OUR PASTORAL HERITAGE

In early boyhood he came to this country and entered a mercantile establishment in Philadelphia, where along with E. H. Stokes and others, under the ministry of Rev. Charles Pitman, he was brought to the knowledge of God, and began at once to engage in the public exercises of religion. He soon removed from there to New York, where he still continued his public work among the missions of that city. Here he became so favorably known that when Dr. John S. Porter, a Presiding Elder in the New Jersey Conference in 1843, needed a young man for a supply on his district, his attention was turned to him and a place was given him there and at the succeeding Conference in Trenton, along with E. H. Stokes, Samuel VanSant, A. E. Ballard and fourteen others, he was received on trial, passing at the end of two years into full membership, which position he maintained in unbroken efficiency to the close of his career.

His early appointments were popular and his grade advanced rapidly. In a very few years after his admission he was made a Presiding Elder, the youngest man, it was said, ever appointed to that office in the Conference. In the midst of these duties his health failed him and he made a voyage to England for the double purpose of a visit to his relatives and recuperating his health. While there he came in contact with men and women who had entered into higher religious experiences than his own, and impressed with its great spiritual possibilities he sought and realized its blessedness. With his soul made freshly alive in this he entered with new vigor upon his Gospel work whose results soon became apparent in the quickening of his churches and the number of converts added to them. In this spirit he affiliated with the movement which let to the National Camp Meeting Association of which he remained a member to the end. This was followed by a charter membership in the Ocean Grove Association, in which fellowship he died.

So deeply did this experience pervade his being that the became the editor of the Methodist Home Journal, a journal devoted to the propagation of the doctrine. This afterwards passed into the possession of our Association and he assumed the editorial charge of the "Guide to Holiness," which he continued to edit as long as his ability to labor lasted.

During all this time he was a contributor to other publications. He published a volume entitled "Father Braddock," representing our itinerancy in the matter of the personal support of its ministry, which attained at the time a considerable popularity. For some years previous to his decease he was engaged in compiling a history of the National Camp Meetings, which he had about completed, but which he was unable to publish, and which may yet be given to Methodism as a necessary part of its wonderful history. In the course of his ministry he had filed acceptably the Secretaryship of the Seaman’s Friend Society and the agency of the Freedmen’s Aid Society. He was a man of intense convictions. Once convinced, nothing moved him-his dearest friends were without influence to change him. He seemed with these convictions in the presence of his Maker, and refused even to discuss a compromise. Every one knew exactly where he stood and no one expected to charge him.

He was deeply interested in the work of missions. He gave it his voice and pen and he gave his children. His only son is a minister in the West. His eldest daughter died in the work in India; another is commissioned now for the same lands, and the youngest has given herself for several years to the Home Mission work in this country.

In the work of his ministry his pulpit language, though ornate, was always chaste and clear. Of his oratory, Dr. Buckley said of him, "He often rose to the dramatic. His discourses were both logical and forceful and appealed to the higher principles which govern human nature in the consideration of its relations to God. And converts of his ministry were usually such whose solidity made them of special value to the churches.

It was in his home life, however, that this man of God developed his highest traits of character. His wife, whose life of entire sympathy with the sacrifices of his life and work was called by him the Angel of Providence. No wife ever had a tenderer husband and no wife ever deserved it more. Fatherhood in him was so deep and true that his children called him blessed, and his memory is their blessing still.

He had been in failing health for the past two years. At the Conference before the last he believed it would be his last, and told us if he died without meeting us again, we might rest assured that he was gone to God. For several years he had resided in Orange, but had lately contemplated removing to Ocean Grove, where he might pass the evening of his life in the fellowship of its association. But the disease advanced so rapidly that this became impossible and he remained in Orange until his death. In the weeks during which he was passing through the Valley of the Shadow he seemed sometimes to have passed beyond the curtain, when the force of life would return and he would linger on. His long conference and confidential associate and friend Dr. Ballard, on one of his visits to him, found him "ready." He said, "I thought a few days ago that I was passing over, but for some reason, I do not know what the Lord leaves me here a little longer. It makes no difference to me, I am with the Lord here and I should be with Him there. It is all the same here or there." At times his countenance flamed with the light of the glory of God as he neared the eternal glory. In the midst of excruciating agony of body he spoke the praises of the Lord in one exaltation of spirit which rose above the agony.

In this mood he fell asleep in Jesus. In this mood he has risen to visible fellowship with Him, and in this mood he awaits our following him, to the place where he serves God today.

PHILIP CLINE

Philip Cline was born in Philadelphia, Pa., July 11, 1821. His parents were devoted members of the Baptist Church. In early childhood he was bereft of his mother. Her death deeply affected him, but his diffident, retiring nature shrank from the task of unbosoming his convictions and often, in after years, he was known to remark that any kind friend perceiving his distress of soul might then have led him to Jesus. In October, 1841, he came under deep conviction and asked the Lord to pardon his sins. At a protracted meeting held in the Cohocksink M.E. Church, Rev. J. A. Roche of the Philadelphia Conference, pastor, he went forward to the altar and was saved. Great joy was his and he shouted the praises of God in the regular, orthodox fashion.

The gifts and graces of Bro. Cline were early recognized. He was licensed to exhort September 1, 1842, and in April, 1844, to preach and supplied Bristol, Pa., seven months under the distinguished Dr. John P. Durbin. Admitted into the New Jersey Conference in 1850 he served the following appointments: Bargaintown Circuit; Medford Circuit, Union, Camden; Commerce Street Church, Bridgeton; Front Street Church, Trenton; Pitman, New Brunswick; Red Bank, First Church, Millville; Hightstown, First Church, Salem; Pemberton, Mt. Holly, Gloucester City, Woodstown, Keyport, First Church, Atlantic City; North Long Branch, Haddonfield, Hammonton, Blackwood. At the session of the Conference held in Trenton, March, 1897, he was, at his own request, granted a supernumerary relation and removed to Wenonah where on February 10, 1898, he passed from labor into rest. Thus for nearly a half century in the blessed work of soul-winning, lived this unostentatious, thoughtful Christian worker. His ministry was signally honored and owned of his Master and characterized by revivals of great power, aggregating more than 2,000 precious souls converted to God.

Bro. Cline was beyond the average man, of sound physique, upright character, not a policy monger nor a time-server, of virile and independent thought, of sound reason and manly judgment, tender heart, commanding the respect of his brethren and winning the love of the churches. He was wise, careful, judicious and patient in his administrations-kind and helpful as a pastor. He excelled in his knowledge of the Scriptures, of which he was a diligent and thorough student. His sermons were clear in their conception, orderly in arrangement, lucid in statement, convincing in argument. Bro. Cline was a strong preacher, a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. He believed in Holiness, and without pretensions, in meekness and humility, lived it.

Vigor and strength seemed his to the last, not expecting, yet always ready for the hour of his departure. On the Sabbath evening preceding his death he preached for the writer a sermon of unusual strength and impressiveness-a beautiful and worthy conclusion of the grand work of his life. On Thursday morning he conducted family worship with marked tenderness and sweetness. After breakfast he complained of being ill. Lying down for a moment to rest, he knew not, but it was the Divine summons-the presence of the invisible chariot of God,-and without a sigh or a word he stepped in and was borne to his palace home.

SOCRATES TOWNSEND

Socrates Townsend was born at Cold Spring, Cape May County, N. J., February 4, 1816, and was translated from Cape May City, within four miles of where he was born, to his heavenly rest, September 13, 1899.

He was of good Methodist descent and was educated in the spirit and power of our early Methodism. In boyhood he was very conscientious and clearly heard his Savior calling him. At the age of eighteen he was soundly converted at a camp meeting in his

native county. His conversion was clear and bright, and for three years he walked with God with a consciousness of pardoned sin and regenerating grace. But his thirsty soul yearned for something more, and he definitely sought and obtained the blessing of perfect love. This rich experience enabled him to mature in grace very rapidly and made his path brighter and brighter until the day of his departure.

