On April 18, 1883, the New Jersey Conference met at Bridgeton, N. J.,
in the Mt. Zion A. M. E. Church. My report was as follows: Contingent,
$1; salary, $580; traveling expenses, $12; P. E. support, $49; Dollar
Money, $27; Missionary Fund, $12; Sunday School, $22; number of
members, 61; probationers, 4; Sunday School scholars, 120. I was sent
from this Conference to Trenton, N. J., where I spent two years in the
pastoral work. I increased the membership of this Church from 62 to 180
during this time and paid off a great many debts and advanced the cause
of Christ in many ways. After this pastorate, I served the Macedonia A.
M. E. Church, Camden, N. J.
I attended the General Conference in Baltimore, which was a wideawake
meeting. While living and working in Camden I bought my first house
and became a property owner. I did this because the parsonage could
not be vacated at the time I needed the house. I have never regretted
this step. And I hope that many who read this volume will take a
similar step. There is no comfort like living under your own “vine
and fig tree.” My work in the Camden Church was very successful. I
had associated with me Mr. C. W. Robinson, Taswell Green, W. Starr,
James Hunt, James Martin, George Rice, Mary White, Lizzie Green, Mary
Merril, Emma Pitts, Mary Stevenson and other helpers, whose loyalty and
faithfulness were most praiseworthy.
We had the great pleasure of entertaining the Conference, which was a
most profitable meeting. The Conference was opened by a sermon from
Bishop Campbell and presided over by Bishop Wayman. I was complimented
at this meeting by the brethren along the strain that God had special
blessings prepared for me and that in a peculiar sense He had cared
for me. I told them that I praised Him for all that I was, and had
been able to do for Him; that they all knew that I had started
without any education in the schools. I had been blessed with good
health and ordinarily good sense; that my school was the school in
which Jesus Christ is the Principal and the Holy Spirit the Teacher;
that I had associated every day with my schoolmates, the sun, moon,
stars, rivers, trees, grass, flowers and birds; that the world was my
blackboard, and the mountains my college walls. Here is where I got my
start. As I now look out on the young men who are entering the ministry
and see the splendid opportunities they have of acquiring an education,
I am really appalled that they do not improve these opportunities. It
is a mystery to me. I hope that the Holy Spirit will awaken in the
minds and hearts of the young men of my race who expect to preach the
Gospel, the determination and effort to thoroughly prepare themselves
to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I was left at the Macedonia Church for another year. We were able to
complete the Church during this year, and it was dedicated on the 24th
of October, 1886, by Bishop Wayman. The collection which we were able
to raise at this dedicatory service was $900. The church building is
a fine edifice, with stained glass windows and a fine pipe organ. We
were very proud of our work. At this service I performed two marriages
between Mr. Frank Miller and Miss Georgia Stratton, and Mr. Charles
J. Cloud and Miss Sarah J. Beatty. I finished my work in Camden, paid
$11,000 on indebtedness, was blessed with 200 conversions, of whom 160
united with the church and paid for my house at No. 332 Washington
Street, Camden, N. J. I left an indebtedness of $5000 in the church.
The Conference of 1886 met at Trenton, N. J., and was presided over
by Bishop Wayman. It was a very profitable meeting. The Conference
appointed a committee to call on the Governor of the State. They
arranged a time and had a most pleasant meeting with this official.
Rev. W. A. S. Rice, D.D., was the spokesman of the committee, which
consisted of Rev. J. P. Sampson, D.D., W. A. S. Rice, D.D., and Rev. A.
H. Newton, D.D. The Governor afterwards sent for Dr. Rice and asked him
what the Conference wanted in making a call upon him. Dr. Rice was not
able to say anything definitely. Then he told Dr. Rice of a provision
which the legislature had made for the founding and maintaining of a
Colored Industrial School. The outcome of this conference of Dr. Rice
with the Governor was that the Industrial School at Bordentown was
established and that Dr. Rice became its honored founder.
I would like to say in this connection that the chairman of this
committee, Rev. J. P. Sampson, D.D., my life long friend, has ever been
prominent in the work of the church. He is a man of fine ability, of
sound judgment, and of noble Christian character. He has been tested by
me during a long life and I have ever found him to be tried and true.
I always know where to find Dr. Sampson on any great and important
question, he is on the right side.
