I realized also that in addition to my own weakness that this world
was no friend to grace to help me on to God. I had many foes within and
without me to overcome.
In June, 1870, I was requested by Bishop J. P. Campbell to report at
the Philadelphia Conference, he having, in the interval, taken me up
and sent me to the Pennington circuit. I reported at the conference and
was transferred to the South under the care of Bishop John M. Brown.
I was sent to Pulaski, Tenn. This was about the time that the Ku Klux
Klan was having its sway in the south. These men were engaged in every
kind of intimidation and cruelty in order to keep the Negroes from
voting the Republican ticket. They would kill, torture, or do anything
that came into mind in order that their purpose might be realized. At
this time there were many Colored people holding office in the South.
The unrest and the mental suffering of these times were as severe
a strain almost as the period of the war itself. When I arrived at
Pulaski, Tenn. I was introduced to what I might expect in the South.
I presented my check to the baggage master for my trunk. He refused
to take the trunk off the car, but threw it upon the platform in the
roughest manner. A White man standing near, saw that I was very much
surprised at such treatment and approaching me, asked if I did not like
that kind of treatment and that if I did not he would proceed to give
me some more of it. I told him that I had made no complaints at all.
He asked me where I was going and what I was doing, and I was glad to
slip away and find the steward of the church. I related these things to
him and he told me that I had acted wisely in being calm and making no
fuss over the matter. He told me that the White folks were Ku Kluxing
the Colored people without mercy and going out of their way to find
provocations for such devilish work. The steward told me that I would
have to be very careful as a minister in and out of the pulpit, that
the Klu Klux Klan was especially after the preachers to force them to
use their influence to make the Negroes vote the Democratic ticket in
elections.
They found me a boarding place with a Mrs. Batts. I found that the
Colored men of this community were doing good business. One was a
cotton merchant, a Mr. Harris, I remember. I was greatly assisted in
this charge by my local preachers. They were more experienced than I
in the work of the pastorate and I felt them to be my superiors in
everything. The meetings were good. Souls were converted and many were
added to the church. There was not much money in circulation and the
salary was small. They used cards to trade with, postage stamps, and
whatever of value would be accepted or exchanged for what you wanted.
I remember one night the Klu Klux Klan came to the house of one of my
members, a Mr. Pleasant Rector, called him to the door and shot him
down as if he had been a dog. His wife and children were frightened
almost to death. One of his daughters asked me what she must do. I
could tell her that nothing would help such dreadful matters, so we
all went to the church and prayed over the matter, and I consoled
them as best I could. These were dreadful times. The hatred and the
revenge of the Southern White man who had been whipped by his Northern
White Brother, were now visited upon the still helpless race. We had
to receive the very wounds which the Southerners would loved to have
visited upon his White brothers, and which they tried to visit upon
them in war, but failed. We did a good work here along temperance and
missionary lines.
In September, 1873, the Conference convened at Memphis, Tenn. This was
the annual conference of the A. M. E. Church and it convened at the St.
Andrews Chapel of that city. Rev. B. L. Brooks, preached the opening
sermon. The Bishop, John M. Brown, was belated, so the conference
proceeded with business, having made Elder Page Tyler chairman, and
Elder Brooks, secretary. The regular routine of business was purposed.
Bishop Brown arrived on the fourth day, having gotten his dates
mixed, then he was afraid that at that time it was unwise to hold any
public meetings owing to the presence of yellow fever in the city. The
Conference remained in session until it had completed its business.
Yellow fever at this time was raging in Memphis. A friend told me that
he stood at a street corner and counted seventy-four funerals as they
passed. In the house where I was stopping, there was a yellow fever
case in the room next to mine. The meeting of the Conference in Memphis
was a very successful one considering the obstacles contended against.
The following Conference held a year later, was in Nashville,
Tenn. This Conference was presided over by Bishop Brown. At this
conference several were ordained as deacons, among them myself. While
at Nashville, the Conference visited Fisk University and also the
Tennessee college.
During this time I remained at Campbell Chapel, Pulaski, Tenn. We
bought ground and made brick and quarried stone, for the basement of a
church. There were about fifty members added to the church.
I cannot refrain from speaking frequently of the great injustice
done the Colored man in the South at this time. Prejudice was rife.
