Frankfort, Kentucky - History (part 2 of 3)

As stated elsewhere, our church for several years after its organization had no building of its own. " The Publick Meeting-House," wh.ich had been erected on the Capitol grounds by the citizens of the town, by very questionable means, was neither a pleasant nor profitable place in which to worship, and some years before its destruction by fire, the Presbyterians, who had been occupying it one Sabbath each month, ceased using it altogether, and thenceforth conducted all their public worship in the Love House, which had been their principal meeting place. This place they continued to occupy until the First Church ])uilding on Wapping Street was erected.

In 1823 a lot of ground, 100 x 200 feet, on Wapping Street, was bought, and the congregation began at once the buiUHng of a house of worship of their own. It was completed during the following year. The material was brick, laid in the beautiful Flemish bond, of close joints and superior mortar, in vogue at that period. Two doors were provided for entrance, one for each sex, which were scrupulously kept apart, the men entering the right door and the women the left. Upon entering the worshipers faced tlie high boxed pulpit at the rear, and the seats were placed on a level floor, with a gallery across the room just above the doors.

1829, the church having been greatly strengthened by the accession of members, extensive akerations and improvements were determined upon, including the removal of the gallery from the front to the rear end of the church, also placing the pulpit between the front doors, and inclining the floor upward from front to rear " in convenient theatrical form." The improvements also included the introduction of new and more comfortable seats, and the erection of ^ a cupola in the middle of the front wall, which was to be carried up and strengthened in order to sustain the additional weight of a bell, which was to be procured as soon as practicable. A committee of solicitors, consisting of an equal number of ladies and gentlemen, headed by Mr. Alexander Robertson, was appointed to raise the funds by subscription, and a commission was named, composed of Judge B. Mills, John J. Vest and Jarvis Russell, " to execute, superintend and direct the work, with full power to perform the same, to be governed by their discretion and the amount of funds raised."

From subsequent records we learn that the improvements were completed, but no funds remained over for the purchase of the bell. The congregation, however, went energetically to work collecting bell metal, which, after much delay, was at last secured, and shipped by river to Pittsburg, and in due course of time, 1832, the bell arrived and was put in place, as we note in a financial report made by the deacons in January, 1833.*

Wood-burning stoves were used for heating and candles for lighting, but lamps consuming sperm oil were introduced later on, as shown by accounts on file.

This building served the requirements of the congregation for about twenty-five years, until under the ministrations of Dr. Bullock and his successor, Dr. Stuart Robinson, it had so increased that a larger and better appointed building was considered necessary. In 1849 the church property, with the adjacent parsonage, was sold to Rev. J. M. Lancaster for the Roman Catholic Church. That congregation then proceeded to erect their new church building around and over the old church, which it continued to use until the new l:)uilding was roofed in, and then it was taken out.

Our congregation moved into their new church in the latter part of March, 1849, using the lower or Sabbath-school room until the main auditorium was completed. The pastor. Dr. Stuart Robinson, was very active in promoting this move of the congregation, and to his energy and directing care the success of the undertaking was largely due. The location was well chosen, although the " lay of the land " was not at the time altogether favorable. It required, in addition to that obtained from the excavation, a large amount of earth to level up the site, one bill alone being for one hundred loads. While yet in an unfinished condition the ladies of the congregation conducted a " fair " in the main auditorium, lasting three days, for raising fur.ds for the furnishing of the church. On at least one of the evenings there was a very large attendance of citizens, for by special invitation the guest of the occasion was General Zachary Taylor, then Presidentelect of the United States, on his way to his inauguration. He was met at the wharf by a large concourse of citizens, with a military escort composed of soldiers

The building was erected by Mr. Beaverson, a local architect and contractor, at a cost to the congregation of about fourteen thousand dollars. Although there were errors in the plans, as well as in the construction, yet for comfort, and for acoustic properties, the main auditorium is unexcelled by the more modern churches. As at first constructed there were galleries on the sides of the upper room, but after about twenty years these were removed. At the same time the present stainedglass windows were added. The next change made was the removal of the old-style high pulpit and the substitution of the platform and reading desk now in use. An entire new seating, of modern, curved and most approved pews, was also introduced, together with the " sunlight apparatus " for illuminating the main auditorium.

It needs no apology for a brief allusion in this place to a line of useful and important men in church affairs, much discussed and written about wherever churches abound. Tt has been asserted by some perhaps supersensitive and nervous people, that " the sexton (or janitor) was a more important factor in the public worship of the congregation than the man in the pulpit." Without going as far as this contention, it may be safely said that the health, comfort and enjoyment of the congregation frequently depend upon the wisdom, common sense and efficiency of that official, to say nothing of the composed frame of mind and spirit, so necessary to the devout worshiper, which is sometimes indirectly in his keeping.

Rev. Eli Smith

Rev. Eh Smith, the first minister who served our Frankfort Church, was a New England man. Reared in Massachusetts, he enjoyed the best educational advantages, and after completing his theological training, he came West. His first settled work was at Frankfort, where in 1817 he took charge of the Presbyterian Church about a year after its organization, and served it with zeal and ability until the latter part of 1827. In 1829 he removed to Bourbon - County, where he spent the remainder of his days as pastor of the churches of Greer's Creek and Paris, departing this life in the year 1839.

While in charge of the Frankfort Church he frequently m.inistered to the country churches, Upper and Lower Benson, and for some time supplied them regularly. He was largely instrumental in holding these churches together when, owing to various causes, they were almost in a state of suspended animation. INIr. Smith was an earnest and very acceptable preacher, especially to Christian people. He was gifted with a most remarkable memor}', being able to retain and make available for use anything he had ever read or heard. He never wrote his sermons, and destroyed the brief notes used in the pulpit. Soon after locating in Frankfort he returned to ^Massachusetts and married Aliss Mary Brown, of Xewburyport, who survived him about fifty years. She is very pleasantly remembered by our older members, as she made visits at stated intervals to her old friends of Frankfort up to the time of her death, in 1889. The remains of this worthy pair rest side by side in our cemetery. To them were born several children. One daughter married Rev. Ben ^Mills, of this city, and the only son, Eli Smith, Jr., was a minister of our Church, and labored in the Synods of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

Rev. John Todd. Edgar, D.D., was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1793. His name first appears on the roll of the Synod in 181 7. He came to Frankfort in December, 1827, and took charge of this church as stated supply. He found it in a confused and disorganized condition, without officers, save one elder, and he a non-resident. Shortly after his coming the church was greatly strengthened by accessions, which gave material for office-bearers, and it was at once reorganized by the election of a full bench of ruling elders and a board of deacons. In March, 1829, Mr. Edgar accepted a call to the pastor's office, which he held until July, 1833, when he removed to Nashville, Tennessee. He took charge as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of that city, and in it he ended his labors in the year i860. Dr. Edgar was greatly beloved by this congregation, and very highly esteemed by the whole com- munity. He was a man of very popular manners and address, and an eloquent and successful preacher. He was the acknowledged pulpit orator of the Svnod, and his services were constantly in demand elsewhere while pastor here.

" Rev. John T. Edgar, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, died of apoplexy at 8 A.M. yesterday. He conducted services as usual in his church on the previous evening, afterward attended a business meeting of the church officers, and entertained company at his house until ten o'clock, and then retired. At one o'clock he was stricken, and did not regain consciousness. His long residence in our city, his eminent and distinguished services in the pulpit, his identification for so many years with every work of charity and benevolence, caused him to be regarded as belonging to no class or limited circle, but to the whole community. His death will be universally mourned as a public calamity. His great goodness of heart, his gentle and winning manners, his readiness and alacrity in responding at all times to demands made upon him, which were frequent and continuous, will be remembered with gratitude for many, many years."

Rev. D.A.Niel Baker, D.D.

