USA > Virginia > Virginia Baptist ministers. 5th series, 1902-1914, with supplement > Part 16
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Mr. Funk was married twice, his first wife being Miss Louie Burkholder, of Rockingham County, and his second, Miss Mary E. Cowger, of Pendleton County, West Virginia. Mr. Boyd H. Funk, of Bedford City, is a son of the first marriage. Mr. Funk was the author of the "Life and Labors of Elder John Kline," a volume of 480 pages, published, in 1900, at Elgin, Il1. John Kline was "a Dunker preacher of note, who lived at Broadway, Va., and who was shot to death near his home in 1864-a martyr to good works."
The story is told of Robert Hall, the famous preacher, that once after he had returned from the asylum, where he had been confined for some time, a man said to him : "Mr. Hall, what sent you to the asylum?" The great man's answer was: "Brains, sir, brains, what will never send you there." Not long before his death, after a general breakdown, Mr. Funk's mind was impaired, and he was taken to the asylum at Staunton. He was a man of such bright and vigorous intellect that Robert Hall's reply could be applied in his case. He passed away at Staunton, July 1, 1909, and the funeral took place at the Singer's Glen Baptist Church, July 3d.
SAMUEL GRIFFIN MASON 1831-1909
Not only as pastor of various churches in Franklin and Henry Counties, but also in schoolhouses and out-of-the- way places was the voice of Samuel Griffin Mason heard as he proclaimed the glad tidings of the gospel. He was born in Franklin County, September 23, 1831, and began preaching about the year 1870, soon after which time he was ordained, upon the call of the Providence Church, of which body he was a member. His work as a preacher, stopped only by declining health, continued up to about two years before his death. During this period he served these churches: Stoney Creek, Trinity, Mill Creek, and Sandy Ridge, in Franklin County, and Mt. Vernon, in Henry. He was pastor of Trinity some twenty years. He served all through the Civil War, proving himself a faithful soldier. He was twice mar- ried, his first wife, to whom he was married in Decem- ber, 1855, being Miss Eliza Pedigo, of Henry County. She died October 26, 1896. He was married June 15, 1904, to Miss Anna Barbour, of Snow Hill, Va .; she survived him. He died December 18, 1909. He was the nephew of Rev. Samuel Griffin Mason, a sketch of whose life is found in "Lives of Virginia Baptist Minis- ters," Fourth Series.
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JOHN RHODES QUARLES 1849-1909
The death of Mr. John Rhodes Quarles, Sr., when the son who bore his name was still a youth, led to this youth's being sent to the home of his uncle, where he grew up. This uncle, Dr. Charles Quarles, after many years of successful practice as a physician, became a minister of the gospel. As a layman he was a leader in religious work, and through the zeal of him and others their church became one of the most efficient in the upper end of the Goshen Association. Since his father's home was broken up, the young man was fortunate to be able to live in his uncle's household. This home had a good library, and was not far from the Mechanicsville Baptist Church. Dr. Quarles had the aptitudes of a scholar, and was withal a courteous, cordial, Christian gentleman. Young Quarles, who was born July 17, 1849, was first a student at the Gordonsville Academy and then at Rich- mond College (1870-71). His hope as to the gospel min- istry and as to his college career was marred by a trouble with his eyes ; so he turned to farming and teaching. On a portion of his father's estate he established himself, and, in 1873, was married to Miss Emma Wheeler, of Albe- marle County. Here he reared a family of five children. His work on the farm and in the schoolroom did not prevent great activity along religious lines. More and more pastors sought his help for supply and protracted- meeting work, and at last, when he was forty-five years of age, a call to the regular pastorate came to him. His shrinking from this high calling was overcome, and on December 30, 1894, his ordination took place at Mechan-
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icsville Church. The churches to which he ministered in the remaining fifteen years of his life were Lower Gold Mine and Waldrops, Louisa County, in the Goshen Association ; and Preddy's Creek, Free Union, and Slate Hill, Albemarle County, in the Albemarle Association. Two of these churches, Waldrops and Preddy's Creek, under his faithful preaching and leadership, broke away from the time-honored, but not ideal, custom of once-a- month preaching, and, each securing two Sundays a month, formed a field, with him as their pastor. His people were devoted to him, and whenever he preached his meeting-house was crowded. In 1884 he was clerk of the Goshen Association, and from 1903, for some seven years, he filled this office in the Albemarle Associa- tion. In his preaching he honored the Bible and made the sermon the instrument for the accomplishment of good. He was genial and hospitable in his nature, loving to have his friends around him in his home. In this home he was loved with a devotion little short of idolatry, while his love for his dear ones was like a strong, flowing stream. He passed away December 20, 1909, and the funeral, attended by a great concourse of people, took place at the Mechanicsville Church. The services were conducted by Rev. F. H. James, he being assisted by Rev. Mr. Hudson and Rev. Dr. F. H. Martin.
