I am glad that the dear Lord has laid it in my heart at this time in
life to let the world hear something of a life that they will all be
filled with a love for one whom it has been a delight to meet at any and
all times.
Mrs. Sarah Potter, who is a beloved and dear lady, who is the bright
morning star of the Washington Avenue Baptist Church, and who is one of
the brightest lights that this city has or ever will have, for she is
all over this city looking after the needy ones, comes from a noble
family and all of the family have been foreign missionaries. She has
been a home missionary for many years and God has blessed her and her
labors, and her dear father was doing missionary work in India for fifty
years, and God blessed his work there. Now that his dear work has been
finished in this world and he has gone to his reward, his works do
follow him, for the number that have been saved through his preaching
eternity will tell.
His form will no more walk out on the field of battle for the Lord, and
who can fill the place of such a life-work as this child of the King has
filled? And to go home to his beloved and blessed Master with his arms
full of blessed sheaves; and as we think of him, how we wonder in our
daily walks if we shall go to the Saviour with our hands full or shall
we go empty-handed and thus to meet our Saviour so; not one soul with
which to greet Him, must we empty-handed go?
I have heard of Mr. Mason as one of the first to go among the Coreans,
and I have seen some of them, that have taken the Lord for their all and
in all, come to this land of ours to fit themselves for the blessed work
among their own people. God be praised for such a man as Dr. Mason and
all of his loving children, who have had the same spirit that their
father had, and he was filled with the Holy Ghost and with the power of
the Lord.
Mrs. Sarah W. Potter was the beloved wife of a sea captain, Mr. William
Potter, and he owned a ship that sailed the Indian Ocean, and he was
washed overboard one night while his wife, Mrs. Potter, was sick, and
she did not know that he had a watery grave until the next day. They had
one son, who is now married, by the name of Frank, whom I held as an
idol, as he always called to me when in trouble, for his dear mother
taught him the love of the Bible, and he would not fight any boy, let
them do him as they would. He knew that I would go after the boys for
blocks, as I was one of those soldiers that was not afraid to fight. As
he grew older I told him that he had to go out into the world to fight
his way and I wanted him to begin it at once, and he did learn to battle
for himself. He married a lovely girl by the name of Miss Katie Harvey
and they have two children, the eldest a girl and the youngest a boy,
which is the lovely little man of the home.
I have seen that mother sit up at nights waiting for her son to come
that she might ask a blessing on him before he should sleep, and how
could that boy go astray after all these prayers and entreaties? May he
lead his lambs to the blessed Master, and have the "Well done, good and
faithful servant, enter thou into the joys of thy Lord."
To my story of work in the City of Brooklyn:
The lady, Miss L. A. Pousland, whom I spoke of in the preceding pages,
is the place where I found myself living in 1875, after twelve or
thirteen years of service. It was there that I met Mrs. Sarah Potter.
She has been all of a mother to me to give me all the encouragement she
could bestow on me. For all of this kindness I am more than grateful to
my Heavenly Father, for I know that all goodness comes from Him. He
surely has shown His love to her in sparing her to see me go from her
home to Washington to school and spend three years and then go to
Harper's Ferry and spend four years, and to see me out in the world
teaching for eleven years, and to break down while at my post and now at
home to serve in another way. Is not this not God's love to me, as a
poor, humble servant of His? I should never forget to give the love and
honor due Him.
God knows my heart and He will bless the work in my hands, as the writer
of this book.
When I found that I could get through school in a given time as I had
studied hard, if I had the money, I told Miss L. A. Pousland, that I
would not be there to work any more, as I had a place in Saratoga
Springs for the Summer. She felt bad to lose me, but as she knew that I
could make more money for three months at the Springs she wanted me to
have my heart's desire, so I came on from school and went to see her and
then made ready for the Springs, getting one of my sisters to go with me
and taking such things as we could. We were there too soon and we had to
wait for work, and I went around and made myself known to the white
people. They soon called on me to come and do work for them, and the
first was a Mrs. Carpenter, a good lady. She then got her married
daughter to have me to work for her family and they were a fine family.
Her daughter's husband was a grand studio man on Broadway, doing a good
business. Then she sent me to another friend of hers, and my sister and
I could live for a while. When the rush came I did not forget the one
who had helped me, but went to her two days out of a week, for she had
her house filled with boarders, and the Summer was all a blessing to her
and her family.