Rev. Daniel Baker, D.D., was pastor of this church from July, 1835, to November, 1836. He was one of the most noted and successful evangelists and home missionaries of his time, laboring in Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas previous to his work in Kentucky, and afterward in Alabama and other Southern States, and more especially in Texas. In this latter State he did a great work in bringing the Gospel to that section, then almost entirely destitute of religious influences, and was the founder and principal promoter of Austin College, in the interest of which he made several tours through the Eastern States.

Dr. Baker was descended from Puritan stock ; was born in Midway, Georgia, August, 1791, to which section his parents had removed from Dorchester, Massachusetts, members of a colony which had been formed into a church in their New England home, " for the purpose of removing to the Carolinas and promoting the cause of religion ni the Southern plantations." After many hardships and reverses the colony finally located in Liberty County, Georgia, in 1754. At the age of nineteen Daniel Baker entered Hampden Sidney College, Virginia, then under the charge of Dr. Moses Hoge, where he spent two years in study. He then took the course at Princeton College, where he graduated with high honors. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Winchester October, 181 6. His first charge was in Harrisonburg-, Virginia, where he was ordained and installed March, 1818. He afterward served as pastor of churches in Washington City and Savannah, and then, declining calls to various other churches, he took up the worlc of an evangelist, for which he had special gifts and a great love. He continued in this congenial labor for two years in the Southern Atlantic States and at several points in the State of Ohio. Visiting Kentucky in 1834, he was present at the meeting of Synod at Danville, and was invited to labor as evangelist in the Kentucky churches. Among other places in which he preached was Frankfort, and at the close of the protracted meeting he received a call by unanimous vote to the pastorate of the church recently vacated by Dr. Edgar. He accepted the call, and served the church with great acceptance for about three years. While here he served as chaplain to the State Penitentiary, holding a service at nine A.M. He also supplied the pulpit, once or tw^ice a month, of the Lower Benson Church, often preaching four times on Sabbath. A very strong attachment existed between Dr. Baker and the people of this charge, in which his labors were greatly blessed. In 1837 he removed to Alabama, accepting a call to the church at Tuscaloosa, where he was pastor until 1840, when he accepted an appointment by the General Assembly's Board of Missions to labor as missionary in Texas. After some months of evangelistic work, he was compelled, on account of ill health, to return to his home, and later served the church at Holly Springs, Mississippi, as pastor until 1848. Returning to Texas, he resumed the work there, first as evangelist, and then as agent of Austin Presbyterian College, in which he took a great interest, giving it the best service of his latter days. Dr. Baker died in Austin in December, 1857, at the age of sixty-seven, universally lamented by all classes of people, and especially by the church and the college which he had so faithfully served.

Rev. Joseph Taates Bullock, D.D.

Rev. Joseph James Bullock, D.D., who was pastor of this church from October, 1837, to August, 1846, was born in Fayette County, Kentucky, December 23d, 1812. He was the son of Waller Bullock, who was a man widely known and esteemed for his wisdom and

Joseph, the eldest son, received his primary education at the school near by the family home, at Walnut Hills, and while still quite young was sent to Transylvania University. Later he attended Centre College, where he graduated in 1832. He read law for a short time, and was tutor in Centre College, and afterward studied theology with Dr. John C. .Young, President of Centre College. In 1835 he went to Princeton Theological Seminary, entering the Middle class, and after finishing the course returned to Kentucky, and was licensed by West Lexington Presbytery in September, 1836. In the following December he was invited by the church at Frankfort to supply the pulpit for a period of twelve months, and entered at once upon the work, but before the end of this term he received a unanimous call to the pastorate, and was ordained and installed October 7th, 1837. While in Frankfort he served the v^tate as the first Superintendent of Public Instruction, having been appointed to that office by Governor Clarke. Owing to impaired health, he resigned the Frankfort pastorate in August, 1846, and for two years served as Corresponding Secretary and General Agent of the Board of Domestic ^lissions for the West and Southwest. In 184S he became pastor of the church at Walnut Hills, and Principal of the noted Female Seminary there, and at the same time supplied the pulpit of Salem Church, in the adjoining county of Clark. In 1850 he received the degree of D.D., which was conferred by Centre College. After serving the Second Church, Louisville, as pastor from 185^ to 1855, he returned to Walnut Hills, and resumed charge of the

I02 History Of First Church, Frankfort

Female Seminary, in which he continued until the year i860. During a part of this period, in 1857 and 1858, he supplied tlie pulpit of his first charge, the church of Frankfort, which was then without a pastor. During i860 and a portion of 1861 he acted as Financial Agent of Danville Theological Seminary, and in 1861 became pastor of the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church, of Baltimore. This church he served until 1870, when he resigned to accept a call to the Second Church of Alexandria, Virginia. In 1874 he became pastor of the First Church, Alexandria, remaining in charge until 1880. From 1879 to 1884 he was chaplain of the Senate of the United States. During the last eight years of his life he resided in Washington City without any regular charge, but as his health permitted he diligently preached whenever opportunity was afforded. For twelve years he served as member of the Committee of Home and Foreign Missions of the Southern General Assembly, and for more than twenty years was on the Board of Directors of Union Theological Seminary, Hampden Sidney. The Church honored him with the Aloderatorship of the Centennial General Assembly, which met in his old church in the city of Baltimore in May, 1888.

While on a visit to his children in Lexington, Kentucky, Dr. Bullock, after a short illness, died November 9th, 1892, in his eightieth year. Dr. Bullock married, in October, 1832, Miss Caroline L. Breckinridge, whose mother, Mary Clay Smith, was a daughtei of Rev. Samuel Stanhope Smith, President of Princeton College, whose wife, Ann Witherspoon, was a daughter of Dr. John Witherspoon. the most illustrious of the fathers of the I^-,-sbvterian Church. Bv this marriasfe

Dr. Bullock had eight children, four of whom, two sons and two daughters, survived him. The second wife, whom he married in 1869, was IMrs. Elizabeth T. Lavender, who, with one son by this marriage, is now living in Washington City.

For the people of this, his first charge, Dr. Bullock entertained a very tender and lifelong affection, and his visits, at intervals during his latter years, to his old friends here, and his pulpit ministrations, were greatly enjoyed by both himself and this congregation.

" Dr. Bullock's work in his many fields of labor was eminently successful. His preaching was in a high degree spiritual, presenting the great doctrines of the grace of God in a form and manner that was impressive, persuasive and eloquent to a degree that was seldom equaled. All his noble qualities as a Christian man passed over into his sermons, and gave them a wonderful power over the hearts of his hearers. He retained his mental and physical vigor with remarkable continuity throughout his long life, extending to the close of his eightieth year, and a few davs before his death preached a sermon of exceptional power at Lexington."

Rev. Stuart Robinson, D.D.

REV. STUART ROBINSON, D.D. Rev. Stuart Robinson, D.D., was born in Strabone, Tyrone County, Ireland, November 14th, 1814. His parents removed to .\merica in 181 5, and after a short residence in New Vork City, settled in Martinsburg, Virginia, where the mother died in 1819. She was the daughter of a Scotch Presbyterian, a most pious woman, and endowed with a strong mind, and she transmitted her character to her six sons, especially to I'tuart, the fifth born. Soon after her death the father married again, and for some cause the family of sons became scattered. At the early age of six years Stuart was placed with an old German farmer, a Presbyterian, who discovered in the lad a wonderful aptitude for acquiring knowledge, and sent him to school with his own children. The Rev. J. M. Brown, Presbyterian minister of the neighboring church, being attracted by the remarkable mind of the boy, assumed care of his education, and took him to his own house. Under his care Stuart remained until the age of sixteen, when he was sent to Amherst College. Here he remained three years, graduating with distinction in 1834, in a class which has given to the Church and country a number of eminent ministers and statesmen.

With the assistance of the Board of Education he entered Union Theological Seminary, in which he completed the two years' course of study, at the age of twenty-two. He then took charge of a school in Charleston, West \'irginia, which he conducted for two years, saving sufficient funds to repay the Board for the amount advanced for his theological studies and to enable him to spend a year in study at Princeton.