JOHN W. MCCOWN 1833-1910
In that decade of 1830 to 1840, so remarkable in American history for its material development, John W. McCown was born. In 1830 there were only twenty- three miles of railroad in the United States, and perhaps no one ever dreamed, in those days, that the steam engine with its train of cars would come, in less than fifty years, along the Kanawha River and through Put- nam County. It was in this county (now a part of West Virginia) that John W. McCown, one of six children, was born, February 24, 1833. His father, Joseph McCown, was widely known in that section, while his grandfather, Charles Franklin McCown, was a Lieuten- ant in the French and Indian Wars. His mother, Pamela Hughes, was a descendant, through her emigrant ances- tor, of a distinguished Welsh family. Mr. McCown entered Richmond College in 1853, and so began a course of studies in the classics, philosophy and theology, that was to continue through his life. During his college days he was one of a trio of students who came to be known as "The Triumvirate." This name is to be credited rather to college rivalries and animosities than to the callow wit of college fledglings. C. C. Chaplin, J. C. Long, and J. W. McCown formed this "Triumvirate." Years afterwards, when C. C. Chaplin passed away, Long wrote for the Religious Herald a tribute to him, entitled "A Sprig of Acacia," and, when Long died, McCown sent to the same paper an article about the second of the "Triumvirate" to depart, called "Another Sprig of Acacia." In 1857 Mr. McCown graduated at
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the college, the other graduates that year being Edward Epps, W. F. G. Garnett, A. T. Goodwin, John M. Gregory, Stephen E. Morgan, and Isaac T. Wallace. On July 5th, of the same year, Mr. McCown was ordained to the gospel ministry at Grace Street Baptist Church, Richmond, his college friend, Mr. Long, being ordained at the same time. Rev. Dr. R. B. C. Howell and Rev. Dr. J. B. Jeter took part in the service. The same year he was married to Miss Katharine Johnson. She was a daughter of Fullerton Johnson and of Mary Neal, a granddaughter of the distinguished Griffith Dickinson.
Mr. McCown's first pastorate was at Clarksville, Va., and his second in Campbell County. Here he organized a company for service in the Confederate Army, and not long afterwards became a chaplain in Zollicoffer's Brigade, to which he was attached for the rest of his army life. In 1866 he moved to Gordonsville, Orange County, where he lived for twenty-five years, serving, during this period, with fidelity and success, many churches in that general section of country. It is inter- esting to know that in 1868, when he was a missionary of the State Mission Board, the Gordonsville Church, which now numbers 160 members, had 42, and Orange Court House Church, that now has 297, reported only 33. That year Mr. McCown, copying the custom of the Richmond City churches, organized a Sunday School Association, made up of five neighboring Sunday schools, that met once a month. Twice he held pastorates out- side of Virginia, first at Leaksville, N. C., and then, some years later, at Richmond, Ky. For a season he was in charge of the church at Glade Spring, and at two periods of his life he resided at Bowling Green, Va., being pastor of the Calvary Church at that place. Dur- ing his pastorate at Bowling Green a young negro man, who was ignorant, being scarcely above a brute in intelli-
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gence, a most pitiable creature, abject from fear, was tried and hanged at the courthouse. Mr. McCown went daily to see the poor wretch, talking and praying with him, and brought him, it seemed, to a glimmering percep- tion of the grace of God. Then, when the man's fatal day came, he walked with him to the scaffold and held his hand to the last. During the days that he lived at Gordonsville and Bowling Green he served, for longer or shorter periods, the following churches: Upper Gold Mine, Pigeon Run, Liberty, Pleasant Grove, Louisa Court House, North Pamunkey, Upper Zion, Providence (Caroline County), Crooked Run, and Bethel.