The Bible was the chief educator of his mind and heart, and he soon heard the Master’s command. "Go, preach my word." He at once obeyed and served the Medford charge one year under the Presiding Elder. He was received into the New Jersey Conference at its session in Broad Street M.E. Church, Burlington, in 1840, and for fifty-nine subsequent sessions the answer has been, "Nothing against Brother Townsend." No, not even a whisper or suspicion against the purity of his heart and character.

He was appointed to the following charges: Haddonfield Circuit, Tuckerton Circuit, Gloucester Point Mission, Bethel Mission. Overwork on these circuits mad it necessary for him to rest one year. Resuming his work again he labored on Salem Circuit, Glassboro, Keyport Circuit, Crosswicks, Lawrenceville Mission and Quarry Street, Newark, which was three years before the Newark Conference was organized and set off. Failing health compelled him to change his relation to supernumerary for two years. His next charges were Cape May City, Union Street, Trenton; Woodstown, Mauricetown and Upper Cape May Circuit.

Again his strength waned, and his friends feared his work was done, but after three years of rest, in answer to prayer, he was permitted to join the effective ranks again and labored faithfully at Fairton, Penns Grove, Sharptown, Medford, Florence, Little Silver, Bethel and Ocean City. He had reached his seventy-fifth year, and age and infirmities admonished him that his effective years were numbered. He had been a faithful and successful pastor for forty-four years. He was a revivalist, and his preaching was in the power and demonstration of the Spirit. The Lord abundantly blessed his labors in the charges he served with the ingathering of many souls and the sanctification of believers. He was a man of one book and he faithfully preached the word. He loved Methodism, its doctrines and polity. He was an itinerant of the primitive stamp; he trusted Providence and the constituted authorities of the church to send him where the Master wanted him to go. The theme of his preaching and the burden of his prayer was "Holiness unto the Lord," and his pure, lovely spirit and godly conversation was a living epistle of the higher Christian life. Like Barnabas, he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and faith. He was always sweet and happy, with a kind word and smile for every body, but no foolish jesting or idle words ever fell from his lips. He loved to be alone with God in prayer, and often when he came from secret communion with God his face was radiant with the glory of the Lord. He loved to talk about wrestling Jacob, because it was his own experience.

He closed his itinerant labors in 1890, but he did not cease to work. The writer became his pastor four years ago and found him abundant in labors, ministering to the sick and dying, a cheerful and efficient helper in all the social meetings and declaring in public and private, and from house to house, the unsearchable riches of Christ. He was a beloved father in Israel, esteemed and revered by all. The children and young people loved him because his youthful spirit made him seem like a junior pastor. The last year of his life he passed through sore afflictions, but his patient spirit bore it submissively as the will of God. The conflict was sharp, but the victory was glorious.

Bros. Townsend was twice married, both times very happily, his wives being sisters, daughters of Rev. Aaron Garretson, of Cape May City. His second wife survives to mourn her loss, but rejoicing in her ascended husband’s triumph.

Two daughters, the wife of Rev. G. L. Dobbins, Presiding Elder of Camden District, and Miss Margaret, and one son, Clawson, also survive. Funeral services were held in the M. E. Church, in Cape May City, conducted by his Presiding Elder, Rev. S. W. Lake, D. D. Appropriate addresses were delivered by Revs. G. Hughes, W. B. Osborn and the writer, Dr.J. B. Graw, Rev. J.  H. Payran, Rev. W. C. Stockton, a life long friend, participated in the services. The remains were interred in the cemetery at Tabernacle, near the place of his birth.

JESSE STILES

Jesse Stiles was born in Tuckerton, N. J., November 15, 1831. When eight years old he removed with his parents to Ohio, remaining there until he was twenty-one, when he returned to Tuckerton and followed the trade of a carpenter. Previous to his return he was converted, and united with the Church. Upon his return to Tuckerton, he joined the Church there, and engaged earnestly in work in the Church and Sunday School.

He was severely hurt by a fall from a house he was building, and while suffering from its effects it was impressed upon him that he ought to give himself to the work of the ministry. As soon as he recovered sufficiently he entered Pennington Seminary, and in 1859, with a class of seven others, was received on trial in the New Jersey Conference, having served one year at Marlton, under the Presiding Elder.

His subsequent appointments were Lawrenceville, Squan Village, Milltown, Clarksboro, Gloucester City, Bethel, Haddonfield, Red Bank, Trinity, Trenton, Commerce St., Bridgeton, Pitman, New Brunswick, Keyport, Calvary, Foundry, Millville, Eighth Street, Camden, Absecon, Woodstown, First Church, Bordentown, West Creek and Delanco. In 1902 he took a supernumerary relation and took up his residence at Pitman Grove, where he spent the remaining days of his life. In 1866 he was married to Miss C. A. Burrough, of Marlton, who has been a faithful helpmate to him in all the varied experiences of an itinerant’s life, and who, with a son and two daughters, now mourns his loss. In all the charges he served, he was earnest and faithful in labors, and was successful in winning many souls to Christ.

He believed thoroughly in the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a faithful exponent, in precept and experience, of the higher Christian life; and whether in denouncing sin, and portraying its consequences; or holding up Christ as a complete Saviour from sin, his preaching had no uncertain sound.

He was faithful in pastoral work, and many will rise up in eternity, and call him blessed.

For the last two years he has been rapidly failing in health. As long as it was possible for him to do so, he attended regularly the services of the Church, and his hearty Amen in prayer and in sermon, testified to his deep interest in the services.

The nature of his last illness was such as to render him delirious, with only occasional lucid intervals. In one of these intervals, he expressed to his Pastor, the Rev. F. L. Jewett, his unfaltering trust in Christ, and his bright prospect of the Heavenly home, to which he longed to go; and in a similar interval, he expressed the same to the writer, and responded heartily to the prayer offered at his bedside.

For about a week previous to his death, he was entirely unconscious, and on Thursday, March 12,, 1908, just before the setting of the sun, "the weary wheels of life stood still," and among his loved ones, who would have been so glad to have had a word of farewell from him, he quietly breathed his last.

His funeral services were held in the M. E. Church, at Haddonfield, on Monday afternoon, March 16. As the Annual Conference was then in session, but few of his brethren in the ministry were able to attend.

The services were conducted by the Rev. F. L. Jewett, assisted by the Rev. Joseph Garrison, and his mortal remains were deposited in the cemetery at Haddonfield, awaiting the resurrection of the just.

DAVID STEWART

Rev. David Stewart passed from earth to heaven, at Sharptown, New Jersey, Tuesday morning, July 9, 1901 after struggling with disease covering a period of six months. While pastor of "Wesley Memorial Church," Bridgeton, New Jersey, after successfully carrying on a revival service for many weeks, at which time 90 joined the church on probation, he attended a "watch-night meeting" and contracted a severe cold, finally developing into the grip. He continued his pulpit work, however, until Conference, when he was appointed to Sharptown charge in March, 1901.

When entering upon his new field of labor he was a very sick man, and was able to preach only two or three times, when he was compelled to go to his bed, and for three months the struggle was kept up with alternate hope and fear, until finally, in triumph he entered into his reward.

David Stewart was born in Derrylettiff, North of Ireland, July 27^th, 1839. His parents were Scotch-Irish and Methodists, his father being a local preacher and class leader.

In his diary he writes that he was savingly and soundly converted to God when but eight years of age. For a number of years he felt the call to the ministry, and on October 10, 1869, after dedicating himself to God at a "Wesleyan" chapel, he drew up a form of dedication and signed it, after which all of his energies were engaged in preparation for his life’s work.

In 1870, Brother Stewart, having received an invitation from Bishop Simpson, came to America. He reached New York in June, 1871, and was appointed by the Bishop to Jacobstown Circuit, which he served for one year. He was then sent to the Rancocas, Masonville and Charleston Circuit. The first year at this charge resulted in 72 probationers being received into the church.