He was licensed to preach in 1841, and was married in September of the same year to Miss Mary E. Brigham. He took charge of Maiden Church, near Charleston, West Virginia, where he remained several years, during which time he did a great deal of missionarv work in the destitute regions of the adjacent mountains. And it was during this period that he supplied for several months the pulpit of the Second Presbyte- rian Church of Louisville, Kentucky, during the absence of the pastor, Rev. E. P. Humphrey, a college mate, who had been compelled to seek renewed health in travel abroad. During this residence in Louisville he became known to the Church in Kentucky, and so tavorably in Louisville that when a vacancy occurred in the becond Church some years afterward, he was called to the pastorate. In September, 1846, he was called to the church at Frankfort, and was duly installed oi:\ June 17th, 1847. During his pastorate of six years this church was greatly strengthened. His great ability and power as a preacher attracted to the church large congregations, including the prominent men of the city, State officers, judges of the courts and members of the bar, which at that time contained a number of distinguished men. It was soon evident to all that the church was too small for the increased congregations, and the large and commodious building now occupied by the church was erected. He organized and personally conducted in South Frankfort a Female Seminary of high grade, in which many of the young ladies of Frankfort and adjacent towns received a liberal education. This school was under the care of the session of the church, and had an efficient corps of teachers, under Dr. Robinson's superintending care. He also became a promoter and leader in various enterprises for the good and the development of the city, but in all these his duties to the church were by no means neglected, for to it and its work and interests he gave his best labors.

In 1854 Dr. Robinson removed to Baltimore, and in 1858 was called, by the General Assembly, from the Central Presbyterian Church of that city to the Chair of Church Government and Pastoral Theology in tlie

I08 History Of First Church, Frankfort

Theological Seminary at Danville, Kentucky, which position he held for two years. He then became pastor of the Second Church, Louisville, which relation he sustained until June, 1881, when on account of enfeebled health he resigned the active duties of the office and continued as '" pastor emeritus " until his death, which occurred the following October. His death was greatly lamented by all classes of society, and more especially by the Presbyterian Church of the State and country.

Dr. Robinson was a man of great force of character. He had a wonderful intellect, which, strengthened by large research, made him a power both in and out of the pulpit, a great leader in the Church and famous throughout the country.

Rev. Jefferson Price Safford, D.D.

Rev. Jefferson Price Safford was born in Zanesville, Ohio, September 22d, 1823. He received his preparatory education in the Mclntire Academy, of his native town ; was graduated from the University of Ohio, at Athens, in 1843. He taught school at Covington, Kentucky, from 1843 to 1845 ; at the Indianapolis Academy from 1845 to 1847, '^i'"^^^ was Professor of Mathematics from 1847 to 1848 in the Baptist College, Covington, Kentucky. He then entered the Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey, where he took a three years" course in theology. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Philadelphia in April, 1851. He taught in Richmond (Virginia) Academy from 1852 to 1854, at the same time supplyino; the church at Bethlehem, Virginia. In February, 1855, he was ordained and installed pastor of the Frankfort Church by the Presbytery of West Lexington, and resigned the charge in September, 1857. His successive fields of labor after Frankfort were : Pastor Piqua, Ohio, First Church, November, 1857, to December, 1862; pastor First Church, New Albany, Indiana, December, 1862, to May, 1867; District Secretary of the Board of Home Missions for Ohio ,and Indiana from May, 1867, to January, 1870. In 1868 he returned to his old home, Zanesville, where he lived until his death. For two years he acted as President of Zanesville University. He was the Stated Clerk of Zanesville Presbytery from 1873, and of the Synod of Columbus from 1876 until his death, which occurred in January, 1881. While living in Zanesville he supplied in succession the following churches : Brownsville, Fairmount Church, Roseville Church, l^niontown, Hanover, Kirkersville, Claysville and West Carlisle Churches.

Dr. Safiford ended his active and useful ministry in his lifty-eighth year. He was a man of vigorous mind, of more than common originality of thought. He was a close student, an accomplished Greek and Hebrew scholar, was possessed of a warm heart and kindly humor, which drew to him many friends in the fields of his labors. The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him in 1855 by Washington College, Pennsylvania. Dr. SalTord in 1852 was married to Miss Cornelia M. Rav, of Indianapolis, who, with two sons and three daughters, survives him.

Rev. Beverly Tucker Lacy was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, February 21st, 181 9. His father, Rev. William Sterling Lacy, removed to Missouri in 1821, where he remained a few years, and went to Tennessee, where he reared his family. After receiving his preparatory education from his father, Beverly entered upon the study of law, designing to make that his profession. About this time he united with the church of which his father was pastor, and at once determined to change his profession and study for the Gospel ministry. With this end in view he entered Washington College, \'irginia, from which he graduated in the class of 1843. He studied theology at Princeton Seminary under Drs. Archibald Alexander, Charles Hodge and Samuel Miller, graduating in the class of '46. Among his classmen were several v/ho afterward became distinguished in the Church: Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler, Dr. Archibald A. Hodge, Dr. William M. Scott, Dr. Henry J. Van Dyke and Dr. Samuel B. McPheeters.

In 1847 ^^^- La-cy was married to Miss Agnes Alexander, his second cousin, and niece of Dr. Archibald Alexander. She died in 1852, and was a lady remarkable for her loveliness of disposition and lofty Christian character. She left a son, John x^lexander Lacy, who w^as spared to minister to and comfort the father in his declining years, and is yet living, an honored member of the bar in Washington City.

First Church, Frankfort. Ii5

Salem, \'irginia, from 1853 until 1858. In 1858 he came to the Frankfort Church, and was installed pastor in July, and remained until July, 1861, when the happy and very useful relation he sustained was interrupted by the breaking out of the Civil War. Mr. Lacy then returned to Virginia, and shortly afterward entered the Confederate army as chaplain at the headquarters of General Stonewall Jackson's Corps, of the Army of Northern Virginia. After the close of the war, Mr. Lacy served the church at Wytheville, Virginia, until 1865, when he removed to St. Louis, to take pastoral charge of the Pine Street Church of that city, which he served four years. In 1871 Dr. Lacy accepted the position of Superintendent of Missions for the Synod of Missouri, in which work he was eminently successful in building up and strengthenmg the Church throughout the bounds of the Synod. In 1874 Dr. Lacy took pastoral charge of the church of Mexico, Missouri, where he remained about five years, when on account of impaired health he was led to resign.

His health not permitting regular pastoral work, he took up his residence with his son in Sedalia, Missouri, from which place he supplied with great success a group of smaller churches, building them up into strong and flourishing congregations.

In 1887 Dr. Lacy, having become a confirmed invalid, accompanied his son, who removed to Washington City, where he resided until his death, in November, 1900. Although confined to his bed and chair, unable to help himself in any way for these thirteen years, yet in this helpless condition he was wonderfully sustained and com.forted by the Master, whom he had served so long and faithfully. His mind and memory through all these years of bodily weakness and suffering remained as bright and strong as in his best days, and it was a great privilege to hear from his lips his experiences of the goodness and mercy of God in all His dealings with him. As indicative of his wonderful memory of persons and events, the writer of this sketch, in a conversation with him a short time before his death, was asked many questions concerning the people of the Frankfort pastorate, and although forty years had elapsed, Dr. Lacy called the names of all the members of the families, including the children, large and small, of whose subsequent career he was desirous to know^ Many incidents, some of minor importance, connected with the Frankfort pastorate and Dr. Lacy's life here, were vividly recalled by him, although they had long since passed from the memory of his auditor. For the people of this church, in which he had enjoyed such a pleasant and useful pastorate, he entertained to the last a lively interest and affectionate regard.

Rev. John Smith Hays, D.D.

Rev. John Smith Hays, D.D., the son of John and Orpha Hays, was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, August Tst, 1830, four miles from the town of Canonsburg. He was the youngest but one of six children - William, Nancy, Jane E., Isaac N., John S. and George P. The parents were Scotch-Irish, and belonged to a large family noted for piety and Christian zeal. Although no minister, as far as known, was numbered in their ancestry, every one of these children became ministers of the Gospel, either in person or by proxy, and at the time of his death Dr. Hays had no less than five nephews in the ministry of our Church.

