DR

The United Brethren Church was just getting well on its feet when I first came to Parkersburg. The building of their brick church had been a heavy job, and they were struggling hard to pay for it.

Their pastor at that time, 1880, was Dr. Zebedee Warner, one of the most intellectual men in Parkersburg at that time. I greatly admired his mental and social gifts, and he was a reformer by instinct. He always was on the right side of every moral question. Few men cared to meet him in debate.

He was rare company. I loved to hear him in the preacher’s meeting, or in a church service. On the platform he was a power to be counted with. When he attacked the liquor traffic he simply made the fur fly. When his brow wrinkled, and his eyes blazed, the machinery under his hair was working faultlessly. We were pastors at the same time there, and about the same time we were made presiding elders. We rode together on the trains Saturdays and Mondays, and had many hours of delightful and helpful converse [sic].

Value of Good Reading

He and his good wife celebrated their silver wedding in Parkersburg. I selected one of the very choicest books in my library, and took it along as my silver gift. I had written on the fly leaf this dedication: “Silver and gold have I none” (to boast of) “but such as I have” (the most of) “give I unto thee.” I knew that such a book meant more to Warner than a handfull [sic] of silver for, if he had the silver much of it would go for books. He not only read books greedily, but also wrote books. His life of Rev. Jacob Bachtell, one of his first books, I greatly enjoyed. Sometime ago I sent my copy to the library of the West Virginia Wesleyan, with about a thousand other volumes. Hundreds of retired preachers who have good big libraries should do this.

Dr. Warner was elected missionary secretary of his aggressive church, and went to live in Nebraska. Of course in travelling [sic] over that broad west he was much exposed in all sorts of weather, and broke down and died while still far from being an old man. Had he lived he would doubtless have been made a bishop.

I have often wished that there were some sort of syringe with which one could pump the physical vitality out of some big, strong, worthless fellow, and inject into a slender man of low vitality and mentality. What a wise use of physical strength that would be. It could be wisely used on Warner.

Rev. S. J. Graham followed Dr. Warner as pastor of the United Brethren church. A devoted earnest Christian minister. [sic] He was rather spent and worn when he came here. In revivals he had preached and sang himself away. He had poured out his strength like water at the altar of the church. He knew nothing about spring himself. It is a sad sight to behold a noble minister a burned out man. Graham had been a power in other days. He went west and died out there.

Among the laymen of this hardworking church I recall Brother McCandless and his son-in-law, Charley Mayhall (ask Jimmy Bryan) and the storekeeper, Brother Spence.

Bishop Weekley and U. B. Church

Bishop Weekly and I had become acquainted long before this while we both were callow youths in the ministry. When I think of all that he has gone through and endured, I am filled with amazement that he is still among us. Like myself his health is not firm. We both have too much heart. I trust that he soon may be about again. It is a great disappointment to him that his physician would not consent for him to attend United Brethren General conference recently in session in Buffalo, N. Y. This would have been his eleventh session, covering a period of more than forty years.

I loved the United Brethren church, and profoundly respect her. She is true and devoted to the faith of the fathers. Her ministers preach the deal old Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is not at all pestered with modernism. Is too busy in the great work of saving men to look about for a substitute for the Gospel of the Divine Son of God. Her work for many years was among plain and lowly people: but she is now receiving her reward. The sons and daughters of these plain people become educated, and have progressed exceedingly.

She is building some handsome brick and stone churches and parsonages of comfort all over the country; and her colleges and theological seminary are well-sustained. Her publishing house in Dayton, Ohio, is a magnificent and stately building. I was converted at her altar in a rude little schoolhouse, and shall always be grateful to her—May God continue to bless and pamper her!

Religious Controversy

I visited New Haven, West Virginia, my boyhood home, about a dozen years ago. An old lady friend, a member of this church, said to me: “George, I have never forgiven you for leaving the United Brethren church, although it took place about fifty years ago.” I smiled and replied: “Margaret, I’ll give you fifty more years to get over it.” I had been reared in the Methodist church and, when there came to me the unmistakable call to preached [sic] the Gospel, I naturally became a Methodist preacher. Have never regretted my choice.

When I became a pastor in Parkersburg there were two Presbyterian churches, the old building, near the railroad bridge almost opposite the old Methodist parsonage, and a newer structure on the higher ground, midway between the Baltimore & Ohio station and the Kanawha river [sic].

The pastor of the old church was Dr. Loyal Young, a remarkable man at that time almost eighty years old. He came from Pennsylvania many years before. He was a scholarly, cultured man, the author of a number of books. Near me, in Newark, is an able Presbyterian minister, bearing the honored name of Dr. Loyal Young Graham. He was born in Butler, Pa., when his father was a pastor there. Dr. Young had served this Butler church for many years and his name there still was an ointment poured forth. I had in my library one of Dr. Young’s books, which I recently presented to his namesake here, Dr. Graham.

