2. By narrative and portraiture and illustration. There is no cold
obtruse reasoning nor loud emptiness in his speeches.
3. By pointedness and sympathy. Each man seems to feel that the pastor
is talking to him and that the heart that speaks has a care and
tenderness for all.
Then he is sociable, approachable to all, from the lowest to the
highest, old folks and children, rich and poor, great and small, wise
and otherwise--all seem to find in him a ready echo. In view of his
power and of his youth, prayer spontaneously rises to God that he may
be kept in watching, in humility, in faith and in faithful service.
It is worthy of remark that during his short time with Columbus Street
Church, he has bought a neat and valuable parsonage for the church from
means raised above the necessary expenses.
Taylor, Rev. William, Choccolocco, was born in April, 1836, in the
State of Georgia. He was the property (?) of a Mr. B. Jenks, whose
daughter married a Mr. Taylor. He says, “When in my ninth year my
mother bade me farewell with this charge: ‘Don’t kill, don’t steal,
don’t keep bad company, don’t be impolite to old people, don’t be
disobedient to those who own you, and you will never be abused.’ I
have never seen her face since, but her words have ever been with me
to confirm me in the right way.” Brother Taylor has now been in the
ministry about twenty-four years, having entered upon his public career
1868. He is one of the leading men of the Snow Creek Association, and
has attained to a fair knowledge of letters, though he has had no
educational advantages. Brother Taylor has been careful of the welfare
of his family and interested in the affairs of the house of God. He
lives on his own farm near Choccolocco, respected by his neighbors,
both white and colored.
[Illustration: Rev. W. A. Shirley, Pastor Sardis Baptist Church, Enon
Ridge.]
Thornton, Rev. Elbert, of Union Springs, son of E. Thornton and Matilda
Thornton, was born in the State of Georgia, December 8, 1838. In 1853
he was moved into Barbour county, Alabama, where he remained till he
was emancipated in 1865. In June, 1861, he was baptized into the white
Baptist Church at Midway, Ala., by the Rev. Mr. Brooks. In 1868 he was
united with the church at Union Springs, and was one among the colored
brethren who drew out from the white church to organize a colored
Baptist Church in Union Springs--the first colored church in Bullock
county. He was chosen one of the first deacons. It was not long ere
his brethren urged him to enter the work of the ministry, which, under
a deep sense of duty and after some hesitancy, he did. On the 5th day
of June, 1874, at the call of his church, he was solemnly set apart to
the sacred office of the gospel ministry by Revs. C. H. Thornton, B.
Clark and others. When he took charge of the church it was in debt, but
this debt was soon removed and the membership was increased, during
six years pastorate, from 48 to 188, and the pastor’s salary was raised
from $30 a year to $25 per month. From 1874 to 1881 he was moderator of
Pine Grove Association, and since his return from his gospel labors in
Arkansas he has been re-elected. Brother Thornton is no less commanding
in his personal appearance than he is in his strong, clear intellect.
He is a strong leader.
Thornton, Rev. C. H., of Aberfoil, Bullock county, was born in North
Carolina, in 1842. He was baptized in 1862 by a Rev. Mr. Brooks, of
Midway. In 1869 he was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry
by Revs. R. Wright and J. C. Jett. He organized and built up the
Aberfoil Church. For several years he was moderator of the Pine Grove
Association. Mr. Thornton is a strong, industrious, economical,
persevering man. He has obtained property worth about $3,000. The
people whom he serves at Aberfoil are honorable and aspiring, and hence
each--pastor and people--finds in the other the elements of success.
It was within his comfortable home that the writer, weary from overwork
and exposure in constant travel, found in February, 1890, a quiet
retreat in which to finish “Plain Theology for Plain People.”
Troupe, Rev. Aaron, of Town Creek, Lawrence county, was born February
14, 1851, in Morgan county, Ala. Immediately after the close of the war
his parents moved to Courtland, Ala., where Aaron was brought up. He
was baptized in 1869 by Rev. John Bell, the pastor of Red Bank Church.