His alma mater conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and, if culture and scholarship are the basis of such a degree, he was most worthy of the honor. He was a graceful prose writer, and in his early days he expressed his thoughts in verse. The beauty of his diction was remarkable. Quite recently an old woman gave this testimony : "He wrote me the most touchingly beautiful letter when my father died thirty years ago; I have it yet, and my brother, in another continent, keeps a copy of it." It seems very unfortunate that he did not exercise more freely his remarkable gifts in this direction. His sermons, which are extant, are "fine examples of literary craftsmanship." Not only in his sermons, but also in his prayers, "his artistic temperament found outlet." When he led a congregation in prayer he lifted them away from "sordid things and into the atmosphere of the infinite." His former congregations still speak of his prayers. One of his friends said, a year after his death: "If I could only have him pray with me I could bear, I believe, this heavy sorrow of mine." His keen intellect, his eager thirst for knowledge and service, led him to aspire to wide fields of usefulness, but his sensi- tive nature suffered from the jars of busy life and made
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him shrink from the struggle for place. "He deliberately chose the quiet field for his sowing and there remained to garner a rich harvest of love and appreciation." Not only in mind and heart, but also in person, he was attractive. "His figure was tall and well proportioned, and preserved its youthful slenderness through life. His regular features were modeled with almost feminine delicacy, the nose straight, the mouth sensitive and mobile, the eyes a beautiful blue-gray, the hair black, the broad, virile, thoughtful brow dominating the whole face."
Some ten years before his death a growing weakness of the throat and the breaking down of a body never overstrong, made it necessary for him to give up the labor of the regular pastorate. From this time to the end he was with his own people in Virginia and Ken- tucky. He died in Richmond on January 5, 1910. On the fifth day of the following June a beautiful service to his memory was held at Gordonsville. Addresses were made by Rev. J. B. Cook and Rev. L. J. Haley, and words of appreciation were spoken by many in the congregation. The following day the grave in Maple- wood Cemetery was covered with tall white lilies and a blanket of red roses. The children who survived him were Mrs. Charles P. Winston, Mrs. Carter Helm Jones, Mrs. Louis H. Czapski, Mrs. John Hart, and Albert McCown.
ROBERT BAILEY SANFORD 1846-1910
In the home of his father, Rev. John H. Sanford, a Methodist preacher, on February 28, 1846, Robert Bailey Sanford was born, being one of seven children. His birthplace was at "Federal Hill," a beautiful home overlooking Kinsale, in the historic county of Westmore- land. His mother was Susan Bailey Sanford, a pious woman. "The Sanfords and Baileys have been, since prior to the Revolution, staunch members and supporters of the Methodist Church." When the boy was eleven years old his mother passed away, her last words to him being: "Bailey, my son, be a good boy. God will take care of you." This dying message was never forgotten, and no doubt, under God, had a blessed influence on Bailey's life. At the age of thirteen, and again after the close of the War, he entered as a scholar the Kilmarnock Male Academy, Lancaster County, his teacher, at both periods, being Mr. William Chase. When the War broke out, this youth of fifteen wanted to enlist, but as he was feeble in body his father would not give his consent, and so it was not until he was eighteen that he went forth to the defense of his country, but it was, all his life, a regret to him that he had given only one year of service as a soldier. Upon leaving school he took up his chosen pro- fession of teaching. Late in the night, when he was twenty-two years old, he was converted, and so definite and clear was his experience of God's grace that never, to the end, did he doubt his salvation, and his exemplary Christian life gave others convincing proof of the genuineness of his turning to God. Upon his conversion
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he became a member of the Methodist Church, but after his marriage, which led to a thorough reading of the Scriptures, he united with the Baptists, being baptized by the Rev. A. B. Dunaway in the Corrotman River, Lancaster County. His marriage took place at Merry Point, Lancaster County, Virginia, on March 17, 1869, the bride being Miss Alverta S. Callahan, the accom- plished daughter of Thomas C. and Hannah G. Callahan. She had been educated at the Kilmarnock Seminary, which was presided over by the Rev. Addison Hall. She was a zealous Christian and a staunch Baptist, and a wife who was never weary of helping her husband bear the burdens of life. Upon his conversion Mr. Sanford felt called to preach. This conviction was so strong with him that although the door seemed closed at first for his entry into the ministry, nevertheless he found work, after teaching for some time, as a colporteur, first among the Baptist churches of the Northern Neck and then for the Sunday School and Bible Board of the General Associa- tion. More than once, at later periods in his life, he again engaged in this form of religious work. As a col- porteur, as in everything to which he put his hand, he was conscientious, aiming to do his best. In this sphere of service he began to exercise his gifts as a public speaker, and finally, on May 5, 1889, he was ordained to the gospel ministry, the presbytery being made up of these ministers: J. M. Pilcher, R. R. Acree, James Wright, Duncan McLeod.
