H. and Jerry Harris, Tom Hume, John L. Johnson, Eddie Bowie, John C. James, Cullingworth, Estes, and Boston-not an idler among them, all fine students. During his student days Mr. Jones was an earnest Christian. He was active in the Y. M. C. A., which was organized in 1858, the first college Y. M. C. A. in the world. Its constitution was adopted October 12, and when the officers were elected the place of treasurer was given to Mr. Jones. This Association organized a prayer-meeting in every boarding house and in every sec- tion of the University, established Bible classes, kept up a well-attended prayer-meeting Sunday afternoon, sent out teachers and workers to Sunday schools and religious services in destitute sections within eight or ten miles of the University, and, under the superintendence of Dr. John B. Minor, maintained a negro Sunday school. In this work Mr. Jones took deep interest. From Sunday to Sunday, although he did not love to walk, he tramped five miles to teach in a Sunday school among the mountains. During a protracted meeting held in the University, under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A., there were in his dormitory eight students; the four who were professors of religion made special effort and prayer for the other four, and before the meeting closed all eight were followers of Jesus. From the University he went to Greenville, S. C., to attend the first session of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His name stands as the first matriculate of the Seminary, he being one of the ten that Virginia sent that year, the total enrollment being twenty-six. On June 10, 1860, at the Baptist Church, Charlottesville, four young men, namely,
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Crawford H. Toy, John L. Johnson, James B. Taylor, Jr., and John William Jones, were ordained to the gospel ministry. Less than a month later, on July 3, Mr. Jones was accepted by the Foreign Mission Board, in Rich- mond, for work in Canton, China. This year was a most eventful one for him. On December 20, at "Oak- ley," Nelson County, a country residence commanding a fine view, he was married to Miss Judith Page Helm, who was to prove in every way a noble helpmeet. (The cere- mony was performed by Dr. Wm. D. Thomas.) In 1888, at a District Association, a lady came up to Dr. Jones and said: "Do you not know me? I was a bridesmaid at your marriage." He was candid enough to admit that he did not recognize her, whereupon a friend suggested that his attention had been so centered on the bride that he did not see any one else. This same winter he became pastor of the Little River Baptist Church, Louisa County, with a once-a-month appoint- ment.
In the spring of 1861 the "blast of war" sounded in the ears of the Southern people, and, as already men- tioned, Mr. Jones went out with a company from his own county. It was not long before he became a chaplain in the army, but it is interesting to note that he went out as a private. It was during the first year of the mighty struggle, when the first flush of victory had lowered the moral tone in the Southern Army, that a brigadier- general fell off his horse on review and lay drunk in his quarters for weeks, with sentinels to guard him. One of these sentinels was our young soldier, who, speaking of this episode, says: "For many a weary hour I paced the sentinel's beat in front of those headquarters, my only orders being not to disturb the general." Mr. Jones tells of another disgraceful scene. Gambling became common and open. Col. A. P. Hill ordered the officer of the
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guard to take a file of men and capture the faro-bank that was doing a big business. Mr. Jones, one of the detail, was stationed at the door, with orders to arrest all who attempted to escape. The first who tried to pass out was a prominent politician, who was fond of gaming, and who was on a visit to his son. He protested against being detained, saying that he was a citizen and a mem- ber of the Legislature, but the young soldier's bayonet prevented his escape. These two events are the more striking in this life story, as the subject of this sketch was so associated with the religious life of the Army of Northern Virginia. First as chaplain, and then as army evangelist, he sought in every way the physical and spiritual welfare of the soldiers. For the full story of the religious life of the army, and the part that Mr. Jones bore in it, the reader must turn to "Christ in the Camp," a book which, a few years ago, Dr. B. H. Carroll, of Texas, described as "priceless," and as "a great Virginia book" that should "live forever." This volume, prepared by Dr. Jones after the War, was largely based on his own experiences and on the letters that he wrote from camp to the Religious Herald, Christian Index, and other papers. In the first personal interviews that Mr. Jones had with Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson his business was the religious interests of the soldiers and officers. In February, 1864, when the army was on the Rapidan, Rev. B. T. Lacy and he went to General Lee, a committee from the Chaplains' Association, in reference to a better observance of the Sabbath. They were received with "marked courtesy and respect," the great man's eye brightening and his whole face glowing with pleasure as he heard details in regard to the great revival that was then sweeping through his army, and, the day after, he issued a "general order" calling for a reduction, to the minimum, of military work on Sunday, and expressing
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satisfaction that there were houses of worship and religious services in the camp. Mr. Jones' first interview with "Stonewall" Jackson was when, on July 4, 1861, the army being drawn up in line of battle at Darkesville to meet General Patterson, he sought permission for a colporteur, Rev. C. F. Fry, to distribute Bibles and tracts in the lines. His request was at once granted and the colporteur introduced. Along with many other chaplains, Mr. Jones was active "in season and out of season," preaching, distributing Bibles and other good literature, working in revivals, and seeking, by letters to the public press, to secure more chaplains for the work. As a rule there was preaching every day, and, at least once, Mr. Jones preached four times in one day. On Sunday, September 6, 1863, he preached at six o'clock in the morning to his own brigade, at eleven o'clock he attended an ordination service at the Orange Court House Baptist Church, in the afternoon he witnessed, along with a crowd of five thousand men, the baptism, in a creek near the railroad, of eighty-two soldiers, and at dusk he preached, by the light of fire stands, to five thousand men seated on logs. Once, when he reached his appointment for preaching, it was raining, and he suggested that per- haps the service could not be held, but the men wanted to stay, and so the sermon was preached in the rain. On another occasion the sermon had not been reached when a shell fell in the midst of the congregation; at the sug- gestion of the officer in charge, the congregation moved to a more protected place and the sermon was delivered. One of the most beautiful features of the religious work in the army was the fraternal spirit of the ministers of the various denominations. No one was more fully possessed with this spirit than Mr. Jones, yet he was withal a most decided Baptist. Dr. T. D. Witherspoon, a distinguished Presbyterian minister, told, as a joke on
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Jones, a story that was possibly more of a joke on him- self. It was customary in the army that when a soldier, upon a profession of faith, desired to unite with some other denomination than that of the minister conducting the service, he was directed to a minister of the denomi- nation of his choice. Upon the invitation of Dr. Wither- spoon, Dr. Jones had gone over to his brigade, cut the ice on a mill-pond, and baptized a number of men. In the service he had read, without comment, some of the . Scripture passages bearing on baptism. The next day one of the men went to Chaplain Witherspoon and said : "I do not think you ought to invite Brother Jones to come over here any more." When asked why he felt this way, the man replied that he did not think that Brother Jones had a right to read to the crowd "all of them Baptist Scriptures." In one of his reports Mr. Jones stated that during the year he had baptized 222 candidates, having preached 161 sermons. At another time his record showed that in one month he baptized 67 men. Once at Peyton's Ford, on the Rapidan River, when the stream, owing to recent rains, was very swift, he baptized twelve young men; an old citizen told him that fifty years before, at the same place, Mrs. General Madison, sister-in-law to the President, had been baptized, the President and a great crowd being present. On two occasions Mr. Jones baptized in the Rapidan in full view of the Union pickets, but there was no motion on their part to interrupt the ordinance. Once, in 1864, on a moonlight night, after a sermon in Wright's Georgia Brigade, Mr. Jones received nine for baptism, but scarcely had he announced that the ordinance would take place the next morning at nine o'clock when the "long roll" sounded, and in a few moments the men were on the march towards what proved to be a series of bloody battles. Before there was another chance to baptize these
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