First Church, Frankfort. Ii9

Dr. Havs received his primary education in the crude common school of that date. At the age of sixteen he entered the Freshman class of Jefferson College, Canonsburg, and graduated in 1850. After a three years' course in the Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, he was licensed in the spring of 1853. At this time his entire patrimony consisted of a young horse, which he sold for one hundred dollars, with fifty of which he procured his, ministerial wardrobe, and with the other fifty dollars in his pocket he started out, not knowing whither he went. Stopping at Louisville, he called upon Rev. Dr. AV. W. Hill, in charge of a branch office of the Board of Domestic Missions, who directed him to Charleston, Indiana, where the Presbyterian Church was without a pastor. He accepted a call to this church on a salary of four hundred and fifty dollars per annum, on which he and his voung wife, whom he married the following year, lived during four successive years, having been ordained and installed by the Presbytery of New Albany in the fall of 1853. While on a visit to relatives in Nashville in 1856, he preached in the vacant pulpit of the Second Church of that city, and received a unanimous call to the pastorate, which he accepted, and held until July, 1861, when on account of the breaking out of the Civil War he returned North. During the fall and winter following he supplied the Central Church of Cincinnati. In April, 1862, he came to our Frankfort Church in response to a unanimous call, and remained pastor until the spring of 1867, when he accepted a call to the Walnut Street Church, of Louisville, Kentucky, adhering to our General Assembly. On the disruption of the Presbyterian Church in Kentucky after the war, legal proceedings were instituted in different parts of the State involving church property rights. Of these the famous Walnut Street Church case was made the test. The party in that church adhering to the old General Assembly was at the time without a pastor, and at the earnest call of these members and the urgent solicitation of a large number of ministers throughout the State, Dr. Hays left Frankfort to become their pastor during the legal contest. This resulted in a decision by the highest court in favor of the congregation, and it is considered a precedent for all church questions mvolving like issues in the lower courts.

In 1875 Dr. Hays was elected to the Chair of Biblical and Ecclesiastical History in Danville Theological Seminary. Owing to the loss of a large part of the endowment fund, the Seminary was temporarily closed in 1883, and. Dr. Hays removed to Ouincy, IlHnois, where he remained as pastor about two years. At that time he received a call from the church at Maysville. Kentucky, which he accepted, and returned to the State in which such a large portion of his ministerial life had been spent. On entering upon this, his last charge, he organized, with the co-operation of his daughters, " Hays-Wood Female Seminary," in connection with the pastorate of the church, both of which he conducted with great ability and acceptance to the time of his death, which occurred January 7th, 1899.

Some years before his death Dr. Hays received an injury to one of his eyes, resulting in loss of sight, which was speedily followed by loss also of the other eye. thus leaving him in total blindness. Notwithstanding this great calamit}^, he continued to teach and to discharge the duties of pastor witli great energy and cheerfulness, preaching with as much and even more power than ever before. In answer to his prayers he was wonderfully sustained and strengthened by divine grace under this mysterious providence, which would have crushed any man of less faith and trust.

Dr. Hays received the degree of D.D. from Centre College in 1873. He was a very earnest and most instructive preacher. While very positive in his convictions and fearless in their expression, he had a bright, kindly, cheerful spirit, which made him many friends wherever he went, and rendered him a most welcome visitor and desirable companion. While in Frankfort he usually devoted Mondays, when the weather was suitable, to recreation, with fishing rod or gun, according to the season. He found in this relaxation and exercise, which he enjoyed with keen relish, the greatest benefit physically and mentally, and in after years often referred to the period as one of the happiest of his life. He was usually accompanied by one and sometimes two of his elders, and on more than one occasion could have held a meeting of session on the banks of the river, as there was more than a quorum present.

Dr. Hays was twice married, first to Miss Frances Dickey, who was the mother of his children, five of whom survived him, Mrs. J. Foster Barbour, Mrs. W. B. Matthews and Misses Florence, Fannie and Carrie Hays. His only son, a young man of great promise, died in 1879, J^st after completing his theological course. Dr. Hays' second wife was Miss Caroline Ritchie, who survived him about one year.

In a short poem Dr. Hays gave expression in a most beautiful and touching way to the experiences of his heart in the great affliction he was called upon

A Soliloquy

The writer of the following stanzas has been so frequently questioned concernine the thoughts, feelings, sorrows and joys of the blind, that he has been tempted to attempt an expression of some of his own in verse. J. S. Hays.

Enveloped in darkness, imprisoned in night; Shut in from the sunshine, secluded from light; For years I have beat on the bars of the cell Where blindness, alas! has compelled me to dwell.

They tell me the vale in its beauty still lies Where once it incessantly feasted my eyes; They tell me the shadows and sunlight still glide O'er the plain at my feet and along the hillside.

They tell me the stars in their glory still shine, That on the horizon the clouds still recline; They tell me the flowers in bea.uty still bloom. Exhaling their fragrance from midnight to noon.

But eyes now in ruin refuse me their aid; I'm left to believe what others have said. I longingly look, but 'tis only to find j\Iy vision has left me, and now I am blind.

But hush these complainings so bitter, so wild, So little becoming a creature - a child: How dare I to question the justice, the love Of God mj' Creator and Father above!

No; thanks to his goodness for giving me sight, 'Twas his by creation and his. too. by right; He gave it, he took it, and blest be liis name For giving so long, and the gifts that remain.

'I'he hand of affection I grasp in the street. The voice of love I continually meet; Sweet childhood and youth swiftly fly to my aid And lovingly beg me to be not afraid.

First Church, Frankfort. I25

The music of Nature I also can hear. The notes of her songsters so sweet and so clear; The roar of her thunder, the voice of her breeze As it swiftly or slowly creeps through her trees.

And memory, too, like an angel of light, Attends me by day and awaits me by night, To profit my mind and my fancy to please With all it has gathered in childhood and years.

Ah! yes; and from under the darkness about By faith I can calmly, serenely look out; And ''just over there" in its glory casi see The light of eternity waiting for me.

Then, thanks to God's goodness for giving me sight, 'Twas his by creation and his, too, by right; He gave it, he took it, and blest be his name For giving so long, and the gifts that remain.

Rev. Leroy J. Halsey, D.D., Ll.D.

Rev. Leroy J. Halsey, D.D., LL.D., who supplied this church during a part of the year 1870, was born near Richmond, Virginia, in 1812. He was reared in the State of Alabama, whither his parents removed when he was five years of age. In 1834 he graduated from the L^niversity of Nashville after a four years' course, and taught for some years afterward in that institution. After three years' study at Princeton Theological Seminary, he graduated in 1840, and was licensed by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, soon after which he was commissioned by the Board of Missions to labor in Alabama. After two years he took charge of the recently organized First Church of Jackson, Mississippi, where he was ordained and installed in March, 1843. In 1846 Mr. Halsey received a cordial invitation to the pastorate of the Frankfort Church, but the status of afifairs in the Jackson Church, and the critical nature of his work there at that time, constrained him to remain with it for a while longer, and decline any call to labor elsewhere. In 1848 he came to Louisville to take charge of the Chestnut Street Church, which had been organized by a colony from the Second Church, and which is now known as the Warren Memorial.

In 1859 Dr. Halsey was by the General Assembly appointed to the Chair of Ecclesiology, Sacred Rhetoric and Pastoral Theology in the Theological Seminary of the Northwest, just established in Chicago. While laboring in the Louisville pastorate he published his first book, " The Literary Attractions of the Bible ; or, A Plea for the Word of God, Considered as a Classic." This admirable work was a wellspring of delight and spiritual profit to- his congregation and the Church at large, and is to this day one of the brightest gems of the religious literature of the Church.