There was Mrs. Purdy, who was another one of my friends, for I did work
for her laundry for three years, and she said whenever I came to the
Springs and wanted work to come to her; if the house was filled there
was room for me. So you see how God did open the way for me in that
strange and lonely place, where there are so many that go there for the
Summer looking for work. I went out of the house where we were stopping
and got the washing and brought it home to my sister, for she would not
go out of the house as she had not been from the place where she lived
before. I got her to go with me to help me with the work, and it was
coming in so fast I had to get a white lady to help us to get through,
for the colored people said that we would not get work as the laws were
passed to keep the New York workers out, and I told them that they would
have to pass laws to keep the rich people of New York from coming there
to board if they should keep the workers out; so I did not hear to that,
and found the way for I had the will, and where there is a will there is
always a way. So much for the first Summer.
Well, the second time I went up alone. I say alone, I mean that my
sister did not go, but the Lord did go with me that Summer, for I did
not go to the house where my sister and I was for they tried to
discourage us the first time. I always mark one that is an enemy to me
and shake the dust off of my feet and let the Lord do for that one what
He thinks is best.
Well, for the third year I was there with the Lord and He was surely
there with me. I did not do any work on the Lord's Day, but tried to
teach them. When they made me an offer of larger pay for the work done
on the Lord's Day, I told them that in six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth and He rested on the seventh day, and I felt that
if He needed rest on that day I was sure that I must have rest. So the
Sunday work was not carried on any more in that laundry. He said that
the Lord had sent me to that laundry for the bettering of all in it. The
gentleman was from Philadelphia and his name was Mr. Cheek.
So you see how the Lord preached His word through me, a feeble one of
the dust, and what can not the Lord help us to do if we only trust in
Him and if we strive to live for His honor and glory while on this side
of Jordan?
Mrs. Purdy had one daughter, and a lovely girl in music, and her name
was Kittie Purdy. She was sought to play everywhere as she was a fine
player, and everyone thinks her a very pretty girl. Her mother is a
perfect lady, for she used to be so kind to her help. She never was late
in any of her meals for the help and she always sat down with us and eat
with us. She was as jolly as any one at the table and she always called
me her bird, for I was on the wing of song from the time I began my work
until my work was finished, and then I would start home as happy as any
one could be. Then I would be the first to greet her in the mornings
always and she used to say that I brought to her a great deal of comfort
each hour and drove all of her business cares away. I used to feel glad
that I, although a working girl, could be of some love and comfort to
some one, and it makes me feel glad to-day that God in His love to me
and for me can own such a feeble one.
My next start was for Asbury Park to do work for Mrs. Haseltine, another
lovely lady, who was a Boston lady and whom I learned to love as a
mother. I worked for her two years and was to have worked for her the
third year if she had not taken sick at the time she did. A gentleman
came on from Philadelphia and she got me to work for him and I found him
a fine gentleman. I praise God for all that came to me while I was
pursuing my studies, and to-day I do feel like saying,
"Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,
Oh! what a foretaste of glory divine;
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long,
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour all the day long."
To my story: Mrs. Haseltine, I said, had to go to the Saratoga Springs
for the Summer and she used to let me hear from her, but my work in
school was so great that I lost sight of her and I do not know if she is
in Florida or not. Wherever she is I love her and she has my heart. She
did all that she could all the time that I worked for her to let me do
extra work for the boarders so that I might earn money outside of what
she paid me, and the ladies used to come to the laundry and talk to me,
for some of these ladies went to school as I did and some of them waited
at the large hotels in the Summer time to pay their board. The gentleman
that had Mrs. Haseltine's house took me in at evening time to entertain
the guests, and they all helped me. When I came home to make ready for
school I was at our own church one evening when dear Dr. J. D. Fulton
was giving us one of his grand lectures, and he gave me time to sing,
read and speak. The church took a grand collection for me, which
amounted to seventeen dollars and seventy-three cents. I was better
fixed that year than I had been at any year since I had been going to
school, for I had worked all of the Summer and would not spend any of my
money as I wanted it all for school, but the Evil one came and stole it
from me and I was left without a dollar, and I had the heavy heart one
is sure to have when they need money as I did. Then I had to borrow
money to leave for the school, and you may think how one feels after a
Summer's work, and to have some one else to use the money that has not
been gotten with their own labor.
Well, I did not know what I should do, so I made up my mind that I had
done all that lay in my power--that is, I had earned the money, and some
one had taken it from me and I was left to go without. So I took the
Lord for it, and could not board as I had done, but I bought some little
things to use and boarded myself, and I was up sometimes at the late
hours of night, when all of the people were asleep, cooking for the next
day, that I might not be late at school. So you can see how loving God
was to me.
My life in school was one of joy to me and to my mother and sisters and
brother and brothers-in-law, and all of the time that I was in school
they were sending me their mites to help me along. My sister, Mrs. E. F.