In March, 1873, he was admitted into the Conference on trial, and returned to the Rancocas and Masonville Circuit. He was sent by Bishop Ames in 1874 to Stockton Church, Camden, where he had a glorious revival. He was ordained by Bishop Simpson in 1875 and stationed at Elmer. He subsequently served the following charges: ‘76 Dennisville; ‘77-’78, Marlton; ‘79-’81, Trenton, Homestead; ‘82-’84, Quinton; ‘85, Fairton; ‘86-’88, Tuckahoe; ‘89, Camden, Kaighn Avenue; ‘90-’91 Mauricetown; ‘92, Woodstown; ‘93, Pedricktown and Centre Square; ‘94-’98, Vincentown; ‘99-’00, Bridgeton, Wesey Memorial; 1901, Sharptown.

As a preacher Brother Stewart was strong, clear, incisive, and possessed the rare faculty of adapting the truth to individual needs without being personal. As a student of human nature, he made the gospel he preached luminous with the life of the present need.

He was conscientious in keeping the rules of the Methodist Episcopal Church without assuming to mend them, yet he was a man of independent judgment on all questions of church polity and of general interest. Of strong conviction, dominant personality and great energy and perseverance, and when once his mind was made up on a course of action, he never deviated a hair’s breadth in what he conceived to be his duty. He always had the courage of his convictions and was absolutely fearless of the thought of man. Of course, such strong traits of character brought him into conflict with the opinions of others, but though differing from them, he never entertained malice, and pursued his course in life for what he believed to be the "Truth’s sake." He had a kindly heart and aimed only to make the world better.

While stationed at Quinton he was happily united in marriage with Miss Hannah Robinson, a Christian woman worthy of his hand and heart, and who in a thousand ways aided in his work and won hosts of true friends and made him an ideal minister’s wife. She, with two sons, survives him, and though the loss is severe, they sorrow not as those who sorrow without hope.

He died a most triumphant death in the faith of the Gospel which he had preached. A few hours before passing away, he was heard to exclaim "Going!" On being asked by his wife where he was going, he promptly replied, "To Glory!" With his last breath he kept repeating: "Satisfied, satisfied, satisfied with Jesus."

The funeral services took place at Sharptown Methodist Church in charge of the writer, Rev. G. L. Dobbins, D. D., Presiding Elder of Camden District, Rev. J. W. Marshall, D. D., Rev. W. W. Moffett, D.D., Rev. D. B. Harris and Rev. J. L. Surtees assisted in the services. Dr. Dobbins and Dr. Moffett spoke of his life and work and the writer spoke of his death. A large number of ministers were present and gathered around the body and sang "Blest be the tie that binds," and all felt the solemnity and triumph of the hour. Interment was made at "East View" Cemetery, Salem, N. J.

Edward Hicks Durell

The senior member of the New Jersey Annual Conference and the "grand old man" of Pennington Seminary has passed to his heavenly coronation. Edward Hicks Durell, the son of William and Jemima Brown Durell, was born at High Bank, now Florence, N. J., June 16, 1829, and completed his earthly pilgrimage at Woodbury, N. J., February 4, 1922. His parents were Methodists, and previous to the erection of the Methodist Church in Florence, preaching services were held in his father’s house. It was in his father’s house that the Methodist Sunday School was started under the leadership of Alfred Carty and Miss Julia Durell, the sister of E. H. Durell. When the church was organized March 21, 1853, E. H. Durell was made secretary, and William Durell, his father, and Charles Durell, his brother, were elected trustees.

Brother Durell was converted when a boy in meetings held in a country school house. It was the old fashioned type of conversion. He rode home in a sleigh, shouting all the way. Under the influence of the Rev. William Tunison, afterwards his brother-in-law, he went to Pennington Seminary, much against his father’s wishes, having earned and save enough to pay his bills there. While there he roomed with James M. Buckley, later the renowned editor of the Christian Advocate. He entered the New Jersey Conference in 1854, after serving one year at New Egypt under the presiding elder. The following were his appointments: 1854, Farmingdale; ‘55 Atlantic City-changed to Blackwood; ‘56-7, Vincentown; ‘58-9, Imlaystown; ‘60, Windsor; ‘61 Cape May; ‘62, Lower Cape May; ‘63-4, Crosswicks; ‘65, Trenton, Front Street; ‘66, Atlantic Circuit; ‘67-8, Tuckahoe; ‘69-70, Mantua and Barnsboro; ‘71-3, Mauricetown; ‘74-6, Elmer; ‘77-9, Glassboro; ‘80-2, Williamstown; ‘83-5, Pennington; ‘86-8, Woodstown; ‘89, Unionville.

Brother Durell was married April 2, 1856, to Miss Hannah Ann Woodward, daughter of Anthony and Caroline Woodward. God blessed this union with nine children. This good wife and mother died March 13, 1874. On June 3, 1875, he took unto himself a second wife, Miss Kezia Woodward, the sister of his first wife. She died July 2, 1890.

In 1890, after thirty-six years of service in the effective ranks of the ministry, he took a supernumerary relation, and five years later a retired relation. He then turned his attention to the cultivation of cranberries. When he was pastor at Tuckahoe he planted his first bog, which was the beginning of a business that grew to such proportions that he became one of the largest cranberry growers in the State of New Jersey. But while he was phenomenally successful in business, he always considered his calling that of a minister, and strongly advised ministers not to go into business while preaching unless it was absolutely necessary.

At seventy-four years of age he was elected a trustee of Pennington Seminary, and continued such until his death, nineteen years later. Shortly after becoming a trustee he was elected treasurer of the board. It was, perhaps, as a trustee of the seminary that he accomplished his greatest work. His keen business sense, his unfailing integrity, his great confidence in and love for the seminary made him a valued member of the board in the long period of reconstruction that the school went through during his trusteeship. He was an inspiration and an encouragement to the board on all occasions, always backing up his counsel by his generous contributions. The name of Durell has been memorialized at the seminary by the naming of the swimming pool in the gymnasium after him.

Two of his children, Caroline Woodward Durell and William Edward Durell, are deceased. The others, Florence Durell Leming, of Woodbury, N. J.; Dr. Fletcher Durell, head of the department of mathematics at Lawrenceville, N. J.; George Briton Durell, of Cleveland, Ohio; Ecedorah Durell Westcott, Anthony Woodward Durell and Lillian Durell, of Woodbury, N. J., and Henry Leppee Durell, of Harriman, Tenn., survive him to revere his memory.

The funeral services were held at his late residence Tuesday afternoon, February 8, his district superintendent, Alexander Corson, being in charge. Addresses were delivered by Frank Moore and M. E. Snyder. His body was laid to rest the following day in Mercer Cemetery, Trenton, N. J.

RICHARD THORN, JR.

Rev. Richard Thorn, Jr., the son of Richard and Deborah Thorn, was bornin Bordentown, N. J. November 12, 1831, and died in Trenton, N. J., January 31, 1913, in the eighty-second year of his age and the fifty-seventh year of his ministry.

His parents were members of the Society of Friends, whose meetings he was accustomed to attend, and in which he claimed to have received his first promptings to a religious life. It is related of him that on one occasion when about eleven years of age, he suddenly arose in a meting and spoke with such pathos and power that his hearers were greatly moved, being assured that the Spirit of the Lord was speaking to them through a little child.

In 1849, when eighteen years of age, he was converted under the ministry of that eminent man of God, the Rev. Caleb Lippincott, almost forgotten now, but a mighty spiritual force in New Jersey Methodism three generation ago, and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Bordentown. While his conversion gave him, of course, newer and better views of a religious life, it doubtless helped him to decide upon his life work, and to feel that he was called to preach the gospel. In 1851 he was licensed an exhorter, and in 1855 was licensed a local preacher by the Rev. W. A. Wilmer, Presiding Elder. The following year his quarterly conference satisfied of his call, and that he had "gifts, grace and usefulness," recommended him to the New Jersey Conference, which admitted him on trial at its twentieth session, held in Broad Street Church, Newark, April, 1856, Bishop Simpson presiding. In 1858 he was admitted into full membership, and ordained deacon by Bishop Baker, and in 1860 was elected to elder’s orders, and ordained by Bishop Morris.