During the course of his ministry he served these churches in Virginia: Ettricks and Matoaca, near Petersburg; Union, on Chincoteague Island; and the Tabernacle Church, Newport News; and these churches in Maryland : Vienna and Branch Hill. His salary was never large, and his health never the most vigorous, but he would take up his first love, colportage work, when he
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could not preach; and so, with his own earnest struggles and those of his faithful wife, not only were the affairs of the household kept going, but the eight children were given a good education. When the years of his active service were ended he proved that he knew how to be a good listener to other preachers, and a faithful one in the ranks and in the pew as well as in the place of leadership. His piety was deep, and his life pure, and he loved to commend, in private no less than in public, his Saviour. On Wednesday, January 19, 1910, he was stricken with paralysis, and the following Tuesday, January 25, a few moments after three o'clock in the afternoon, he came peacefully to the end of a useful life. The funeral, which took place at the Second Baptist Church, Newport News, was one of the largest ever witnessed in that city. It was conducted by his pastor, Rev. J. T. Riddick, who was assisted by these Baptist ministers: Lloyd T. Wil- son, E. P. Jones, S. L. Naff, T. L. Seymore, W. C. Sale, M. F. Sanford, and Rev. E. T. Welford, of the Presby- terian Church, and Rev. T. J. Taylor, of the Methodist Church. The Magruder Camp of Confederate Veterans, of which camp he was chaplain, attended the funeral in a body. The burial took place in "Green Lawn," the Newport News cemetery. He was survived by his wife and these eight children: Dr. H. B. Sanford, Richmond ; Mrs. George Murray, Mrs. D. B. Simpson, Mrs. Harry Scholfield, J. C. Sanford, T. W. Sanford, Newport News; R. B. Sanford, Jr., U. S. N., and Mrs. W. Ward Hill, Amherst, Va. This sketch is based wholly on a tribute to Mr. Sanford written by Rev. J. T. Riddick and published in the Religious Herald. The facts given in this sketch, and in some cases the language, are taken from Mr. Riddick's article.
ONAN ELLYSON 1826-1910
Rev. Onan Ellyson, younger by two years than his brother, Henry K. Ellyson, outlived his brother many years and reached the ripe old age of eighty-five. He was born in May, 1826, and he passed from the scenes of earth February 21, 1910. His body was laid to rest at Washington, D. C. His birthplace was Richmond, and Lynchburg the place of his death. In his early years, being left an orphan, he worked first with his brother in Richmond and then on his own account in Petersburg as a printer and publisher. At the beginning of the War he moved to Charlotte County, and soon afterwards gave up a lucrative business to engage in evangelistic work. In 1847 he was married to Miss Mary Steel, of Rich- mond. For many years he was a member of the Second Baptist Church, Richmond, until he moved to Peters- burg, when he united with the First Church of that city. With others he went out from the First Church to organ- ize the Byrne Street (now the Second) Church of Petersburg. Of this body he was an active member, being a deacon and superintendent of the Sunday school. About 1865 he was ordained to the gospel ministry, and presently became a missionary of the State Mission Board. One year during his service for the State Mis- sion Board, while laboring in the Appomattox Associa- tion, he made this report as to his work: "I am encour- aged in my work. I expect to baptize a number more in May, amongst them one Presbyterian, one Methodist, and one Episcopalian. I preach for an anti-mission church, by their request, whenever I visit Campbell County." For this year he had baptized twenty-three
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persons and arranged to organize two new churches, one in Charlotte and one in Campbell. It was at this time that he organized the first Men's Missionary Society of Lynchburg. During his years in the Appomattox Asso- ciation, besides the work he did on fields where there were no church organizations, he was pastor of these churches : Flat Creek, Burkeville, Kedron, and Midway. After this, his life work continued, in what was then the Potomac Association, as pastor of the Berryville Church. Here he remained some five or six years. His next field was out of Virginia, namely, at Anacostia, Washington City, where he did extension work. Upon his return to Virginia he became pastor in the Rappahannock Associa- tion, being pastor first of Bethlehem and Enon Churches and later of Oakland.
His last years were spent with his daughters in King George County and in Lynchburg. In Lynchburg he attended the Cabell Street (now Rivermont Avenue Bap- tist) Church, making himself most helpful to the pastor. He visited a great deal among the members, urging them to fall into line with all the plans of the pastor and the church. He was much interested in the erection of the new meeting-house, and attended the public services of God's house whenever his strength made this possible. "He was always optimistic; the past was good, but the present is better, and the future is going to be still better." He loved children, and was in the habit, in these last years, of saving his street-car fare that he might invest in candy and peanuts for his little friends. Rev. Oscar E. Sams declares that in Mr. Ellyson he had, from the very first of his pastorate in Lynchburg, a most loving, sympathetic, and helpful fellow-worker.
Mr. Ellyson's children are Mrs. A. B. Harvey, Geo. S. Ellyson, Mrs. S. B. Redding, Mrs. J. N. Owens, Miss Mollie E. Ellyson, Dr. R. M. Ellyson.