Rodwell and Mr. G. W. Rodwell, and my sister, Mrs. Annie Lindsey and Mr.
F. P. Lindsey were the ones that never for once forgot me, and at
Christmas time I was like a child looking for something. Everybody was
good to me. Praise the Lord for all of the love that came to me in the
time of need.
Well, my work ended in 1886, though I taught in 1885, and had the
blessing of God with me in this school. There were twenty-five out of
the school brought to the knowledge of the truth, such as the Lord will
own and bless at the last day. God be the glory. Amen and Amen.
The place was Woodstock, Shenandoah County, Va., and I was called from
that school to go West where they needed me to teach in a place where
the teachers had made the pupils almost hate to go to a school. My heart
was in that work, which no one liked, so I went there trusting in the
Lord. I lost that place, but they got me another one where they built me
a new house, and the Lord did bless me in this place, although I was not
able to go to the Baptist Church only once a month, for there was not
any nearer than ten or fourteen miles. When the next year came I helped
the people build a church and it was all paid for before I left there.
How God did pour out His spirit there in the salvation of souls, and He
did add unto the dear church such as will be saved at the day when He
shall come to make up his jewels; and I can praise His name for such a
Saviour.
Well, to my story: As a teacher in the same place for eleven years, or I
should say I was connected with the same school for that length of time,
and all the way the Saviour led me. Sometimes it was not all flowers and
sweetness, but in it all I can see the hand of the Blessed One; and it
used to make me say to myself, Praise the Lord, Oh, my soul, and all
that is within me praise His holy name!
After being there for sometime I was taken sick and was there sick and
could not teach my school for that Winter. It made me feel very bad, but
my good Dr. Ford said that he thought all of the county were sorry to
learn of my illness and all were losing a good teacher. I would not be
able to do any school work for sometime to come as the nerves were all
overworked, and that had brought on other troubles which were of a
dangerous nature. So my heart was heavy indeed, and if I had not had my
hope built in Jesus Christ I would not have stood, for I felt that all
other ground was to me a sinking sand. I stayed there all of the Winter
and then came on home to Brooklyn, and the Lord was so good to make me
well; I went back to my work and taught all that Winter, and when my
school was out I then went down to the county seat, which is ten miles
from the station and is about fourteen from my school, where I spoke of.
Hinton is a lovely little town on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and
in the Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountains, and is one of the greatest
places on the road, as all of the trains from the West, East, South and
North stop there. It is a lovely town and they have a roundhouse there
where they build locomotives. They have a fine Y. M. C. there. There
are a number of men employed at this place. They have two nice Baptist
Churches and a Baptist Mission, two Methodist Churches, one
Episcopalian, one Congregational, one Presbyterian and one Roman
Catholic and one college, a number of private schools and a number of
public schools and the county is doing a good work in education, and to
the Lord be all the praise for all of this good work.
Hinton I said was a lovely place. Like Harper's Ferry, that I spoke of
in the preceding chapter, it is situated on Camp Hill in a lovely place,
between the Potomac River on one side and the Shenandoah River on the
other, and it has two of the most beautiful bridges I ever saw. When you
see the trains coming and going it looks lovely.
The Wayland Seminary is in a lovely spot on Meredian Hill, between
Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets, and you can see all over the City of
Washington. It is lovely to behold with all of its fine buildings and
art galleries, though I do not like it as well as Harper's Ferry, for I
was not well the whole time I was there and I had so much better health
at the Ferry. I bless God that I made the change when I did or I might
have been gone to my long home before I had the time to see so much of
God's love to me in the way He has led me through paths that I did not
see then. I can truly say unto Him, Lord, Thou hast been my dwelling
place in all of these years of trial and has been my rock in a weary
land and my shelter in the times of storm.
Well, I came home last October a year ago, 1895, and made up my mind to
stay for the time being. Some of the people found out that I was here
and they sent for me to come to see them. I went to Mrs. Murphy's the
next week and I was there nearly a year and found that I could not do
much lifting, so I did not feel well for quite a while, and I had a
heavy day of it the last time that I was there. So I told her daughter I
should not come any more as I had gone early that I should get home
early. It was nearly six o'clock when I stopped. They are a lovely
family of four men and four girls, all of whom are are very fine indeed;
two sons married, and children, and one daughter married and she has two
little ones. Miss Josephine is a school teacher. Miss Alice is the
housekeeper, as the mother is not very well at times. One of the lovely
girls is a Sister in a convent.
I also did work for her daughter, Mrs. Nellie Chester, and she is a
lovely woman. I had to lose her work as she had to get her a girl.
I also worked for fine families by the names of Mrs. Handford and Mrs.
Taylor, but they went away from this city.