Brother Thorn began his ministry at Lawrenceville, N. J., in April, 1856, and his subsequent appointments were Windsor, Cedarville, Woodstown, Trinity, Bridgeton; Pitman, New Brunswick; Central, Trenton; First Church, Millville; Greene Street, now First Church, Trenton; Broad Street, Burlington; Broadway, Salem; St. Luke, Long Branch; and Clayton. In 1888, after thirty-two years of effective service, advancing years and failing health led him to ask for a supernumerary relation, which he held until 1891, when, finding no improvement in health, he superannuated.

In his personal life he won and held to the end, the confidence and esteem of the church and community for his consistent Christian Walk and conversation. He was an affable gentleman, genial and companionable, yet with the proper reserve of a Christian minister. As a preacher and pulpit orator he was easily in the front ranks. His sermons, prepared with close study and prayer, were scholarly and attractive in matter and arrangement, and presented with an easy and pleasing eloquence which secured for him large and attentive audiences in the churches to which he was appointed. In public prayer he was specially gifted; his petitions were devout expressions of faith and trust in the goodness and mercy of God, with earnest supplications for Divine guidance and aid, and tender entreaties for the afflicted and sorrowful, bearing the heavy burdens of life. There are many who remember his prayers and speak of them to this day.

He was abreast with the best theological thought of his time, and in later years, was fully conversant with the so-called advanced, and often skeptical, views of certain self-styled teachers of religious doctrine, yet he could not be led away from the faith of the Fathers, and induced to accept the vagaries of skeptical teachers.

In common with his brethren in the Conference he had a good measure of success in his ministry. The churches he served were pleased with him and helped by his labors, and the reports show an aggregate of 1,169 probationers added to their membership. At two appointments he thought he had unusual success. He writes, "God gave me great success at Pitman, New Brunswick," where he received 150 probationers, "but at Central, Trenton, I had my greatest success," where he received 125 probationers, and harmonized differences which threatened serious injury to the church.

During the long and weary years of his retirement he lost none of his interest in the work of the church, through unable to participate in it. He loved to hear of revivals and conversions, and everything concerning church prosperity and extension. His later years, despite physical infirmities, were years of clear and decided religious experience. He was assured of the Divine presence and support and looked forward with confidence to the time when he should be called home to see the King in His glory and meet again the friends and associates of his active life. The call was long delayed; the allotted period of three score and ten passed, and the four-score limit came and went, but still he lingered, but in his eighty-second year, in the Master’s good time, the call was heard and he passed quietly away, January 31, 1913.

Brother Thorn was married twice. His first wife, who entered the work with him, was his efficient helper during the years of his active ministry, greatly contributing to his success in the churches he served. She died in 1889, and in 1892 he married Miss Sarah Belle Hanna, of Trenton, who for twenty-one years, and during the period of his failing health, has been an affectionate wife, patient and untiring in her loving ministrations. She has our earnest prayers for Divine support and comfort in the lonely days of widowhood.

The funeral services were held in Trenton, February 5^th, in charge of the Rev. Dr. James William Marshall, District Superintendent, and attended by members of the Conference and representatives from former charges. Addresses were delivered by Dr. J. W. Marshall, Dr. H. J. Zelley, Henry Belting, Dr. James L. Gardiner, his pastor, Dr. Eli Gifford, and the writer, after which his remains were interred in the beautiful Riverview Cemetery in Trenton, overlooking the Delaware.

AARON EDWARD BALLARD

When the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met in thecity of New York in 1844, Brother Aaron E. Ballard was present at its sessions and witnessed the disruption of the church on the question of negro slavery. Is there another Methodist minister now living who was present and witnessed that event? I know of none.

At the time of his departure Brother Ballard was the patriarch of the New Jersey Conference. He had become a conspicuous landmark in the church, like some tall, shapely tree flourishing for nearly a century upon its eminence. But the stately cedars of Lebanon go down under the accumulating weight of years, even as the tender grass is cut down and withereth.

Aaron Edward Ballard was born in Bloomfield, N. J., December 25, 1820; he departed November 27, 1919. It is worthy of note that his two sisters, and also his daughter, Anna, were born on Christmas Day. He joined the New Jersey Conference in 1844. He served in the pastorate thirty-two years; in the presiding eldership eight years; twelve years as state temperance agent; twenty-three years as supernumerary and retired. He was also secretary of the American and Foreign Church Union, and president of the Evangelical Church Commission. In 1850 he was married to Miss Emily Young, of Morristown, N. J. Four children were added to the family. He survived the wife and children. In 1887 he was married to Miss Anna Miller, of Philadelphia, who, with their only child, Anna, survives him. He was not a man of robust constitution. In his second pastorate he was prostrated by an attack of brain fever, the result of overwork. In the year 1852, at Princeton, he suffered from hemorrhages of the lungs, which many thought would speedily terminate fatally, but such was his vitality that he soon recovered. And that supreme vitality and recuperating energy brought him safely through many another illness, as well as severe and painful accidents.

His opportunities for an early education were few. From the age of nine he was obliged to become a breadwinner for the family, but his desire for knowledge was always intense. He soon learned to read and in the intervals of his labor devoted himself to reading such books as he could secure for self-improvement, especially Shakespeare and other English classics for "style and vocabulary," as he expressed it, also ancient and modern history. He keenly felt his defect and so applied himself that he came to know something of Latin, Greek and Hebrew, but claimed no proficiency in these languages. And thus through his whole life he was an indefatigable reader. In traveling he always carried a book or magazine, and kept himself abreast with the news of the day, the affairs of the state, the church and society. He always knew what was going on in the world.

He has been styled a politician. It is true that for many years he was one of the most active and successful lobbyists in our State Legislature. He knew its personnel from year to year as well as any one, and feared no man. But he was working, not for himself, nor any political party. It was to secure the passage of a local option bill, in which he succeeded, and several counties in the State went dry, and others were ready to do so. But just at that time the temperance people, disagreeing on methods and polity, were defeated in the Legislature, and in a short time the local option bill was repealed. And again for many years he labored in the Legislature as the champion of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. Its charter, its autonomy, its very existence were threatened more than once in the Legislature of the State, by organized opposition, both active and strong, but by means of pen and tongue and personal appeal, by day and night, by incessant activity he won his case in every instance.

The life of Dr. Ballard was essentially connected with camp meeting interests in New Jersey. In 1867 he held a camp meeting at Vineland on his own responsibility, which he stated was the most notable camp meeting, in the conversion of sinners and sanctification of believers, that had ever been held in the state. It so impressed Inskip, Osborn, Cookman and others who participated, that the idea of a permanent camp meeting took favorable shape, and Ocean Grove and Pitman Grove were the result. He was one of the charter members of Ocean Grove, also its vice-president and president. He was one of the original stockholders of Pitman Grove, and its president for forty-six years. It was his skillful management that brought Pitman Grove out of its early financial difficulties and to its present high state of stability and success. He was a man of very pronounced religious convictions and profound Christian experience. Devout, reverent, holding conscious fellowship with God, who was to him, as he frequently expressed it, "the most real being in all the universe, a personal friend, nearer than any other."

The departure of Dr. Ballard was quiet, sudden, but not unexpected. Rev. J. W. Marshall was beside his couch a few hours before he passed away and read the twenty-third psalm, at which Dr. Ballard said: "That is the psalm my mother recited on her deathbed, these words were on her lips when she died." The body was placed in St. Paul’s Church, Ocean Grove, on Sunday afternoon, and lay in state from 3:30 until 7:00. Between these hours multitudes viewed the body. Every mark of respect was paid to the memory of Dr. Ballard. At the time of the public service in the church on Monday morning the building was filled with men and women representing all walks of life. T. J. J. Wright, pastor of St. Paul’s Church, conducted the services; F. A. DeMaris read the ritual; prayer was offered by John Handley; eulogies were pronounced by J. W. Marshall, who represented the Ocean Grove Association; J. D. Bills, who spoke for the New Jersey Conference, and a paper prepared by the directors of the Pitman Grove Camp Meeting Association was read by D. H. Schock. Bishop Luther B. Wilson, unavoidably absent, sent a telegram of regret and condolence. There was also a telegram from the White House, conveying the sympathy of President Wilson, who was for many years a friend of Dr. Ballard. Bishop Joseph F. Berry spoke for the Board of Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, testifying to the brilliancy and power of Dr. Ballard as a minister, the greatness of his mind, of his heart and of his service to the Methodist Episcopal Church. He said it was only once in a lifetime that people were permitted to assemble at the funeral of one who had lived so long and personally touched so many lives. "Multitudes have met Dr. Ballard, seen his face, heard his voice and carried away lasting impressions of him. There will be mourning in many homes and sadness in thousands of hearts. Our attitude is one of sympathy, but also of participation in a coronation. His was a great, a serviceable, a victorious and in an unusual way a complete life."