Feeling that it was his duty to preach the gospel, and not willing to
enter upon such a responsible mission without previous preparation, he,
for about four sessions, attended the Selma University, known at that
time as the Normal and Theological School. On his return home he taught
in the public schools. On May 16, 1886, he was ordained to the work of
the ministry by Revs. G. Garth, M. J. Hooks, A. J. Owens and M. James.
Brother Troupe has served in the church at Huntsville, and is now the
successful pastor of Macedonia, near Town Creek. In 1882 he labored as
district missionary under the Publication Society. He promises well. He
and his brother, Deacon Troupe, are in the bone and sinew of the north
Alabama work, and in them every good thing finds a ready echo and a
tangible response.
Tyler, Rev. Mansfield, of Lowndesboro, was born about twelve miles from
Augusta, Ga., in the month of November, 1826. When very young he was
moved into the city of Augusta and lived in the family of his great
aunt, the wife of Rev. Jacob Walker. He was early brought under the
influences of the Springfield Baptist Church of that city--a church of
colored people, which as early as 1845 was reported as numbering 1,100
members, and it was added: “This large community, with the pastor and a
large corps of exhorters, are all of the colored race.” Rev. M. Tyler
remained in this Christian family and attended the services of the
above named church till he was 18 years of age. He says: “I was with
them when the stars fell.”
At this time, as he was a slave, he was removed by his master to the
State of Alabama, where he has remained until this writing. In April,
1855, he made a public profession of faith in Christ and united with
the people of God by baptism. Shortly after this he felt impressed with
a call to enter the work of the gospel ministry. This call he tried to
obey as far as his condition and fitness would allow. “The work,” he
says, “was exceeding difficult, as we were not allowed to know books
and might receive only oral instruction on religious subjects.” When
a very young man he married his first wife, with whom he lived for
twenty-six years--till her death.
At the close of the war he located at Lowndesboro, where he went
immediately to work to organize a colored Baptist church. Success
attended his ministry and many were brought to faith in Christ. In 1867
he succeeded in organizing the colored Baptist church in Lowndesboro.
On June 27, 1868, he was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry,
since which time he has baptized 1,000 persons into the Lowndesboro
church and 500 at White Hall.
When the Alabama District Association was organized in 1871, he was
elected moderator, and is moderator at this time. He was a leader
in the organization of the Baptist State Convention, over which he
presided from 1876 to 1886. He is one of the originators, stockholders,
and trustees of the Selma University, and is now, and from the
beginning of the University, has been the chairman of the board of
trustees. He is a man dearly beloved.
In recognition of his Christian manliness, his faithful labors, and
his knowledge of the word of God, the above named university in 1890
conferred upon him the honorary title of D. D.
He is studious, industrious, devout, urbane; and though he is now about
68 years of age, he is still so full of sunshine as to be acceptable to
youth as he is to old age. His present wife heartily joins him in every
good word and work.
He has succeeded in accumulating considerable property, and is greatly
to be praised for the care he has bestowed upon the culture of his
sons. He has been among the chief financial supports of all the worthy
measures of the denomination. He is very sociable, and possesses rare
powers as a preacher. No man in Alabama has so much power over the
Alabama Baptists as Dr. Tyler; his works as well as words make him the
beloved.
Walker, Rev. William, of Avondale, was born November 30, 1848, near
Jacksonville, Ala. In August of 1866 he was baptized into Bethel
Baptist Church, Alexandria, by Rev. George W. Brewton. Mr. Walker’s
ordination took place in August, 1876, Revs. G. W. Brewton, S. L.