It showed its hydra-head in every possible way and was a serpent
with a venomed sting. I remember an incident which illustrates how
fearful this prejudice was. I saw a White man bring his horse up to a
public watering place, and about the same time a Colored man drove his
horse up to the same trough. He said to the Colored man, “A Nigger’s
horse can’t drink with my horse,” and ordered him away. Immediately a
mob gathered and beat the man to death for this “crime.” I preached
the funeral of the poor fellow, but was not allowed to refer to the
circumstances, or I suppose there would have been another funeral in
a day or so. My report at the end of this year was a reasonably good
one, the number who had joined the church was about one hundred and ten
and for all purposes we raised about $2,518.00. I was indeed very well
satisfied with the work of the year.
The next Conference met in Chattanooga. This conference was presided
over by Bishop Brown, assisted by Bishop Ward. The various reports
showed the church to be in a growing and prosperous condition. The
Conference report showed 9527 members of the A. M. E. Church in this
Conference, 1122 probationers, 210 local preachers, 120 exhorters,
114 churches, valued at $106,101.00. This was a good showing so
soon after the war. At this Conference I was appointed to a charge
in Chattanooga, Tenn., with Elder R. French Harley as my presiding
elder. We had a fearful flood during this year in Chattanooga. There
was great suffering and loss of property. I did not do well in this
charge, however I completed, the church and added 86 to the membership
of the Church. I found that it was necessary to turn two men out of the
church, for their misconduct. They gained the confidence and bias of
the presiding elder, and he moved me from this place. Thus it is that
a man must suffer for the right that he does, while many go unpunished
for the evil doings. But that should afford no reason for not always
doing the right. We, as ministers of the Gospel, must take our stand
for the uprightness of character and the righteousness of conduct,
without any consideration of the price which this stand will cost us.
Bishop Brown transferred me to the Arkansas Conference, which met at
Pine Bluff, Arkansas. At this conference I was ordained Elder by Bishop
Brown and sent to the Bethel A. M. E. Church at Little Rock, Arkansas.
I found in this city the prejudice against the Colored people rife and
that they had to contend against very great odds on every hand. But
in spite of this, many of the Colored people were in a flourishing
condition. There were men prominent in the ministry who had gone out
from this place, such as Revs. H. H. Pettigrew, Reuben Johnson, A. A.
Williams, J. F. A. Sission, J. T. Jennifer, Andrew J. Chambers, and
others. The Hon. Judge Gibbs, William Rector, and Elias Rector who was
fulfilling a prominent place in the post office were leading business
men. The church here was built by Brother J. T. Jennifer, D.D. My
daughter Ada was with me at this time, my son William Alexander, having
remained in Tennessee. There were many noble workers in this church,
viz: Joseph Stone, Jerome Lewis, Nelson Warren, Sam White, Willie
Oliver, and others whose names are too numerous to mention.
My wife, Olivia Newton having died in 1868, and being a widower, while
here I became acquainted with a young lady, Miss Lulu L. Campbell,
secretary of the Sunday School. I found her to be a noble Christian
woman and felt that the Lord had brought us into contact for a great
purpose. After having considered the matter and having consulted my
daughter and finding that she approved, we were married June 1, 1876.
After paying off a little more of the debt on the church and adding
about ninety souls to the membership of the church, I finished my
first year’s work. The Conference met the following year at the Bethel
Church, Little Rock. At this Conference I was transferred by Bishop
Ward to the Louisiana Conference and was to have been stationed at the
St. James Church, New Orleans, but owing to some miscarriage in the
appointments, I was given the station at Algiers, La. There as in other
places, I was not long in arranging and drilling my forces for active
work. We succeeded in repairing the church, but were greatly hindered
by the ragings of smallpox and yellow fever in this section. I remember
a fearful example of the work of the K. K. K. in this section. A woman
had been taken by this devilish clan and they had cut off her breasts.
She showed her bosom to a few and they had done their work well, for
her bosom was as flat as a man’s. These were some of the outrages that
were continually committed on the Colored people. It is sometimes
wondered at, that the Colored people are so slow to place confidence in
the White Race, that they too, have a deep seated prejudice which now
and then crops out in some vile offense against the White Race, if our
White friends only understood that these fearful atrocities committed
then and even now, against my people, are not easily forgotten, they
would the better understand. Human nature is the same and it will
require a great deal of the grace of God to smother out all the
horrible memories that have passed from individual hearts into the
heart of the Race to which I belong. But the time will doubtless come
and then we will see a different state of affairs.