I was sent to Bridgeton, N. J., and served this charge with
cheerfulness and success. At the next Conference I was appointed by
Bishop Campbell, pastor over the Millville Circuit. I made my home at
Vineland, N. J. I looked after the church in Vineland. This being a
very poor charge, my wife raised chickens and the children gardened,
and we were able to live. I went back to my old trade at odd times,
that of bricklayer. I did not fear to take off my coat, roll up my
sleeves and go to work. I made $3.75 a day, paid off the debt on
the church, preached to them on Sundays and added quite a number to
the church. I went from here to New Brunswick, N. J., and was quite
successful. I found the people thoroughly alive to the interests of
the Kingdom of Heaven. This church had the honor of entertaining the
Eighteenth Annual Conference of the A. M. E. connection at the end of
my first year. This Conference showed a deeper interest in the cause
of education than any other. The speech that stirred the Conference
was made by editor L. J. Coppin. The reports at this Conference showed
a total membership of 4352; Probationers, 1200; Accessions, 1036;
Preachers, 71; Sunday School Scholars, 3694; Dollar Money, $1538.52;
Pastors’ Support, $18,000. I remained at this charge for another year.
I determined that I would do the best work of my life this year. In
examining myself I found that I was as full of zeal as when I first
entered the ministry and that the secret motive was to please the Lord
by serving Him to the best of my ability. I was greatly aided in my
work by the Rev. J. H. Morgan, the presiding elder. He had the tact
and good sense to bring about a most pleasant relationship between
pastor and people. The Rev. Mr. Pockman, of the Reformed Church, aided
me very much in my work. I always sought the advice and help of my
Methodist brethren, as well as the brethren of other denominations.
William Stiles, Dorie Davis, Josiah Henson, Thomas March, Alice
Thompson, Mrs. March, Samuel Dowdie, Harriet Henson, and others were my
valuable co-workers during this year. We paid off the debt, furnished
the parsonage, repaired and carpeted the church building, paid the
mortgage of 15 years’ standing and were blessed with an addition to
the membership of forty-two souls. I was therefore able to take a
good report to the next meeting of the Conference. The reports at
this Conference showed splendid progress being made by this branch
of the Methodist Church. And it requires but a brief examination
to prove that this is also true of every denomination represented
among my people. I submit a few facts and figures that may be of
great encouragement to my friends who have the patience to read this
volume. There are 55,784 church organizations; 56,228 church buildings;
2,672,977 members of all denominations; church property is valued at
$32,510,448; when I enlisted in the Civil War we had practically no
schools, because before the war it was a misdemeanor to teach Colored
children in school, now there are upwards of 2,000,000 Colored children
attending well taught schools. This is a record of which we are very
proud, but by no means satisfied with the achievement. We must press
forward along all lines of work and enterprise. There is no time for
idling, there is no place for drones, there is no reward for ignorance.
My next assignment was Cape May, N. J. During the pastorate of Rev. J.
Height Bean, D.D., this church had bought a lot on which was a house
used as a parsonage. We were greatly favored here by a Mr. Ogden, who
aided us in procuring lumber. He was a most kind man to the poor and
needy and in his kindness he knew no color line. The church building
was not plastered or seated, so we decided to borrow money for this
purpose. We needed $500 and owed a mortgage of $1200. We had not a
cent. Therefore the Board decided on a rally. At this rally we had with
us the Rev. Israel Derricks, of the Conference of New York. On that day
we raised $168 in cash and $50 in subscriptions. On another Sabbath
later we raised $250. Rev. Levi Coppin aided us very materially that
day. So that at last we were able to pay in cash $468 of the $500 which
we had expected to borrow. The School Board at Cape May applied to me
for two teachers to fill vacancies in public school. I recommended
Miss Gertie Pierce, of Trenton, N. J., and Miss Fannie Worthington, of
Washington, D. C. They were accepted and given positions. Our church
at this place supplied two of the school teachers, this year, for the
teaching of the Colored children. The Misses Gertie Pierce and Fannie
Worthington were the young ladies. Through the spiritual activity of
the members we had a splendid revival during the year which resulted
in forty members being added to the church, and in all 62 members. We
installed a pipe organ also. I am glad to say that the members of this
church were in dead earnest. So I had no trouble with mud-slingers
and evil doers. How much time of a pastor is frequently taken up in
fighting against the Devil who is incarnated in some of the members of
the church!
[Illustration: BISHOP HENRY M. TURNER