McLean and James Miller officiating as presbytery. It was late in life
ere he came upon opportunities for book learning, but finally some
good white friends, seeing his desire to learn, assisted him in making
a beginning upon which he has made a fair improvement. His preaching
is characterized by self-abnegation, application to the subject, and
earnestness of style. Indeed in several regards he is really a strong
preacher. He is no less forcible in the pulpit than he is agreeable
in the parlor. He has served the pastorates at Gadsden and Anniston,
and now presides over the church at Ashville. The following will give
some evidence of his standing among all classes: While the Wills Creek
Association was in session a few weeks ago in Ashville the white
Baptists allowed him the use of the house of worship for the session,
and the Rev. Mr. Montgomery (white), of this town, informs me that the
white people aid in his support, some of them constantly attending upon
his services.
[Illustration: Rev. L. S. Steinback, Pastor Second Baptist Church,
Demopolis, Ala.]
Walker, Rev. T. W., of Birmingham, the son of Rev. Emanuel and
Charlotte Walker, the property (?) of Benjamin Walker, of Coosa county,
Alabama, was born in Coosa county, Alabama, September 5, 1852.
He joined the old Elam Baptist Church, Montgomery county, Alabama, in
May, 1879, and was baptized by Rev. Jerry Cole in the same month. On
February 26, 1884, he was ordained to the gospel ministry at the call
of the Sixth Avenue Church, in the city of Birmingham, by Revs. W. R.
Pettiford and J. R. Capers. His success has been marvelous.
The writer first met the subject of this sketch in Montgomery county
in the year 1879, when, though he was not a Christian, he was acting
as Sunday School superintendent. He says that on this occasion the
question, “How can you lead others in the road to heaven when you,
yourself, are not walking therein?” destroyed all his carnal security
and false ease, and was the beginning of a change in his life.
I doubt if any man among us has had more power over the masses than
he. While he was building the Sixth Avenue Church there was a constant
demand for more room for his audiences. And since he has been serving
at the Shiloh Church, the writer has seen not only the building filled
to its utmost capacity, but hundreds of eager listeners standing
without at the door.
Those who know him best feel that his power over the masses is largely
owing to his common sense, goodness of heart, and his simple, steady
faith in God, his cool self-reliance and his hard work for and among
the masses of the people.
Future historians will no doubt find reasons for recording his name
high on the best pages of their books.[2]
He relates the following incidents of his early childhood: “When I
was five years of age, I, for the first time, enjoyed a ride to town.
When I got off the wagon Mr. Harrison rolled up my shirt sleeves and
the legs of my pants and placed me on a block on the street in the
middle of a great crowd of people. I enjoyed it, as I seemed to be the
person especially noticed by all. I saw my mother and father weeping,
but I could see no reason for it. When I came down from the block, I,
with two sisters and a brother, went home with a Mr. House, where the
crack of the whip, the yelp of the hound and the howl of the wolf were
the most frequent sounds that fell upon my ear. The fact and horrors
of slavery were first branded into my heart by the tying and whipping
of my father before my eyes. When I asked father what it meant, he
replied: ‘The lash which I fear will soon fall upon yourself, my son,
will too early explain what is meant.’”
A white man to whom he hired himself taught him at night his alphabet,
and started him to spelling and reading during his eighteenth year, and
now he reads, writes, and manages his own figures in business. He is a
grand man.
He has organized a building and loan association with about 2,000
members.
[2] See chapters on Sixth Avenue and Shiloh Churches, Birmingham, and
the Mt. Pilgrim Association.
Ware, Rev. William, of East Lake, Jefferson county, Ala., was born
in said county October 5, 1837. He was converted to Christianity
in his thirteenth year, and was baptized into Union Church, near
Birmingham--that is, where the city now is--by the Rev. Willis Burns
(white). He was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry November,
1868, by Revs. Edmond Burris and Allen McAlpine.
The Rev. A. J. Waldrop (white) says of Bro. Ware: “We never had in
Jefferson county a man of more stainless character. He is not an
educated man, but he is earnest, honorable and upright.”
The writer has found Bro. Ware to be one of the meekest and gentlest
of men. He, with Rev. Henry Wood, organized the Mt. Zion Church in
1878, and he was the first moderator of the Mt. Pilgrim Association. He
has held various pastorates, and has held them always with credit to
himself and profit to the cause.