For thirty-three years Dr. Halsey labored to build up and develop, through many difficulties and discouragements, the Theological Seminary of the Northwest, and in this, the great work of his life, his efforts were crowned with abundant success. He also did a great work in developing Presbyterianism in the city of Chicago and all that adjacent territory, for at the time of his advent the city contained only about one hundred thousand population, and society and Christian efifort were hardly as yet in the formative state. There was only one church of our faith and order on the North Side, but with Dr. Halsey's aid others speedily followed, and in 1864 the Seminary took up its abode at its present site. Dr. Halsey terminated his active labors in the Seminary in 1892, at the age of eighty, and died June i8th, 1896.

First Church, Frankfort. I 29

In 1869 Dr. Halsey for the second time received a call to the pastorate of the Frankfort Church. Pending the consideration of the call, he visited and supplied the congregation during the summer of 1870, and while ministering here he greatly endeared himself to our people. Dr. Halsey had a charming personality, was a most eloquent and instructive preacher, standing in the front rank of the ministry of our Church. He greatly excelled in the exposition of the ScriptUires, and his midweek lectures upon the Psalms of David, which at the time drew many hearers, will never be forgotten by those of us who enjoyed the privilege of hearing them. Dr. Halsey, as an author, took a high place among the writers of our Church. During his latter years he published a nimiber of works of the highest order of merit and acceptance to Christians of all denominations.

In 1844 Dr. Halsey was married to Miss CaroHne A. Anderson, of South Carolina, a granddaughter of General Robert Anderson, one of the soldiers of the Revolution. She is yet living, at the advanced age of eighty years, with her children in Chicago, in the enjoyment of a good degree of health, and able to attend upon the stated services of her church.

Rev. John H. Nesbitt

Rev. John H. Nesbitt was born August 20th, 1834, in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. He received his primary' education in Saltsburg Academy, of the same county, and graduated from JefTerson College. Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, in the class of 1858. His theological training was received at McCormick Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1861. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Chicago in April,

1861, and labored as evangelist and home missionary until January, 1864, when he became pastor of the church at Macomb, Illinois, remaining there about six years. In November, 1869, he was called to the Frankfort Church, and ministered with great acceptance to this congregation until June, 1876, when on account of the precarious state of the health of his only child, a very bright and attractive boy of ten years of age, he was led to resign the pastorate in order to seek a change of climate. After a few years' residence in the mountain regions of Pennsylvania, during which time he ministered to the Mingo Church, Presbytery of Pittsburg, his son's health seemed to be entirely restored, and Mr. Nesbitt, in October, 1881, accepted a call to the church at Owensboro, Kentucky, where he remained as pastor until April, 1886. His next field of labor was Oxford, Ohio, from April, 1886, to 1892, and he then returned to Illinois, and served as stated supply to the church at Prairie City from January, 1893, to April, 1896. Since that time he has been incapacitated for the active duties of a pastor by reason of ill health, but as opportunity offered and his health permitted he continued to preach in the vicinity of his home at Rockford, Illinois.

Mr. Nesbitt was married in May, 1864, to Miss Agnes R. Ross, of Rockford. Mrs. Nesbitt is very pleasantly remembered by all our older members for her many graces of mind and heart, and during her residence iiere was universally esteemed and beloved.

In the dealings of our Heavenly Father, at times so mysterious, with his children, they are sometimes called upon to pass through the severest afifliction. v'^uch was the case of these faithful servants in the death of their only son, George Arthur Nesbitt, who had attained manhood, completed his theological course and entered the ministry from McCormick Seminary in the class of 1892. He was at once called to the pastorate of the First Church, Appleton, Wisconsin, but died in Chicago in October of the same year. He was a young man of great promise for usefulness in the Church, which always is in need of such well-equipped and consecrated young men. His death, which to our finite .vision appeared so untimely, was a crushing blow to his devoted parents and a personal l^ereavement to a wide circle of friends and associates.

Rev. John W. Pugh. D.D.

Rev. John W. Pugh, D.D., was born in Hardy County, West A'irginia. He was educated for the profession of law, and obtained license therefor while yet under age. He entered into partnership with Judge Seymour, of H?rdy County, with whom he engaged in the practice for two years. Feeling constrained, however, to enter the gospel ministry, he relinquished the very promising partnership of the law, and entered Union Theological vSeminary, A'irginia, in which he took a full course. Upon graduation he was called to the pastorate of the church in Warrenton, Virginia, where he was ordained and installed in October, 1859. He continued as pastor here until December, 1869, when he accepted a call to the Second Church of Owensboro, Kentuck}'. In April. 1877, he came to the Frankfort Church, and was installed pastor May 29th following. In December, 1882, he resigned, and was pastor in succession of the churches at Hopewell, Indiana, and Philo, Illinois. In January, 1899, '""^ became the pastor of the

During his pastorate in Frankfort Dr. Pugh was called upon to mourn the death of a beloved wife and the mother of his children. She was a lady of most estimable traits of character, a loving and devoted wife and mother, and a happy and consistent Christian. She died February 20th, 1880, in the triumphs of the Christian's faith. Mr. Pugh's present wife was Miss Harriet D. Todd, of Frankfort, the daughter of the late Captain Harry I. Todd.

Rev. J. McClusky Blayney, D.D., now pastor of this church since 1884, was born February 21st, 1841, in Ohio County, West Virginia. His father, Charles Blayney, was one of four brothers who came to Virginia from Ireland about the close of the eighteenth century. J. McClusky received his academical training at West Alexander, Pennsylvania, and graduated at Washington College in the class of i860. His theological training was received at Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1863. In his second year at the Seminary he was selected by the Faculty, with one of his classmates, to go to the Army of the Potomac, to conduct religious services under the auspices of the Christian Commission, which was his first experience in religious work, preaching in the camps, on transports and in the hospitals. Pie was licensed by the Presbytery of Washington in the spring of 1862. and preached about a year as stated supply to the church at Ontario, Ohio, from which work he was recalled by his Presbytery and sent to Charleston, West Virginia, to take charge of the church there. This was just after the opening of the Civil War, and this church was much disorganized and scattered. The congregation at first consisted largely of Union soldiers, who at that time occupied the city. The church under his ministrations soon became harmonious and united, and continued thereafter in a prosperous condition. The Charleston Collegiate Institute was organized by Mr. Blayney, opening the first year with one hundred and eighty pupils, and he acted as Principal one year, owing to the inability of the Board of Trustees to procure elsewhere a suitable man for the position. Owing to the agitation of the question of the ecclesiastical relations of the Charleston Church. Xorth or South, he concluded to leave the place, which determination he carried into efifect, although a strong remonstrance against this course was presented him, signed by a large majority of the citizens of the city of all denominations. When leaving Charleston with no other definite place in view, not knowing where Providence would lead, he met on the gangway of the steamer, coming ashore, a gentleman from Frankfort, Kentucky. This man, whom he had previously known, opened up the way and directed his steps to Frankfort, thus under the guidance of Providence bringing him to this field of labor. He served the Frankfort Church as stated supply for about two years, 1867 and 1868. and upon the eve of his departure from Kentucky he was invited to preside as moderator of a congregational meeting, called by the session to elect another minister as his successor. Contrary to the expectation of the session, a large majority of the votes were cast for the moderator of the meeting, who declining to allow his

In the spring of 1869 Mr. Blayney went to Albany, New York, having been called to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church of that city. While pastor there he received the degree of D.D, from the University of New York. Dr. Blayney resigned the pastorate in Albany in 1880, owing to the ill health of his family, they not being able to withstand the rigors of that northern climate. He then went abroad with his family, where they remained nearly two years traveling in Europe. . In 1870 Dr. Blayney had been united in marriage to Miss Lucy W. Lindsey, of Frankfort. She died while abroad, at Mentone, France, leaving two sons, T. Lindsey Blayney and J. McClusky Blayney, Jr. After returning to America Dr. Blayney was again providentially directed to Frankfort. He was on the way with his children to spend the winter in the far South, when he came by Frankfort for a short visit to his wife's relatives. He found the church, which he supposed was supplied with a pastor, had been vacant for a year, and was greatly in need of the ministrations and care of a pastor. He yielded to the invitation of the session to stay and preach for a time to the congregation, beginning his ministrations in January, 1884. In February he was called b}- unanimous vote to the pastorate, and, accepting the call, was installed in the following June. He now enters upon his eighteenth year of his ministrations to this congregation.