At the conclusion of the services all that was mortal of Aaron E. Ballard was taken to Bloomfield, N. J., and laid to rest in the Ballard family pilot in the cemetery. "Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city."

HENRY MONROE BROWN

One of my great surprises over the power of religion was found in listening to him when as a boy he conducted the family worship. He had at that time an impediment in his speech which seemed to disqualify him for public exercises. But when I listened to a flow of spiritual eloquence sent through a voice clear as a bell and sweet as a conception of heavenly music, as it pleaded with God, I raised my head in astonishment to discover that it was only the boy of my daily association, who was talking to God in the language of the spirit. This open work was continued by him as the opportunities of conversation and the meetings of the church permitted, and was made a factor amid other influences in bringing me to the same salvation as had been realized by him. The church pressed upon us both such labor as was appropriate to our years, and licensed us, under the Rev. Francis Morrill, as exhorters on the same day. We became interested in Soho, where the copper works ran uninterruptedly nights and days and Sundays, and where religious services of any kind were unknown. We enlisted R. S. Harris, another exhorter, afterward a member of the Conference, and began to hold meetings there. Revivals followed our labor, and the results still remain.

In his conception of the ministry he was essentially a revivalist, and in Bridgeton, Burlington, Long Branch and Elmer the revivals occurring under his ministry were among the largest ever had in those places. He possessed a clear, sound common sense. This was fully recognized by the churches which he served, and led to his being chosen a director from the inception of the New Jersey Conference Camp-Meeting Association at Pitman Grove, and later on to a membership in the Ocean Grove Association. In Pitman he risked the loss of a large part of his life’s savings rather than repudiate the debts for which he was not legally bound. In the Conference his many years of presidency over its Board of Stewards is remembered as something pleasurable alike to the dispenser and recipient of Conference funds.

He studied at Pennington Seminary, and in 1846 was received on trial in the Conference from which, without a break, he received his appointments for sixty years, until, after exhaustive pastoral work in the heat of last July, and an exceptionally hard day’s work in preaching, he succumbed to an attack of cerebral meningitis, and on the Sabbath following closed his work here and obeyed the Master’s call to "come up higher."

He was naturally a child of song, and his singing was a power in his ministry. If the feeling of a meeting was apathetic the magnetism of a song lifted it into alertness. If a company was together in social life, a song of Zion rendered by him, gave it its character. In the home life it was one of the chiefest charms. In Pitman and Ocean Grove, its business meetings found an enlivenment in his melody. In the latter place his rendering of "O come Angel bands" will never be forgotten. Among the mountains with Drs. Stokes and Ballard, the hills echoed with "The ninety and nine," until the angels seemed to answer the song. Among his sweetest conceptions of heaven was its blessedness of song. It is not too much to believe that with other members of this Conference they are singing to-day.

His life of trust while never fanatical was beyond an ordinary experience. His reply to a question of "how he was able to bear a great burden of continual sorrow which pressed heavily upon his life" was, "I left it all with Jesus long ago." All the providences of life otherwise unexplainable were treated in the same manner which in its darkest hours left his life serene.

His spiritual realizations were clear, interpreting themselves through the imagery of poetry. Once in the hills of New Jersey where their grandeur was being sunshined in splendor, we sat together, praising the God of Nature until our spirits rose from the natural to the spiritual into the realized presence of the God of Jesus!

In the tribute paid him at this funeral, Rev. M. Allen, of the Presbyterian

Church, said of him, that from personal interchanges of experience he knew that he was "filled with the spirit," "lived in the spirit and walked in the spirit in the daily companionship of life." With such an inward experience it was no wonder that his life and conversation as well as public speaking was filled with sunshine, and that its genial warmth should always bring a blessing. Nowhere was this more noticeable than in his home, in which his presence was always the highest pleasure expected by his family. No other place or company was preferred by his children, while to each other, wife and husband were all in all, as they had been from January, 1856, when Miss Margaret Nichol of Belvidere and Henry M. Brown were united in marriage, and all along the years when the three sons and one daughter who still survive came to them.

In his preaching as in his private life he was true to God. His one question either in the sermon or a deed was, "What will God think of it?" and however distasteful to the flesh, this question was always the arbiter of his conclusion.

He took fair rank with his brethren in the range of appointments. They were accepted as a holy trust which he did his best to fulfil, and as they narrowed in the later years he met the necessities of circumstances with the same genial sunniness which had covered his whole career, and "grew old gracefully."

A sense of humor, which never degenerated into levity, pervaded all his life and conversation and was specially evident in his public service. His voice was both resonant and musical, possessing a caressing captivation which unconsciously drew people to him. Many a hesitating soul followed it over the line which stood between him and God, until he reached salvation. His humor was always underlaid with pathos and often rounded his conclusions into forms of effectiveness unattainable in any other way. While he read books he was more a student of men than their printed thoughts. He studied men and things around him, and was more effective in their illustrative use than in the abstractions of theology. His power of graphic description was far beyond the average and held his audiences to his thought while they did not know that they were being held. As he advanced in his subject everything of him preached. Language often of purest eloquence flowed spontaneously from his lips. His eyes, the muscles of his face, the swing of his arms and the forward swaying of his form all preached in a general expression. Sometimes in the height of a peroration his voice would float out in illustrative song, overwhelming both the audience and himself in spiritual emotion.

He was exceedingly careful to have a good report from the outside world. No shadow of suspicion ever blurred the whiteness of his record in the confidence of the community. His sweet nature easily forgave a wrong and never carried a revenge. His sympathies went out to every sorrow without stopping too closely to investigate the claim.

It may not be inappropriate here to say that a personal friendship existed beginning in childhood and extending over all the rest of life. Seldom apart for a fortnight, usually meeting every week and later on exchanging communications almost daily.

In this friendship there has never been a shadow, never a suspicion, never the first unkind word. It was as impossible to blur the friendship as it will be in the associations of the upper Kingdom.

For the last two days of life he was unconscious, and no religious expression was possible. His death occurred at the time of the annual memorial services at Ocean Grove, where Bishop FitzGerald paid a noble tribute to his life and character. In another tribute a great statesman said of him, "He was without guile." In Cranbury, his last appointment, the respectful love of the people was universal. The community was mostly Presbyterian, and while he stood plainly by his Methodism, they all worked together for common good.

The funeral services were held in his church, under the direction of his presiding elder, Dr. J. B. Haines. The Revs. H. G. Williams and J. S. Heisler, his official associates at Pitman Grove; Charles E. Hill, his Conference classmate; Drs. Curry and Allen, of the Presbyterian Church; Drs. O’Hanlon, Dobbins, and B. C. Lippincott, Jr., of the Conference, and the Rev. J. H. Alday and the Hon. James L. Hays, of Ocean Grove, took part in the service, after which the presiding elder called the ministers around the coffin and they sang "Blest be the tie that binds."

In the division of the directors’ work at Pitman Grove the general charge of its camp was committed to him for the past year. In place of his presence a memorial service, presided over by the writer, was held there, and in Ocean Grove another, in which it was Resolved, That the decease of Rev. H. M. Brown, a long and honored associate with us, the Ocean Grove Association, leaves a saddened but triumphant feeling with his fellow members.

His long life of sixty years in the ministry of the gospel, and a quarter of a century here, entitle him to a place in our memory second to none who have fallen in the work.