He lives on his own pleasant home and quiet farm a few miles northwest
of East Lake. He is still an active worker, and enjoys the love and
confidence of the people among whom his light so long has shone to the
glory of God.
Ware, Rev. Berry, was one of the pioneers of the work in Shelby,
Jefferson and Talladega counties. Few men in those early days had more
power over the masses than he. He died some sixteen or seventeen years
ago, and I have nothing of his history or nativity. He baptized the
Rev. D. L. Prentice, and started the church at Aldrich.
Webb, Rev. George W., of Eufaula, Ala., was born in Russell county,
Ala., in 1844. Fortunately for him, Capt. W. H. Redd carried him,
while he was still quite young, to Columbus, Ga., where his perceptive
mind was permitted to imbibe such ideas of refinement as did not exist
on the plantation. Here, under the advice of his parents, he entered
upon a sort of irregular course of study, which led to some success in
book knowledge. As Gen. Wilson’s army was passing through Georgia, he
enlisted as a soldier, remaining in service till he was mustered out in
1866.
He was baptized into the fellowship of the white Baptist church at
Abbeville, Ala., by the Rev. L. R. Sims. In 1868 he married Miss Eliza
Collins, and in 1869 was among those who led in the organization of a
colored Baptist church at Abbeville. In 1870 he assisted in organizing
the “East Alabama and West Florida Association.” In 1873 he moved to
Eufaula. He was ordained to the gospel ministry about 1874-75. Mr. Webb
is a very energetic man and a successful builder of churches. He took a
leading part in the organization of the Eufaula District Sunday School
Convention, and much of its success is due to his missionary labors. He
is a friend of education and missions, and believes in progress on all
lines.
Whatley, Rev. W. H., of White Plains, is of Georgia nativity, but
came to Alabama while young. Without doubt Mr. Whatley is the most
influential man in Calhoun county, and yet no man in the county is
more modest, deferential and unassuming. He is a man of power, and yet
he does not seem to know anything about it. For years he has been the
moderator of the Snow Creek Association, and except something unusual
shall occur he will continue to preside for years to come.
I know of no moderator who has better government in his association
than Mr. Whatley, and yet there seems to be no effort to command. He
exercises an oversight over every branch of his associational work,
appearing in all the general meetings, whether the interest at stake
pertains to local church work, to missions, to education, or to Sunday
School. He is an ex-student of the Georgia school, and attended while
it was located at Augusta. And it is a fact, much to the credit of his
white brethren, that they made it possible for him to attend school. He
lives on his own valuable farm amid his children, who are now maturing,
his son Charles being now a young man.
White, Rev. E. C., of Tuscumbia, was born about the year 1842 in
Chester county, S. C. In 1859 his master brought him to Alabama,
where he has since resided. He was converted the fourth Lord’s day in
October, 1869, and in the same month was baptized into the Russellville
church by the late Rev. P. Jones.
Brother White says: “In April, 1868, my wife was baptized by the Rev.
W. E. Northcross, and her devoted life constrained me to desire peace
with God. My wife overthrew all my old ways and lovingly compelled me
into the ways of the Lord.” At once he became zealous for the cause of
Christ, and soon began to speak as opportunity offered itself, first at
Russellville and then at Tuscumbia. At the request of a church which he
had built up near Tuscumbia, Rev. W. E. Northcross called a council,
and on October 8, 1873, solemnly set him apart to the office of the
ministry. He has attained to some knowledge of books, of which he is
still an industrious student. Before his whole time was employed in the
ministry he taught in the public schools.
The good people of Russellville and Florence have long held to him as
pastor.
Brother White owes much to his excellent, Christian wife, who has been
a helpmeet for him since 1865. He is a hospitable brother and faithful
Christian minister.
White, Rev. J. W., the son of Claburne and Elizabeth Hatcher, was born
in Dallas county, Ala., in October, 1839, eleven miles south of Selma,
on the Alabama River. He takes his name from the Mr. White who owned
his mother. He was baptized into the St. Phillip Street Baptist Church,
Selma, by Rev. John Blevins, in September, 1868. He was ordained to the
work of the ministry by the above named church, in August, 1875, Revs.