I remember another incident at this place. As I have said, the smallpox
was raging. I was invited to conduct the funeral of a small boy who
had died of this disease. When I went to the house and was seen by
the mother, she rushed to me and threw her arms about me and wept.
Of course she had been nursing the child. I was greatly annoyed by
this foolish act which threatened the health of my own family, but
as the good Lord willed, nothing came of it. After doing my best
here, I decided that I would not stay longer. I consulted Bishop
Ward and others. They told me that I was making a very unwise step,
but I got a transfer and went to Bishop Brown in the North Carolina
Conference. The Conference met November 14th. at the Gaston Chapel,
Morgantown, N. C., presided over by Bishop Brown. The regular routine
of business was taken up and the reports showed a growing condition of
the church. Dr. H. M. Turner, manager of the Publication Department
and J. H. W. Burley, financial secretary, appeared and made their
reports. The number of members in the Conference as reported were,
5131; probationers 877; churches 58; support of pastors $4749.51. I was
received into this Conference and appointed to the station, Raleigh,
N. C.
I had instructions to go to Mr. Norfleet Dunson, but he was away and I
was sent to Mr. Stewart Ellisons.
When I went to Raleigh, I had a very discouraging experience. I drove
up to a Brother Ellisons’, rapped on the door. A lady came to the door.
I told her that I was the preacher who had been sent to the St. Paul’s
A. M. E. Church. She informed me that all her family had gone to the
funeral, so I had my trunk brought upon the porch and sat down upon
it. She had evidently expected me to come in when the trunk was safely
on the porch. But I remained in the porch, being worn out and out of
patience.
Presently she came out and invited me in. I told her that no one was
at home but herself and that I would remain outside until the folks
came home. She said, “Now I don’t want any foolishness around here,
if you have been sent here to be pastor of our church, you come right
in.” Well, that was hearty enough a reception, a positive command, of
course I obeyed orders, I had learned this in the army. Soon the family
returned. They were delighted to see me, built a fine fire, made ready
a fine supper, and after a social time I was sent to a good bed. After
I retired I felt very much ashamed of myself for the ugly feeling I
had harbored and repented of my sins. It never pays to allow one’s bad
feelings to get the better of their good feelings, for they always pay
a big price for the victory. My official board was made up of John
O’Kelley, Stewart Ellison, Norfleet Dunson, Seth Nowell, and Henry
Hunter. They were a very fine set of men. We went to work in earnest,
bought a lot and paid off a great many debts. There were over 230
accessions to the church, of whom I baptized about 150 by immersion. I
received a salary of $1000.00 which was very large at that time in our
Connection. They gave me $75.00 that I might bring my wife and daughter
from Algiers, La. The Colored people at this place were very successful
in business and of good reputation and character. The White people,
that is those especially interested in us, were very kind indeed. A
Mrs. Dorr, (white) was principal of the school for Colored children.
She did a great deal for the uplifting of the Race. Mr. Tupper, (white)
was the president of Shaw University, a Baptist school of the Colored
people. My daughter, Ada, taught rhetoric, in the Shaw University.
I concluded my work at this place and was able to carry to the
Conference fine reports. This was largely due to the fact that the
church was very spiritual. It was on the Lord’s side on all those
questions which affect the religion of a community. Sometimes a
minister is looked upon as the cause of the failures of a church, in
its work, as a rule he is blamed, but this is a mistake. The general
cause is to be found in the church. A good church with a poor pastor
will succeed, but a bad church with a good pastor is liable to fail.
Christ could do no mighty works in a certain place because of their
unbelief. There are many good preachers who are unable to do good work
because of the unbelief of the people and the consequence of this
unbelief. It acts as a kind of paralysis, and indeed it is, a paralysis
of the church.
I left this church for the station of Newberne, N. C. This was my
birthplace. I was really glad to get back to the place where I first
saw the light. I had been absent for twenty years. I saw that great
changes had taken place during this time. There were no slave gangs, no
whipping posts, no slave pen, no auction block. One of the first things
that I did was to go to see a tree opposite the house of Bob Walker, in
an old field, the spot where Tom Lewis had been whipped nearly to death
for attacking a White man. After they had nearly killed him they took
him down to the boat and put him on it and told him that he was never
to put the prints of his feet on that part of the country again.
I was received very cordially by the church members. Many of them I
remembered as my friends twenty years ago and longer. I had charge of
Rue’s Chapel. My first year was a very successful one. I was returned
again the second year.
Newberne has quite a history. It is situated on the banks of two
rivers, the Neuse and Trent rivers. The elm trees are magnificent.