His unswerving integrity, genial disposition and interest in all matters pertaining to our temporal and spiritual interests, are worthy of our highest commendation, and make it proper to say we will follow in his steps as he followed Christ.

CHARLES BURR OGDEN

The Rev. Charles Burr Ogden was born fifty-six years ago, in the beautifulvillage of Port Elizabeth, N.J. His parents were prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in that place. His father was the leading merchant of the town. The home into which Brother Ogden was born was an ideal Christian home, adapted in its personalities, principles, government, and Christian refinement to the rearing, culturing and making of so fine a Christian character, and so rich and noble, and so able and Christ-like a minister of the Gospel. Early in life, he gave signs of an unusual endowment of intellectual alertness and spiritual sensibilities. In a beautiful manner his sensitiveness to nature’s rich and varied store, was gently unfolded by the flowers of the field, the sweet songs of the birds of the air, the budding leafy trees which shaded street and lane and stood in rich profusion in groves not far from his village home. The landscapes far and near, the blue sky and panorama of cloud touched into living pictures by morning, noon and evening sun, the nocturnal heavens also declaring the glory of God, prepared and inspired his pen and brush in after days to works of art and beauty. He was a true artist. He was educated at Pennington Seminary.

For a short time Brother Ogden was attracted to the mercantile business. However, God, who calls his prophets from the different walks of life, called him, and conferring not with flesh and blood, he obeyed. Joyfully he went under the Presiding Elder to Hancock’s Bridge, and then to Roadstown, happy if only he might preach Him in life and cry in death, "Behold the Lamb."

Brother Ogden joined the Conference in 1888. His appointments were as follows: Malaga; Sea Isle City; Dividing Creek; Mantua and Barnsboro; Delanco; Barnegat; Pemberton; South Amboy; Woodstown; Bethel, Camden; one year a supernumerary, then transferred to his proper station in the heavenly ministry, where "the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." His greatest visible harvest field for numbers was at Woodstown, where between one and two hundred souls were gathered into the Church.

A highly sensitive man, he was modest and retiring. He never sought aggressively his own advancement, but waited patiently for the open door. He loved others rather than himself. He endured hardships. He was a progressive student of books, men and measures. Being a preacher of righteousness, he mightily convinced sinners, comforted saints, and led the way to heaven. At home, a faithful husband, and a consistent father; abroad a true friend and brother, and a loyal servant to his Master.

Brother Ogden was taken sick soon after his return home from the last Conference, which was held in Ocean City. The writer visited him in his sickness, and found him very weak in body but strong in faith, resigned and ready for the great change. On asking him if all was well, he replied, "All is well." The end was peaceful. Pneumonia carried his body down to death, the angels carried his soul above, to be forever with his Lord. He leaves a widow and two fine sons, who sorrow not as those without hope, but are comforted with the Christian doctrine of immortality and eternal life. "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face."

The funeral service, which was beautiful, was held in Bethel M. E. Church, Camden, under the direction of the District Superintendent, Dr. S. M. Nichols. Though a very disagreeable and stormy day, the church was crowded with neighbors and friends, and many of the Conference brethren were present.

Addresses were made by Rev. E. J. Kulp, of Broadway, Camden, Pennington Corson, of Haddonfield, and the writer. Very touching was the scene when the brethren in the ministry gathered round the casket and sang "In the sweet by and by." The body rested at Bethel all night while friends kept watch. The following morning the immediate family, accompanied by the District Superintendent and the writer, journeyed to Port Elizabeth, where after a brief service in the old village church, the precious dust of Brother Ogden was laid away in the family plot, there to await the resurrection on the last day.

His character is easily delineated. His beaming countenance, his genial smile, his words of cheer and consolation, rightly earned for him the title: "The apostle of sunshine." He was named for a Methodist preacher, and baptized by the same, and when he sought admission in the Central Pennsylvania Conference, Rev. George Guyer said,"I’ll stand for George Guyer Senser," and thus warmly welcomed him into the Conference. It was especially in the ministry where his apostleship of sunshine was wonderfully manifest. In the winter of 1870 he received a message from Heaven conveying to him the joyful intelligence of sins forgiven. The Church saw that the finger of God was upon him, and consequently gave him exhorter’s license February 18, 1874, licensed him to preach February 20, 1875, recommended him for admission on trial in the Central Pennsylvania Conference March 28, 1876. He served as junior preacher on the Glen Hope Circuit, and then at his own request was excused to attend school. After this for a while his field of Christian activity was in Nebraska. He was admitted on trial and ordained by Bishop Harris at the Nebraska Conference, 1879, and was appointed to Grand Island that year. Being instrumental in helping to form the West Nebraska Mission in 1880, he became a member thereof, and was received in full connection in that Conference in 1881. In 1882 he was appointed to St. Paul, Neb., where failing health made it imperative for him to come East for treatment. Having been elected to elder’s orders in 1883, and being East, he was ordained by Bishop Harris in New York, July 31, 1884. He supplied in the New Jersey Conference at St. John’s, Keyport, 1884, and at Auburn, 1885. He was transferred to the New Jersey Conference in 1886, and served the following charges: Haleyville, Cold Springs Newport, Pennsville, Quinton and Woodstown. In 1899 he was transferred to the Wilmington Conference, and served Pocomoke City, Crisfield and Chincoteague. In 1903 he was retransferred to the New Jersey Conference, where he served Fairton; Bethel, Camden; Wenonah, and Eighth Street, Camden. Bitter and hard was his experience in Nebraska, yet frequently he would refer to it as a great privilege in his life, freighted with the richest blessings of God. In the New Jersey and the Wilmington Conferences he has left an imperishable record of great work for God.

His home life was indeed beautiful. December 25, 1879, he received a great Christmas present; Julia F. Mendenhall, of Logan, now Burnham, Pa., became his bride. Five times their happy lives were crowned with the richer joys of parenthood, and those two girls and three boys now rise up and call their father blessed. He was a father who insisted on obedience, and yet knew how to be a friend, companion and playmate with his children. The devotion of wife and husband, that was so genuine, had its most beautiful expression in the lingering illness in the hospital.

His faith triumphed in suffering and death. His paroxysms of pain are indescribable, and yet no murmur against Divine Providence emanated from his lips. His first serious attack occurred September, 1912, and from then till August, 1913, his life was often in the throes of agony. His ailment baffled the skill of the wisest specialists. He, however, diagnosed his own case, and the autopsy proved his statement correct. He insisted on a postmortem operation, saying: "My life has been one of sacrifice for man, and I desire to lay a last offering on the altar that it may save many others from disease and death." He knew he was fighting a losing battle physically, for this was his testimony: "We’ve made a brave fight, and yet I am going to die." He had a great desire to go to Heaven on Sunday. On the last Saturday night of his earthly existence he said to the nurse: "Good-night; we’ll meet in the morning." He meant the resurrection morning. That night he sang with great fervor: "Oh, that will be glory for me!" "You may look for me, for I will be there!" The Sunday dawned, and at three P. M. members from the Baptist Sunday School came into his corridor and sang: "My Jesus, I love Thee." He joined heartily in the singing, despite his sufferings. That night suffering indescribable seized him. He lingered till the next day, when he looked up and said to his daughter: "Grace, I am dying; I am dying." He looked up and saw what had been his great desire, his entire family around his dying bed. He smiled, his lips moved, and he was heard to say: "I am waiting; I am waiting." Then God answered: "George Guyer Senser, you have waited long enough; come home." Then there was administered to him an abundant entrance into the eternal kingdom.

He had been pastor at Pennsauken for the years 1891- 1892, and it was not necessary to find a place for him, for the Pennsauken people wanted him back. So he spent his first Conference year in the happy pastorate of this same church. He then served with delightful acceptability the following churches: Mullica Hill, Pleasantville, Hammonton, Pitman Grove, Palmyra, Bordentown, Bridgeton, First Church, Woodstown. He had matured steadily during his ministry so this last pastorate was best of all. How they loved him! The appreciation given by Woodstown Monitor-Register would undoubtedly be endorsed by every charge: "The deceased was not only extremely popular amongst his congregation, but with everyone in town, and everyone for miles around. With always a cheery word for all the people they had learned to love him. And his work in the Woodstown Chamber of Commerce and in patriotic and civic organizations had gained for him a host of friends. Mr. Jewett was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and had served as chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania."