JAMES BOARDMAN HAWTHORNE* 1837-1910
The Hawthornes of New England were rank Puritans. In the conviction of one hundred and fifty witches at Salem, Mass., the judge and the prosecuting attorney were both of this family. People of this name have been found in Vermont, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Florida, and it is at least possible that all these branches came from the New England stock. From Lunenburg County, Virginia, certain Hawthornes moved to North Carolina. From here one family, at least, emi- grated to Alabama. It was an arduous trip, in those days, from North Carolina to Alabama, through virgin forests over an unbroken track. On this journey Kedar Hawthorne was a youth. When at last their destination was reached he enlisted for the Seminole War, which was then being waged in Florida. His courage and vigor were great. Once he was sent on foot with a sack of corn to the nearest mill, twenty miles away. Before his return Murder Creek was swollen to dangerous propor- tions by a sudden rain. Heavy logs ever and anon floated by, and night was closing in. To stay on the bank all night meant exposure to wild beasts or the Indians. To swim the stream with the meal was no easy work. The latter alternative, however, was successfully accom- plished. In 1825 Kedar Hawthorne was married to Miss Martha Baggett, and later husband and wife were con- verted under the preaching of Rev. Alexander Trevis, a pioneer Baptist preacher. On May 16, 1837, at Mt.
*This sketch, in the main, is based on an unpublished biography of Dr. Hawthorne by Rev. B. F. Riley, D. D., LL. D. Dr. Riley kindly permits this use of his biography.
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Moriah, Wilcox County, Alabama, where his father had organized, and was pastor of, the Baptist Church, James Boardman Hawthorne was born. His birthplace was a log hut, and his middle name was for George Boardman, the missionary to the Karens, whose life Kedar Haw- thorne had just read with burning enthusiasm. Young Hawthorne's first school was near Camden, his teacher being named Love. Here the boy enjoyed keenly both the coon hunts by night and the all-day singing classes common at that time, when the oblong Carmina Sacra was used. At twelve years of age he went to an academy at Oak Hill, Wilcox County, the teacher being one Samuel Jones. Here, in a declamation contest, the timid boy, a contestant against his choice, won the prize, a copy of Cowper's poems. No wonder that in that day, when books were few, he should have poured over the new volume and learned by heart "John Gilpin," which charmed him greatly. The next year, at the Camden Institute, whose principal was Lucius Brutus Johnson, a second victory in the art of public speaking brought young Hawthorne a gold medal, and gave clearer evi- dence of the future man. This time his rivals were able. On the way to the contest he heard some one declare, in a discussion as to the chances of the several candidates, that he was sure to win if he only managed his long legs right. He was wise enough to make good use of this ad- vice so unconsciously given. Since in those days the law was in very high repute, no wonder that the young man decided to give his life to this profession. In 1851, at his father's church, under the preaching of Rev. C. F. Sturgis, he was converted and became a member of the church. Finally he entered Howard College. Here he gloried in the library, and soon became the orator of the school. At this time Noah K. Davis had charge of the English De- partment of Howard. His standard was so high, being
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nothing short of Addison, that his students worked in vain to win his praise. At last, in desperation, a passage was copied from "The Spectator" and handed in as an original composition. The paper came back severely criticized with such comments as "pompous," "turgid," "ridiculous." Years afterwards Dr. Davis, being Pro- fessor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Vir- ginia, upon hearing this incident for the first time, exclaimed : "Well, I always had a lingering suspicion that I was a fool, and this confirms it." During Mr. Hawthorne's career at Howard the college was destroyed by fire, the colored janitor, Harry, dying the death of a hero, having rushed through the flames to give the alarm. After three years at Howard, Mr. Hawthorne decided to give up his fourth year and his degree and go out at once into active life. He commenced reading law with the firm of Chandler, Smith & Herndon, in Mobile. Along with his law studies went much public speaking. Before long he was the pet of the people, being regarded as a boy orator. In the campaign of 1856 he supported Buchanan against Fillmore. On one occasion his mimicry of his opponent, who had but one eye, caught the crowd. When he realized that he had been guilty of discourtesy and bad taste in taking advantage of the physical infirmity of his adversary, his prompt and frank apology made him yet more popular. During his career as a young political speaker several events occurred which combined to change the current of his life. On one occa- sion, out in the rural districts, after he had spoken, the other side called loudly for "Billie Jones." Mr. Jones, who was a preacher and a speaker of unusual ability, responded to the call and gave his youthful rival such an unmerciful "drubbing" that reply was impossible. At another time and place the young lawyer had an old man in his crowd who greatly helped him by his rapt atten-
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