Here lived the Stevenses, Jenkinses, Bryans, Webbs, and others, all
old slave owners. They were of course deeply interested in the traffic
and did all in their power to keep the regime from passing away. There
was a Colored man at this place that owned slaves also, a Mr. J. S.
Stanley. Newberne was a great turpentine center. There were turpentine
distilleries here and about here. But great changes had taken place.
The magnificent dwelling house of the Stevens was now occupied by
a Colored man and run as a hotel. A Mr. George H. White was the
superintendent of the public schools, (Colored) at this place and had
also a law office. He afterwards became solicitor of state and a member
of the U. S. Congress. He is now the president of a Savings Bank, on
Lombard Street, Philadelphia, Penna. Mr. Sylvester Mackey and Judge
Mumford were merchants. Presiding Elder, Edward Hill, of the Zion A.
M. E. Church, was a wealthy planter. Mrs. Edward R. Richardson was a
clerk in the Post Office. Mr. John Willis was a deputy sheriff. These
and other men and women had made good their opportunities. They had not
only welcomed the change from slavery but they had taken their places
as freedmen among the citizens of this country and had demonstrated
that they had in them that out of which the best citizens are made. I
forgot to mention that the Rev. J. C. Price, D.D., former president of
Livingston College, Salisbury, N. C., was born at this town. Dr. Price
was one of the most distinguished orators, educators and scholars of
the country regardless of color.
After my second year at this place, I attended the General Conference
of the A. M. E. Church which met in St. Louis, Mo. I took my wife
and baby and we went up on boat. My daughter Ada returned to Shaw
University, Raleigh, N. C. where she was an instructor. At St. Louis,
I met a great many ministers whom I knew and many more with whom I
got well acquainted. I was quite indisposed while there, but was able
to attend the sessions of the Conference. It was at this Conference
that Elder R. H. Cain, D.D., made his defense against the charge of
maladministration in office. And I am sure that it was his noble
defense that brought about his election to the office of Bishopric.
While in St. Louis, I visited some of the places of interest. I
called upon Mr. J. Milton Turner, editor of the Freeman’s Journal who
afterward represented the U. S. as minister to Hayti.
I visited a large Catholic (Roman) school. This was my first visit
to a Roman Catholic institution of any kind. I was deeply impressed
with the services, with the use of crucifixes, and the place that
images held in their service. It was very strange to me. I could not
understand how their minds and hearts could be fixed on God while at
the same time they were giving so much time to these genuflections,
rituals, and ceremonies. I remembered the second commandment. I saw
that this commandment was being broken. For there were the images and
likenesses of things in Heaven and on the earth, if not under earth.
And yet at the same time these people seemed to be in earnest, they
did what they had before them with a devotion that attracted. But it
was all wrong because the Word of God in one of the Ten Commandments
condemned it. The Roman Catholic Church with all its pomp, pride and
wealth, is wrong in its fundamental principals and is therefore guilty
of idolatry--they are not worshipping God only, they are worshipping
saints and other divinities.
On Thursday, May 20, 1880, Revs. H. M. Turner, R. H. Cain, W. F.
Dickerson were elected bishops of the A. M. E. Church. Bishops Payne,
Wayman, Campbell, Shorter, Ward and Brown, together with the required
number of elders, officiated. I left St. Louis and on my way home,
stopped over in Little Rock, Ark., spending Sunday there. It was my
pleasure to preach in Bethel Church on Sunday afternoon, for the Rev.
Dr. J. T. Jennifer, the pastor of the church. I enjoyed meeting my
many old friends. I was soon back at my work in Newberne, N. C., and
remained there until the end of the year. Quite a number of members
united with the church and debts were paid off. My work at this place
was reasonably successful.
I attended the Conference that met in Raleigh, N. C. On account of my
mother’s health I requested a transfer from this section to the North,
and at this Conference I was transferred to the Conference of New
Jersey. I received appointment to the station of Morristown, N. J. I
arrived at Morristown with my daughter, Ada. It was midnight and very
cold. I was somewhat discouraged. My daughter said to me, father, it is
very cold and the outlook is a gloomy one, but I am here to stay with
you and help all that I can. (Poor child, long since she passed away to
that country where the inhabitants are free from the tribulations of
this world.) I was reminded of a couplet in one of the old hymns,
“Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer though they die.”
[Illustration: BISHOP JOHN M. BROWN, D.D., D.C.L.