He was born April 6, 1862, in the city of Camden. His father was Henry M. Jewett, at one time a member of the New Jersey Assembly. His mother’s name was Anna Jewett. The family moved to Winslow while he was in infancy, and there he attended school, and at the age of fifteen began to learn the watchcase business in Philadelphia, and afterward he learned repairing as well as case work. He was converted, young and joined the church when fourteen. All his life was a preparation for the gospel ministry. When he stood in the pulpit he was like a master who knows his ship from the bottom up, like a master who knew his craft in all its details, and had served her in many departments. It is high praise of any man when it can be said he had a good church and Sunday School education. He was all his life interested constantly in the Sunday School and young people’s work.

Fred Jewett had a trained mind as well as trained hands. In early life a mechanic, he was always leaning something new. He was the best scholar in the Methodist Catechism I ever knew, and one of the best in the Discipline, which made him a good administrator. And he knew the Scriptures as few men know them, and so was never at a loss to find something to preach about and how to preach. As a preacher he was never dry.

He was representative of the well-balanced temperament, and this showed in all his faculties. In intellect he was well-balanced and sane. In disposition he was well-poised and constant. In Christian character he was never an extremist. As a preacher he was thorough, thoughtful and careful in his preparation and in his delivery. He felt his message and the people felt it, too. So they wanted him as their preacher and continued to want him. What a pleasant line of appointments he held! When he preached some persons said ‘twas a great sermon, but all said, "What a great Christ." As a pastor he was everybody’s pastor. The people knew him and he knew them. He was the children’s pastor supreme. Think of his Junior Leagues and Sunday Schools. Think of his Christmas trees in the parsonage; they belonged to all the children in town. Men may be broadly divided into two classes - the good feeling people, who are pleasant, and those who are not. At the top of the good feeling list we place our brother; in the other crowd are the selfish of various degrees. In those good old days when he came into the Conference, we lived with the people one week every year. What a privilege it was to be his roommate and observe him living good manners for a week in the homes of the people! He was the ideal Christian gentleman, so careful not to give trouble, so careful to put the folks at ease, so careful to fit into this proper place. Every word and act would testify he never had an improper or selfish thought.

His family like was ideal. He was united in marriage on the second day of June 1886, with Miss Clara Spear, and began housekeeping in Camden, where he united with the Union Church and continued his activities in all kinds of church work, especially among the young. He was licensed as a local preacher by Rev. A. Lawrence, pastor at the church, and then by Dr. Lawrence he was induced to enter the ministry as supply pastor at Pennsauken, N. J.

His decease took place about 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 27, and came as a great shock to his many friends. A short time before he was stricken with a form of heart trouble and was forced to take to his bed and receive medical attention. His condition, while serious, was not considered fatal. He had the care of specialists and trained nurses had been in constant attendance. He is survived by his widow and his son, William E. Jewett, who is married and resides in Palmyra in the pleasant house he and his parents had planned and built, and where the widow is comfortably situated with the family of her son.

The funeral service for Brother Jewett was held in Woodstown Methodist Church, Saturday, December 30, 1922. Alfred Wagg, District Superintendent, conducted the service. Prayer was offered by Alexander Corson, Scripture lessons were read by J. R. Mason and A. H. Eberhardt. The address was made by G. T. Harris, class of 1893. H. J. Zelley and the pastor of the Woodstown Baptist Church also bore splendid testimony to the life and labors of Brother Jewett in their city. The floral tributes were many and beautiful. The ministers of the Conference, of whom about sixty were present, gathered about the casket and led by John Handley, sang "Shall We Meet Beyond the River?" Rev. T. S. Brock led in prayer. Interment was made in the new Lawnside Cemetery at Woodstown. The committal service was conducted by Alfred Wagg, assisted by W. J. Sayre and G. T. Harris.

Brother Hulse joined the New Jersey Conference in 1884 and served the following charges: Hammonton, Camden, Bethany; Trenton, Warren Street; Elwood, Marlton, Clarksboro, Hamilton Square, Delanco, Pedricktown and Centre Square, Pemberton, Toms River, Woodstown, Paulsboro, Belmar, Tuckerton, Beverly, Windsor, Thorofare, Port Republic and Smithville, Hurffville, Newport.

April 16, 1889, he was joined in marriage to Miss Jennie Peacock, of Camden, N. J. Of this union there were born five children, four boys and one girl. Three of the children died infancy. The deceased is survived by his widow and two sons. Dr. Percy C. Hulse, of Haddonfield, N. J. and Homer Hulse, of West Philadelphia, PA.

Brother Hulse was a devout Christian, a clear thinker and a good preacher. His sermons were clear, logical, evangelical and orthodox. His preaching was with no uncertain sound. He walked in the "old paths." More than once he has said to the writer. "My chief desire is to win souls for Christ.." He was not robust in body and this with his retiring and deeply sensitive nature proved at times a real hindrance to him in his work so dear to his heart.

The funeral service was held from the home in Pitman, N. J., July 9, 1923, in charge of the district superintendent, H. J. Belting. The following brethren took part: W. S. Ludlow, F. C. Uhl, M. E. Snyder, D. H. Schock and the writer. The body rests in Harleigh Cemetery waiting the resurrection of the just.

Joseph Gray Edwards was born in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, May 1, 1851, the son of Ellroy and Sarah Edwards. He was married May 29, 1877, to Elisah Ewan Cox, of Camden, N. J., daughter of John Cox and Elizabeth Corlis Cox. Four children were born, two dying at birth, and the youngest daughter, Florence, wife of the late Dr. M. L. Potts, dying in 1918. One daughter, Nellie Edwards Hunt, wife of J. Osborne Hunt, with whom he lived after retirement, and one grandchild, Florence Potts, survive him. He died suddenly of heart trouble within twenty-four hours after he was stricken, while in apparent good health, on November 30, 1923.

He was an ardent church worker, even before entering the ministry. He was chorister of Tabernacle Church, Camden, from which church he went into ministerial work, serving many charges during the thirty-eight years of active ministry from 1884 to 1922, when he retired, only to find himself within a few months, working as a supply, in the Chambers Street Church in Trenton.

During all his years of work and ministry, he was constantly working to improve the various charges he served, materially as well as spiritually. During his pastorate at Point Pleasant a parsonage was built. At South Amboy a new Church was built and dedicated. During the pastorate of three years at First Church, Salem, many improvements were made. At North Long Branch, a pipe organ was installed in the church, and heating plants in the church and parsonage, as was the case in Woodstown and Wildwood.

During the second year of his pastorate at Wildwood, Mrs. Edwards died suddenly. After retirement, he came to Trenton to live with his daughter and became pastor of the Chambers Street Church, where he spent much time and energy in remodeling the building, where he was actively associated at the time of his sudden death.

His funeral was held Monday, December 3, 1923, from his daughter’s residence, Mrs. J. Osborne Hunt. The services were in charge of M. E. Snyder, District Superintendent, who was assisted by the following brethren: J. P. Shook, B. F. Rhoads, J. S. Garrison, C. D. Whitton, E. A. Wells, W. A. Boyd and W. S. Ludlow. His body was laid to rest in the Riverview Cemetery, Trenton, N. J., amid the sacred dust of loved ones with them to wait the call of the resurrection morn.

Having completed his literary training, it was his purpose to enter the medical profession, but God had another plan for him. Under the ministry of the Rev. Henry J. Hayter, of the Newark Conference, at Milford, N. J. , Brother N. J. Wright was converted, and God called him to preach the Gospel of Christ rather than practice medicine. He united with the Methodist Episcopal Church and soon was given license to declare the truth.

In 1874 he was employed as a supply preacher by John S. Heisler, of precious memory, presiding elder of the Bridgeton District, New Jersey Conference, at Roadstown and Harmony, then a very good supply charge. Here he remained for three years and it was here that he was recommended by the Quarterly Conference for membership in the Annual Conference of 1877, at the session held in the old Green Street Church, of Trenton, New Jersey, Bishop Peck, presiding. He labored in the conference continuously without a break until his retirement from active work in 1919.