J. Dosier, J. Carter, Henry Stevens, and John Blevins, officiating
presbytery. Bro. White was at one time moderator of the Uniontown
Association; was for some months missionary under the American Baptist
Publication Society; was pastor, at different times, of the Mt. Zion,
the Summerfield, the St. Paul, and the Providence Churches, near Selma;
was pastor at Camden, Ala., and recently retired from the pastorate
of the Sixth Avenue Church, Birmingham. He has from the first been
officially connected with the Selma University, in which he studied
for about three sessions, being the first ministerial student who was
enrolled. He is an earnest preacher and a studious man, so that it may
be said of him that he is an elevator of the people on all lines. He
relates the following story: “During the war, and at a time when things
looked rather dark for the South, my stepfather and I were attending a
Presbyterian meeting, when he was called on to pray God to ‘drive back
our enemies.’ Father prayed: ‘O Lord, drive back our enemies.’ When we
were at home alone I told him that I found fault with his prayer, for
it was really against the interest of his people. The old man answered:
‘The _our_ meant the colored people, and the word _enemies_ referred to
our oppressive chains.’”
At this time, extending from a time long before, there was an organized
prayer circle in Selma, which met on every Friday night beneath a great
oak tree in the woods to pray to God to bring liberty to the slave.
Brethren Alex. Goldsby and Charles White were among the leaders of this
meeting. Doubtless Bro. J. W. White knew of this meeting and of its
purpose, and hence was hardly prepared to hear a prayer so seemingly
contrary to the wishes and needs of his people.
Wilhite, Rev. J. Q. A., of Selma, was born August 13, 1854, in
Louisville, Ky. He was baptized in 1866, and in 1878 was ordained to
the office of the gospel ministry in his native city. The presbytery
of the occasion was Revs. C. C. Stamm, D. A. Gaddie, W. W. Taylor and
others. Shortly after this he entered the gospel work in Alabama,
beginning as pastor of the Second Baptist Church, Eufaula. He came to
supersede the Rev. Mr. Bassett, who for some reason had returned to
Indiana. Under his administration the Eufaula Church rose into success
and beauty unequaled by anything that had passed before. Beginning
with 1886 he was for several consecutive years financial agent for
Selma University. Resigning this work he was for sometime pastor of the
church at Uniontown, where he was attended by his usual prosperity,
both in gathering the people and in raising finances. This position he
resigned in order to assume once more the office of financier for the
University. At the present writing he is treasurer of the University.
Mr. Wilhite’s success is largely owing to the following: Self-reliance,
industry, tact, perseverance, adaptability of himself and methods to
the condition of the people.
He is an ex-student of the Roger Williams University, Nashville.
In 1872 he wedded Miss Kate Talbert, who has presented him with a
large family of promising young folks, to whose education he is giving
special attention. He is to be commended for that economy, as well
as industry, which has enabled him to possess a comfortable home for
himself and loved ones. He has not been forgetful of the welfare of
them over whom God has made him guardian. Like very few preachers, he
is a good business man as well as a good preacher.
P. S.--He has recently built a brick edifice at Uniontown. He is now a
successful pastor in Birmingham.
Wilson, Rev. J. E. A., pastor of the First Colored Baptist Church,
Pratt City, comes to our denomination from the Methodist Church. He was
born January 1, 1861, in Fayette county, Alabama, and was led to submit
to Christ as his Savior, September, 1882. He was regularly inducted
into the Baptist ministry, September 27, 1887, by the laying on of the
hands of a council consisting of Revs. A. C. Jackson, V. Huntington
and others. He has served acceptably at Patton, Corona and Jasper.
He is unpretending, quiet, brotherly and has a good report from all
circles. His school advantages have been rather meagre, but with his
youthful vigor and self-control, coupled with the abundant facilities
for an increase of knowledge common to these times, he may yet be a
man of learning and a leader in letters. Of course no man can hope to
attain to knowledge beyond his ability to study forever and without any
thought of tiring or despairing.