Religious Problem

A successful and profitable union revival was conducted in Parkersburg by a famous evangelist named Hammond. All of the churches gathered in a great many members. One choice family decided to join Dr. Young’s church, but they wanted to be baptized by immersion and the Presbyterian church doesn’t practice this form of baptism. So there was a hitch. One day Dr. Young had an original idea which greatly pleased him, and forthwith he sauntered forth to call on his good friend, Dr. Carter of the Baptist church. He laid his problem before Carter and asked him if he would not, as a personal favor, immerse this Presbyterian family for him.

Those of you who knew Carter can readily imagine how this unique proposition would tickle him. In the mimitable [sic] way of his, he put his head on one side and solemnly replied, “Dr. Young, I appreciate your difficult situation. We endeavor to do our own job of washing as best we can, but we don’t take in washings.” Poor Dr. Young!

Counting Wood

In the other Presbyterian pulpit was Dr. Hamner, an energetic, enterprising man, who worked pretty hard at his job, but he did not have the happy faculty of getting on well with people who did not understand his way. Then, too, he lived away out in the edge of the city—I suppose it’s in the city now—and people had to walk a long distance in order to call on him for any needed service. So, after they looked up some other minister.

In our minister’s meeting, on Monday evenings, Dr. Hamner invariably reported large congregations, utterly regardless of the weather. We could not understand this. His church was small and his membership limited. One Monday morning, Dr. Hamner being absent—I explained it to the meeting on this wise. A few days before this, in passing the church I noticed that the doors were open. I stepped in to look about. It was a small room, not a great many pews, but one thing about these pews caught my attention. The end of the pews stood up about as high as the heads of the people in them, and these tops were rounded off about the size of a man’s head. Dr. Hamner, being rather near-sighted, counted all of these pew-ends as members of his congregation. Of course the weather did not materially affect the size of his congregation. Those faithful pew-heads were in their places, rain or shine. After this, whenever Dr. Hamner spoke in our meeting of his large congregations, the ministers present for some reason, would look at me and smile.

One summer Sunday evening, a few years ago, I preached in a Newark Methodist church. At the close of the service Dr. Hamner walked forward and greeted me. We sat down and had a good old Parkersburg talk. He was visiting his son who is the pastor of a nearby Dutch Reformed church. This son—a middle-aged man—is stout and fair like his good mother. Dr. Hamner was tall and slender, and of rather dark complexion. What a variety there is in the Christian ministry. Dr. Young was followed by a fine young man named Powell.

When I was a pastor in Vancouver, State of Washington, on the bank of the Columbia river, a few miles from Portland, Oregon, the Presbyterian general assembly met in Portland. One Sunday Dr. Moffatt, a Wheeling pastor, afterward president of Washington-Jefferson college, preached for me—Mr. Stapleton of Parkersburg accompanied him. They went with me to dinner and we talked West Virginia without let or hindrance.

Episcopalians

I was not very well acquainted in the Episcopal church so I can’t write very freely about these good people. They had a strong church, as far as wealth and social standing went, and good-sized membership. There were many devout people among them. Their rector, Dr. Gibson was a genial, cultured gentleman. He mingled freely among the professional men, a goodly number of these were members of his flock. I think that, in after years, he became a bishop in Virginia.

The bishop of West Virginia, Dr. George W. Peterkin, resided in Parkersburg. He was an exceedingly active, busy man. Because of his efficiency some of the youthful pun on his name, “In the other churches many of their ministers can’t do things, but the Episcopal church is all right, for Peter-Kin.” Dr. Hamner gave a dinner at his home to the ministers of the city. This good bishop and I fell into a warm discussion about the liquor traffic. He stood for high license, and I for prohibition. We had a warm time. As we were leaving, I asked Dr. Carter why he did not help me in attending to the bishop. He quietly replied: “I saw that you were doing well without any help.” If the bishop were living today I have no doubt that he would be an ardent prohibitionist. Bishop Manning of New York and Bishop Lines of Jew Jersey and Canon Chase of Gotham, all are hearty prohibitionists. Their ministers, pretty generally, take the same position.

A minister by the name of Woods lived in Parkersburg, and preached, from time to time, in small surrounding churches. In one of our meetings he rose to speak. To illustrate his point he was describing a battle between the Romans and some other nation. He was using elegant, classic language in painting the conflict. He went on and on. All at once he discovered that he was speaking at too great length. He abruptly blurted out: “Suffice it to say that the Romans got away with ‘em!” And then, some preachers smiled in meeting.

East Orange, N. J.

Retrieved and transcribed by Nanci Headley Kotowski from the June 2, 1925 issue of The Parkersburg Sentinel, p. 8-A.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT SOME OF THOSE MENTIONED IN THE ABOVE ARTICLE, PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING:

http://www.webroots.org/library/usahist/howvc003.html

Rev. Zebedee Warner, Rev. Moses Weekley, and Bishop William Weekley. (See “United Brethren” on this site.)

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http://www.famousamericans.net/zebedeewarner/

http://geneasearch.com/genealogy/wvauthors.htm See: Zebedee Warner, D.D.

Zebedee Warner

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http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:YRiczBe12xcJ:www.aca-dla.org/DLA_ALL/image/615.pdf+%22S.+J.+Graham%22+United+brethren&hl=en

S. J. Graham