In the days of his strength, Brother Wright served the following charges: Quinton and Hancocks Bridge, Eatontown and Tinton Falls, Trenton, Union Street; Burlington, Union Street; Woodstown, Ocean City, Farmingdale, Princeton, Haddonfield, Long Branch, Simpson; Bridgeton, Central; Trenton, Central; Mount Holly, Merchantville, District Superintendent, Bridgton District; Bradley Beach, Freehold, Trenton, Cadwalader Heights.

Brother Wright was united in marriage to Miss Cornelia A. Rittenhouse, daughter of Edward and Sarah Rittenhouse, of Frenchtown, New Jersey, in 1874. Methodist blood was in her veins, for her parents were well grounded in that faith. She was well qualified to fill the position of a minister’s wife, and she ever graced the home of N. J. Wright. There were two sons and two daughters born to this union. All four are married and serving the Master. They are: Arthur T. Wright, of Bridgeton; Orville E. Wright, of Princeton; Mrs. E. W. Reynolds, of Hickory, North Carolina, with whom Brother Wright and his wife lived after retirement, and Mrs. J. C. Miller, of Bridgeton.

After forty-five years of faithful service Brother Wright took the retired relation with the Conference. Although living in a distant community still he kept active in religious thing. He taught a Men’s Bible Class of over a hundred men in Hickory, North Carolina. Seven years of service he gave to these men and when, because of failing health, he finally relinquished his position it was with much regret on both his part and the part of the men.

The happy Christian life finally came to an end. Services were held in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, on April 26, 1931, at 2:30 o’clock. The Rev. A. C. Gibbs, pastor of the church, had become most friendly with this minister from the North, and it was he who officiated. On Monday, at Frenchtown, serices were in charge of George W. Yard, superintendent of the Trenton District. Many friends journeyed to Frenchtown to do honor to their comrade and co-laborer.

N. J. Wright has gone, but he left his sunny Christianity for us.

Albert H. Eberhardt was born in Jackson, New Jersey. His parents were James and Martha Eberhardt. At eight o’clock, May 28, 1878, in the Tuckahoe Methodist Episcopal Church, he was married to Miss Lizzie C. Sheppard, by the pastor, the Rev. William S. Zane. Brother Eberhardt was educated in Union College, Schenectady, New York, and Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey. He joined the New Jersey Conference, 1877. 

His first appointment was Roadstown, and his rise in the Conference was rapid. Several of the churches served by him demanded the best in their pastor-preacher that the Conference had to offer. As a preacher he ranked high; a clear thinker, wide reader, and expressed his thoughts in strong and beautiful language. The writer heard him preach the annual missionary sermon before the New Jersey Conference in Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church, Camden, New Jersey, Monday morning, March 11, 1901. Text: Matthew 24, 14, "And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." He can never forget it, so long as memory is on the throne. He found himself saying, "I wish that I could preach like Brother Eberhardt!"

Our brother stood staunchly for those great fundamentals which our fathers preached, and God blessed so wonderfully. Great revivals crowned his ministry in many of his churches, namely, Clayton, Simpson, Long Branch; Silverton and Woodstown. In the latter two, there were more than 100 conversions in each.

Brother Eberhardt was a beautiful illustration of speaking the truth in love. He learned the art, if it be an art, of rebuking wrongdoing; yet he always did it in the sweetest and most beautiful temper. He had that Christlike spirit of brotherly love which drew all classes of people to him. His home life was a life of beautiful devotion. He and his good wife, who was always a great help and inspiration to him, were inseparable. She went with him to the end, and would have gladly gone with him across the river.

Such a man as Brother Eberhardt could not grow old in the ordinary acceptance of the word. The years came to him as to others, bringing the white hair, sunken cheeks, and unsteady step, but they failed to rob him of the optimism of his spirit. Even his last days expressed this beautiful thought:

"Build thee more stately mansions, O! my soul,
As the swift seasons roll! Leave thy low vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last, Shut thee
from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at length art free -Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea."

Our brother joined the retired list at the session of the Conference, 1926. He supplied the Fithian Chapel, Bridgeton, New Jersey, the most of his retired years.

On April 22, 1931, the Heavenly Father called him to his heavenly home, leaving his devoted wife to mourn his loss. The funeral service was conducted at his late home, Bridgeton, New Jersey, April 25, by District Superintendent T. J. J. Wright. The District Superintendent and the writer, Ulysses Hagaman, delivered addresses. Herbert J. Belting prayed. H. G. Wilkinson, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Bridgeton, New Jersey, and Daniel J. Camp, of Grenlock, New Jersey, read the Scriptures. S. K. Moore read hymn 585, "It is not death to die," one of Brother Eberhardt’s favorite hymns. The funeral was largely attended by relatives, ministers, and friends from Bridgeton and former charges. At the conclusion of the service, loved ones and friends followed his body to the Head of the River Methodist Episcopal Church, Tuckahoe, New Jersey, where he was laid to rest, to await the celestial crowning. Charles S. Lawrence and H. P. Folger, Jr., officiated at the grave.

"A brave, bright memory, His the stainless shield
No shame defaces and no envy mars;
When our far future’s record is unsealed,
His name will shine among the morning stars."

WILLIAM THOMAS VALIANT

In 1921, after forty-four years of service, Brother Valiant took the retired relation, making his home at Royersford, PA, where he has since resided.

Though past his eightieth year, he was in unusually good health, when a strange accident ended his earthly career. Monday morning, May 14, this year, as he was walking past an open lot near his home where some brush was burning, he must have stepped too near the edge of the embankment, the erth gave way and he fell six feet into a bonfire and was fatally burned before being rescued. He lingered in the Pottstown Hospital until the following Sunday, May 20, when his spirit took its immortal flight.

During his residence in Royersford he regularly atteded the local Methodist Church, assisting in the services when desired, and occasionally preached in nearby churches.

Brother Valiant’s ministry was a long and useful one. He was true to "the faith once delivered to the saints." His sermons were Scriptural, thoughtful, instructive and helpful. Personally he was genial and brotherly. Though missed from the Conference sessions in these later years, he was nevertheless remembered by his brethren with affection and esteem.

March 18, 1885, at her home in Snow Hill, MD, he was married to Miss Theodora May Morris, who proved a devoted and faithful helpmeet, sharing with her husband the joys and trials of his long ministry. She, with their six children, survives. The children are: Frank L. Valiant, J. Wilson Valiank t. Barnwell Valiant, all of New York City; Mrs. Eloise v. Douglass, Oaklyn, N. J.; Dorothy P. Valiant, Birdsboro, PA; and Emily H. Valiant, Royersford, PA.

Funeral services were held Wednesday, May 23, conducted by J. J. Bingham, pastor of the Royersford Methodist Episcopal Church, assisted by other ministers. Burial was in Fernwood Cemetery, Royersford.

Edward Mount was born near Juliustown, N. J., February 27, 1863. His father’s name was William Mount, and his mother was Elizabeth Frake Mount. Six boys came to this home: George, William, Franklin, Edward, Watson and Dayton.His early years were sickly, so very little opportunity to attend school. He was converted October 28, 1880, in old Third Street Church, Camden, under the ministry of J. B. Graw. He learned the printer’s trade and worked on the Temperance Gazette, of which J. B. Graw was the editor. All the time he was working he felt the call to preach the Gospel. He left his work in January, 1884, and went to Pennington to prepare for the ministry. In March, 1885, he left school, going to western Nebraska as a Home Missionary. After a few months he returned to Camden and was married to Miss Eleanor Thompson Elmer, returning with his bride to his station in Nebraska.

He was admitted into the West Nebraska Conference in September, 1885, and ordained Deacon by Bishop Andrews. On account of his wife’s health he was transferred to the Genesee Conference on October 4, 1887. In march 1889, he was transferred to the New Jersey Conference and stationed at Hamilton Square.