First Church, Frankfort. I4I The Session

If the injunction of the apostle, " Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor," be followed by us at the present time, there would be included in honorable mention the greater part of the eldership of the early years of this church, and not a few of those who served it later on and have also gone to their reward. In those days the duties of the ruling elder, if faithfully performed, were very exacting, calling for the exercise of great wisdom, discretion and patience in dealing with the flock. That was a time of strict rule and oversight. Many cases of discipline occurred, involving judicial trials, terminating in either censure or suspension, and sometimes in expulsion from the church. A large portion of the records are taken up with these proceedings. The effect upon the church, and with few exceptions upon the offenders themselves, appears to have been salutary. Among the more frequent causes of ofTense were the habitual absence from the services of the church ; trials were also had for Sabbath-breaking, for dancing, for attendance upon the race course, upon the theater or " play-house," and for the intemperate use of " ardent spirits." Nor was the supervision of our session restricted to the members of this particular church, for it considered it to be its duty to exercise watch and care over Presbyterians belonging to churches elsewhere, and who might be temporarilv sojourning within our bounds. In at least two notable instances action was taken in the cases of Legislators, " who, in defiance of public opinion and the force of their example, attended plays at the public theater."

Their home clnircli sessions at Greensburg and Paris were officially notitied, with lists of witnesses to substantiate the charges. The records subsequently show that the Paris and Greensburg churches took up the cases and had the testimony forwarded from Frankfort, bur the outcome of the proceedings is not known, nor the effect upon the offending Legislators. For many years the names of the deacons appear as being present and taking part in the deliberations of the session, although they were not entitled to vote, except in a few cases, where the record reads : " Resolved, by unanimous vote, the deacons concurring." The respective duties of the two branches of the church government do not seem to have been clearly defined and understood at that period. The state of the case may doubtless be accounted for in the fact that among the early deacons there were some men of zeal and ability who had tiie interests of the church, spiritual as well as temporal, as much at heart as did the elders, and, in fact, the greater part of these deacons subsequently became ruling elders.

The records of the session and the unwritten testimony of the congregation indicate that, taking them all in all, this church was blessed in having a line of wise, diligent and devoted men in the management of its spiritual affairs. While all were men of exemplary piety, some excelled in intelligence, zeal and faithfulness.

Judge Benjamin Mills, of the Appellate Court, an eminent jurist of that day, was a member of this session from the time of his removal to Frankfort from Paris until his death. He took an active and leading part in

E. L. Samuel First Church, Frankfort. I45

Dr. James J. Miles, one of the first session of this church, after aiding in its formation and serving it about twelve years, rem.oved to Louisville in 1830, and in the house of M. D. Averill, son-in-law of Thomas Paxton, of this session, aided as ruling elder in the organization of the Second Presbyterian Church of that city - that notable body, which, with its colonies and missions, has done a great work for Presbyterianism in Louisville. After serving that little congregation, as one of its first session, for a brief period. Dr. Miles removed to Paris, Kentucky, where he resided until 1836, when he was again received in the Frankfort Church. In the year 1841 he went West, and the record states that he was given a letter of recommendation to any church within the bounds of which his lot may be cast.

Dr. Luke Munsell, one of the early ruling elders, was a self-made man of the most pronounced type. He was born in Connecticut in 1790; removed to Kentucky and settled at Frankfort, where in 1822 he married Eliza Sneed, daughter of Achilles Sneed. Although Dr. Munsell never attended or graduated from any school of learning, he was a great student and indefatigable worker. He accumulated a large library of the best books that could be procured, literary, medical, theological, mathematical and scientific. He was a good Latin, Greek and Hebrew scholar, and in his private religious devotions habitually used his Greek Testament. He was a skilled physician and a contributor to the medical journals of the dav, and was among the first to use galvanism in the treatment of disease, making the model for a battery which he used in his practice. He removed to Danville in 1833, where he became for a time the Superintendent of the State Institution for the Deaf and Dimib. He was later appointed to the Chair of Natural Philosophy in Centre College. He was exceedingly fond of civil engineering, and imported for his own use the best English instruments and appliances, and had made to order special instruments which he had devised. He made and published the first large map of the State of Kentucky, which was considered a great achievement at the time, and brought him intc) wide notice as a civil engineer. From Danville he removed to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he engaged in his favorite profession as civil engineer. While a resident there he served as ruling elder in the church of which Henry Ward Beecher was pastor. He ultimately removed to Jefifersonville, where he died in 1854.

Hon. John Brown was elected ruling elder in 1829, but in a letter to the session declined to serve. In this letter we read that the only motive impelling him to decline was a feeling of unworthiness and unfitness for the sacred office. Subsequently he accepted, and was ordained and installed, and served with ability and acceptance until his death in August, 1837. Hon. John Brown was a man of prominence and large influence in State and national affairs. He studied law in the office of Thomas JefTerson, who always kept up his interest in and friendship for his pupil. He removed to Kentucky in 1782, and was its first member of Congress, while yet a district and part of Virginia, and

The following tribute from Rev. J. J. Bullock, his pastor, will be read with interest : " He was a man of the highest order of mind and character, and was a connecting link between the statesmen of the days of Washington and Jefferson and those of modern date, unquestionably one of the greatest men Kentucky has given to the country. He was the immediate product of the Revolution, and all his powers and energies were called forth in guiding the affairs of the State and the nation in the formative period of our country's history." Mr. Brown had at this time retired from public life. From a leader in the affairs of the State and nation he became in his latter days an humble and useful elder in the church. He left to us of to-day, who honor his memory, a beautiful and useful memento of his love for the church in the communion service, which is still being used by the congregation at the present time.

Mr. Joseph Clarke, for length of service in the eldership, exceeded all his brethren. He was first a deacon, and was in 1834 ordained elder, and served continuously forty-one years.

Mr. Richard Knott was another elder who is worthy of special mention and commendation. First as deacon, then as elder and devoted Sabbath-school teacher, he served the church with ability and zeal for thirteen years, after wliich time he removed to Louisville, where for many years he continued in the same office, a blessing to his day and generation.

with great faithfulness and acceptance to the church. His high qtiahfications and wisdom made him a prominent actor in the councils of the church.

William M. Todd, who entered the session while yet a young man, grew up with the church, and was one of the most active, zealous and useful men who have ever served it. For many years he was the acknowledged leader in all its affairs, spiritual and temporal. Todd's Bookstore was Presbyterian headquarters during the pastorates of Dr. J. J. Bullock and Dr. Stuart Robinson, and it was also a place where the leading men of the town did most congregate. Although actively engaged in conducting this mercantile establishment, Mr. Todd was at the same time treasurer of the church, collecting and disbursing its funds, superintendent of the Sabbath-school, leader of the choir and clerk of the session. All these duties he performed faithfully and well, to the entire acceptance of the congregation, and by his godly and consistent life left a lasting impress upon our church and community.

Mr. John B. Temple was also among the most eminently useful ruling elders of this church. He united with our church upon profession of faith in September, 1851, and in the following August was made a ruling elder. This unusual and speedy action by the congregation is an evidence of the high esteem in which Mr. Temple was held, and the confidence reposed in him by the church. Being a man of education and high attainments, and at the same time zealous for the welfare of the church, he at once became the leader in the congregation. Although a man of afifairs, occupying a high and responsible position in the State government during the critical period at the opening of the Civil War, and also actively engaged as the head of one of our principal banks, in financial operations, he gave his best and loving service to the church, and its unity, purity and welfare were the constant objects of his solicitude. He was superintendent of the h'abbath-school, clerk of the session, and had charge of the choir and the music of the congregation. In 1870 Mr. Temple removed to the city of Louisville, thus making another very valuable accession to the " Frankfort colony " and the Presbyterian Church of that city, sent them by the Frankfort Church, which has always been a faithful colonizer. Mr. Temple's services in this congregation have always been gratefully remembered. Upon the occasion of his death, which occurred in 1886, special action for record in the minutes was taken by the session, which resolved to attend the funeral in a body.