Notwithstanding he is a man of strong emotions, he has rare executive
ability and is hard to equal as a leader.
Wood, Rev. Henry, of Talladega, was born August 15, 1825, in
Greenville, S. C. His father was a lawyer in South Carolina. He came
to Alabama with his mother when eleven months old, and was settled in
Jefferson county, near Elyton.
He was baptized into the white church by Rev. Joseph Bias, who, at the
time, gave it as his opinion that “Henry” would be a preacher. Ordained
to the work of the gospel ministry just after the war (1867), he was a
timely instrument in the special mission of organization. Mr. Wood has
been one of the pioneers of our work in Jefferson, Talladega, Calhoun
and St. Clair counties. In speaking of his struggle after knowledge in
slavery time, he says: “I had been reading for some time and had begun
to learn to write fairly well, when the fact came to the notice of the
white people. They tied me up and laid 600 lashes on my back; and, I
tell you, I lost all my knowledge of writing after this.” Referring
to his missionary and pioneer work since freedom, he relates the
following: “For the most part the white people have treated me well.
Sometimes, however, I have been troubled with drunkards and ‘negro
whippers.’ As I was riding on my missionary work in Blount county, I
once met a man who gave me such a crack over my shoulders with his
horse whip as almost broke the skin; but as I did not so much as look
toward my abuser, he let me go with no further harm. I passed on,
thanking God that it was no worse with me.”
Brother Wood is a man of excellent spirit--is as jovial as he is
earnest. His life has been temperate and chaste, and he is approaching
the death shadows and the tomb with triumph and in peace. He has
occupied good pastorates and honorable places in the associations. His
first wife (Miss Dicey Truss, whom he married in 1844), has preceded
him to the goodly land, and both their children have passed before him.
He now lives in Talladega with his second wife (the widow of Mr. Thomas
Barclay), in very easy circumstances, and still finds plenty of work to
do in the cause of the Master. Few men are more widely known and more
generally beloved than he. For wrath and malice he is entirely a child.
Nothing could more surprise his brethren than to see him in a fit of
ugly temper, or to hear from his lips expressions of ill will. Brother
Wood speaks in praise of Revs. Messrs. McCain, Mynett and Law (white)
as friends to their colored brethren in the time of the latter’s
weakness and inexperience in church work.
P. S.--Our dear Brother Wood has gone to his crown on the ever bright
shore. Peace hover over thy dust, O thou man of God!
[Illustration: St. Louis Street Baptist Church, Mobile, Ala., Rev. J.
L. Frazier, Pastor.]
Wood, Rev. R. T., of Huffman, pastor of Pleasant Hill Church, and
son of Mr. Henderson Wood, of the same place, is the eleventh child
of a family of thirteen children. While he was still very small two
older brothers were killed by the “K. K. K.,” which clan terrorized
the country after the close of the war. In consequence of which sad
incident, it is thought, his father died of mental depression, leaving
the subject of our sketch without a father’s presence, guidance and
support. Nothing daunted by this host of sorrows and misfortunes,
Mr. Wood, industriously and with patient spirit, notwithstanding his
delicate constitution, gave himself to such engagements as came to his
hand, making horse collars and brooms as well as aiding his widowed
mother in spinning, knitting and weaving. In his thirteenth year he was
minded to seek for peace with God, and, so at an early age, he began to
attain to experiences of grace which have increased with the growth of
years.
Evidently the family is possessed of sterling qualities, as may be seen
in their aspiration and courage. The other members of the family whom I
have met live an independent home life in the mountains near Huffman.
Mr. Wood hopes he may find an opening through which to enter the
mission field in Africa, and his name has been sent in to the mission
authorities. If his life should be spared for a maturer development he
will be a tower of strength in good things. He is a graduate from the
Grammar Department of Selma University, in which institution he expects
to take a higher course.
[Illustration]