Mr. Hugh Allen deserves mention in this place as one of the godly and faithful elders of our church. He came to us in 1856 from Pisgah Church, and was one of the large family of the name who served that old, historic congregation for many years. Owing to his modesty and unassuming character, Mr. Allen was not as generally known and appreciated as his worth and services entitled him. He represented this church at the Presbytery which, in 1866, divided, the majority joining the Southern Church. Mr. Allen was one of three elders who, with four ministers, adhered to our General Assembly, and recognizing its authority, at once organized the Presbytery of West Lexington, in connection with the General Assem.bly North. Had he done otherwise and acted with the majority of the dividing Pres-

For length of continuous service as officer of our church, first as deacon, then as elder, Mr. G. A. Robertson exceeded all his brethren, covering the period from 1828 to 1893, about sixty-five years. During this long period of active service, beginning almost at the organization of the church, he was permitted to be an honored instrument in building up and strengthening this church. A high tribute was paid to his worth and long service, at the time of his death, by the session, who in special action bore loving testimony to his faithfulness, exemplary piety and goodness of heart, which, with his cheerful and sunny disposition, had endeared him to the congregation and community. The Court of Appeals, in which he had been for many years an honored officer, took special action on his death, and adjourned to attend his funeral in a body as honorary pall-bearers.

The session as constituted to-day has certainly, in the example of those who have preceded it, much to encourage and stimulate it in the work of the Master for the Master's sake. In so far* as they were enabled to follow Him, let us follow their example in good works, remembering that those who bear the vessels of the Lord must be men of clean hands, of good report, and consistent in life and conversation, for the usefulness of the ruling elder often depends more on his character than on his sfifts and knowledge.

Church Music

In the service of song, this church in its earher years of course had to adopt the prevaihng- methods of the time, and use a clerk or precentor. This was a necessity on account of the great scarcity of hymn books, many churches, more especially those in the country, having only the copy used by the minister, who, after announcing the hymn or psalm and reading it through, would hand down the book to the clerk, who for convenience sat in front of the pulpit and facing the congregation. That important officer would then arise, announce the meter, read the first two hues, and raise the tune, and thus proceed, alternately reading and singing until the psalm or hymn, however long, was finished. The position was one by no means easy to fill, for although the tunes were simple in melody and comparatively few in number, it involved long practice, a good ear and great self-possession to become an acceptable precentor. If a mistake occurred, which was sometimes the case, either in the pitch of the tune or in the meter, the accomplishments of the leader were put to a severe test, as he was for the time being responsible for this part of the service. This system of leading the service of song, however, did not remain long in this particular congregation, for soon after entering their first church building books were procured for the special singers, and seats set apart for their use in front next to the bench of the elders. Thenceforward the singing of the congregation was led by the choir, the precentor and the lining out of the hymns being dispensed with. That was the era of singing schools and singing masters, and the instruction of the singers was a matter of importance and solicitude in the congregation, as will appear in the items of expenses, one of which is a bill paid to R. McNutt, amounting to lifty-five dollars, for teaching vocal music in the church. * William M. Todd was the first leader of the choir, and so continued many years. Miss Fanny Phillips, a local singer of note, and a member of the church, was the principal female voice. After the remodeling of the church in 1829, the choir moved to the gallery at the rear of the room, where it thenceforth continued. About 1838 it was proposed by some of the more progressive members to introduce musical instruments to aid in this part of the service, there being at the time a fine band and musical organization maintained in the town. On account, however, of the strenuous opposition of some of the older and more conservative members, and especially of one esteemed elder, the instruments, after a short trial, were dispensed with, excepting the bass-viol as played by the late B. F. Meek, who continued to give his valuable aid as fundamental bass to the harmony, although the good elder never became reconciled to the " fiddle," and habitually left the church during its performance, returning for the sermon.

Mr. John B. Temple took charge of the music in 1853 in our present church. The choir for a short time occupied the gallery over the front doors, but the position was found to be unsuitable and unpleasant to all concerned, and the singers then occupied a position in the middle block of pews. In pitching the tunes and in learning new ones at the rehearsals, Mr. Temple used a

Ante, the cluirch not as yet having an instrument to lead the music. It was largely due to Mr. Temple's influence and efforts that the first church organ was introduced,, in 1857. The cost was $1,100, and it was considered a good instrument at the time. Miss Kendall, a music teacher in one of the female schools of the town, was the first organist. She was succeeded by Miss Anna * Davidson, one of the most delightful singers and accomplished musicians ever identified with our church. Mr. Temple relinquished the leadership of the choir to Mr. S. C. Bull, who has had charge continuously to the present time.

During her residence in Frankfort, Mrs. John M. Harlan, as organist and instructor, brought the choir to a high degree of proficiency, until it became one of the most noted in the State. In addition to Mrs. Harlan's superb voice, there were three others of surpassing beauty and excellence, those of Miss Lucy Lindsey and Miss Anne Todd, sopranos, and Miss Hallie Todd, contralto - four voices seldom equaled, never surpassed, within our knowledge in a voluntary choir. But congregational singing has been the leading feature, in the service of praise, in this congregation, and truly so during the present generation since the standing position was assumed in singing. In 1870 Mr. E. A. Fellmer, an accomplished musician and instructor, took charge as organist. This position he filled with ability and great faithfulness for eighteen years.* In view of his long and devoted service, special action was taken for record by the session in accepting his resignation. About the year i8go, in order to aid this branch of the service and lead the congregation, a cornet and other musical instruments were introduced, and used with acceptance for several years, until the building of the superb organ now in use. To the Young Ladies' Sewing Society of the church is principally due the honor of the purchase of this instrument, which is from the factory of the Hook & Hastings Company, of Boston, one of the leadmg organ building firms of the country.

The choir as now constituted, and under the training of Miss Harriet McClure, well maintains the reputation of former years, and is doing excellent service in leading the music and in special solo and choral work. The monthly " praise service," in which both choir and congregation unite, is one most heartily enjoyed by all who attend, and is a means of grace and spiritual comfort to some who are deprived of the privilege of participating actively in this service of song.

Mr. S. C. Bull, who has been actively identified with the choir for forty years as leader and manager, is still in charge, with zeal and voice unabated.

Charles E. Hoge First Church, Frankfort. 1 63

Allusion has been made in another place to the revival epochs in our country. The year 1828 was the beginning of the third great religious awakening which extended over the East and West, continuing eight or ten years. As was the case with the one which began with the century, the effects were more marked in Kentucky than elsewhere, but it differed somewhat from the others in the fact that the regularly ordained ministry was the principal instrument honored and used by the Head of the Church in reaching the unconverted. Pastors over the land left, for the time being, their pulpits and became evangelists. Among the most distinguished and successful of these were : Dr. Nettleton, in the East ; Dr. Daniel Baker, in the South, and Dr. Nathan Hall, in Kentucky. In our Synod alone over five thousand persons were added to the Presbyterian Church. The number joining the Frankfort Church was not exceptionally large, being less than one hundred, yet it included a large number of prominent men and women, heads of families and people of influence. Many of these became most useful and honored members and officers of the church ; not a few of them were spared to bring forth much fruit to the honor and glory of God, even down to old age, bearing testimony by their godly lives, to their children and to their children's children, of the faith and power of the gospel. Mr. Edgar was assisted in these special services by Rev. Dr. Nathan Hall, at that time pastor at Lexington, a preacher of great earnestness and power.

Dr. Baker, who succeeded him. The practice of Presbytery at that, as well as at other periods of the early church, was to direct the pastors to do evangelistic work in the destitute parts of its territory, and these two gifted men were frequently appointed for special work elsewhere. Tliis was the cause of much restlessness and some discontent in our church, so much so that at last our session felt justified in forwarding a remonstrance on the subject to Presbytery, in which among other things it was said : " We are only wilHng that Bro. Baker may take another missionary tour under the order of Presbytery until the first, but no longer than the middle, of December, provided Rev. W. W. Hall supply the pulpit in his absence, and provided further that this session shall have the privilege of recalHng Bro. Baker at any time, even before the first of December, if his presence here is necessary." During the next two pastorates, Dr. Bullock's and Dr. Robinson's, although there was no very large ingathering at any one time, I he membership steadily increased, and the ratio was well maintained during the decade 1850-1860. When there was religious interest and the services were multiplied, they were conducted by the pastors without outside help, and in looking over the list of accessions to the roll between 1840 and i860, one is impressed by the goodly array of names and the increased spiritual strength that came to the church during that period. In 1840 Dr. Bullock received fifty-seven; in 1842, twentyfive. In 1849 ^^- Rol^hison received fifty-five, and in 1857 Dr. Safiford thirty-six upon profession. The spirit of revival, which had again returned, and was moving over the land in 1857-8, was checked by the disturbed state of the country and the political excitement pre-

There was no special ingathering in this church, but it experienced a steady conservative growth during the decades 1860-70 and 1870 to 1879. In this latter year the church was greatly refreshed in a^ series of special services, continuing through the month of February. The pastor. Rev. J. W. Pugh, was assisted by Rev. Dr. J. L. McKee, of Danville, whose labors as an evangelist have been so greatly blessed throughout the churches of Kentucky and adjacent States. Fifty-five services were conducted during the meeting, which number represents also the additions to the cljurch upon profession of faith. In 1881 Dr. McKee again visited the church, and with the pastor conducted a series of services, during which about thirty persons were added upon profession. Under the present pastorate, 1884 to 1901, the membership has increased from two hundred and fortythree to four hundred and forty-six. In the year 1894 the churches of the city united in a series of evangelistic services, conducted by Rev. B. Fay Mills, a grandson of Judge Benj. Mills, one of the early elders of this church. He was the son of Rev. Thornton A. Mills, who was reared in our church and entered the gospel ministry here, and became an eminent and useful preacher. At the date above mentioned, 1894, Rev. B. Fay Mills was a minister in good standing in the Presbyterian Church. As a result of these services " ninety-nine persons were added to our church, besides numerous accessions to the other churches of the city, whose pastors and members co-operated heartily in the work. With the exception of the series of special servl66 IIISTOKY OF FIRST CHURCH, FRANKFORT.

ices mentioned, the steady growth of our church has been due to the blessing of God upon the ordinary means of grace, which he has instituted in the church, the labors of a long line of earnest and faithful preachers of the Word, and the lives and prayers of his people. In this connection we must not by any means omit to mention that gftat " feeder " of the church, the Sabbath-school, from which the church receives much of its strength-, and which should be the object of our most hearty solicitude and support. For an extended sketch of our church school, see Chapter V.

Although our General Assembly, soon after its organization in 1789, authorized the employment of missionary workers in the destitute portions of the States, yet the Board of Missions was not established until the year 181 6, a Standing Committee on Missions having been appointed in 1805. As early as 1771 a plan for the education of poor and pious young men for the ministry was adopted by the Synod of New York and Phibdelphia, yet the Board of Education of our Church was not organized until 1819. The Boards of Publication and Foreign Missions were formed in 1838, Church Erection in 18.14, Ministerial Relief in 1855, Freedman's Board in 1865, and th.e Board of Aid for Colleges in 1883.

The first- mention of the Frankfort Church in the statistical tables of the General Asseml:)ly was in the year 1820. Tiie Presbytery of West Lexington, to whicn this church was attached, reported twenty-seven churches and twelve ministers. The Frankfort Church was credited by thirty dollars for Home Missions, and was the only church in the Presbytery contributing to this cause. To the Theological Seminary Fund this church gave more than any of the older and stronger congregations, and in addition sent a special gift of sixty-seven dollars to Princeton Seminary, through the Board of Education, from the " Female Education Society of the Frankfort Church." This Society had been formed January, 1820, in response to an appeal to the churches made by the General Assembly the previous year. The reasons given show a loyal and prompt obedience to the appeal, and may be read with interest in this connection : *

" In consequence of an address made by the General Assembly to the churches under its charge, stating the low state of the funds of the theological school at Princeton, and appeaUng in its behalf to the liberality of the churches, we, the subscribing members of the Presbvterian Church of Frankfort, and others who are friendly to the interests of religion, promise to contribute annually (if able) the sums annexed to our names, payable hereafter in the first week of January, to be used solely for the education of young men designed for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, and to be sent to Princeton Seminary for that purpose.

" This subscription is not intended to supersede or in anv manner interfere with the Cent Society, but has originated in the extreme pressure of the times, and the necessitv of immediate exertion being made by the professors and friends of religion for the relief of our insti-

" From such as do not wish to become members, either ladies or gentlemen, donations will be thankfully received. All who subscribe, members or donors, will have the goodness to pay at the same time, as the amount raised must be forwarded immediately."

The paper is in the handwriting of Mrs. Margaretta Brown, and was evidently prepared by her. Her name leads on the list of subscribers, followed by that of Mrs. Love, Mrs. Mary Hanna, and thirty others, with several gentleman " donors." This was the beginning of that line of female societies of this congregation which have done such noble and faithful work, during the succeeding years, in^ raising funds and devising ways and means for tb.e benefit of the church here and elsewhere.

The next year, i<S22, the total contril^ution by the Presbytery to missions was $268, of which amount the Frankfort Church gave $182. Total to the Theological Seminary Fund, $170, of which this church gave $50.

In 1823 there was no report from the Synod of Kentucky in the General Assembly's Minutes, except the mention of a contribution to the Theological Seminary Fund by the Female Education Society of Frankfort. These facts and figures are given merely to show the benevolent spirit of our early church, and how " it stood for education."

In the next decade nothing wortliy of special menti(jn in the benevolent work of this church occurred until 1833. Althougli the church was at that time without a pastor, the gift to Home Missions was $211 : to Educa- ticn, $436; to the Colonization Society, $365. In the year 1839, following the organization of the Foreign Mission Board, this church is credited in the Minutes by $400 for this cause. For a number of years our Frankfort Church had been contributing through West Lexington Presbytery to the support of a foreign missionary, besides making regular collections for the American Board of Foreign Missions ; but considerable rivalry and friction having occurred between the various agencies, our church thereafter turned all its funds tor this object into the treasury of our Assembly's Board of Foreign Missions. In the decade 1840- 1850 the benevolent contributions were well maintained. In 1847, $411 went to Home Missions, and $174 to Foreign Missions. The church has never surpassed the self-denial and liberaHty of its earlier years, nor kept up its contributions in proportion to its increase in numbers and financial strength. Nevertheless few years have passed without contributions being sent to all our Boards. In the centennial year of our Assembly, 1888, in compliance with the request of that august body to the churches to raise a million dollars as a centennial offering to the Board of Ministerial Relief, this church made a special effort and responded nobly to the appeal, remitting to the Board $1,235.

In the year 1883, while the church was without a pastor, the session, after due consideration, made an important change in the disposition of the benevolent funds of the congregation. This church had been spared the calamities of division when so many churches in the border States of the South were rent in twain after the Civil War. In its membership was a large element which was Southern in its sympathies and afifilia- tions. It was proposed by the session to divide equally between the two General Assemblies, North and South, our annual contributions to Home Missions, Foreign Missions, Education, Puljlication and Sunday-school Work. Church Erection, Ministerial Relief and Freedmen. It was hoped that by this plan renewed interest and Hberally would be aroused in the congregation, and the result has been a gratifying success. We have been enabled to give to each Assembly more than we previously gave to the one. Thus, without relaxing loyalty to our own Assembly's Boards, we have been permitted to aid our brethren of the Southern Church in their labors for our common Lord and Master. Xor have they been wanting in grateful acknowledgment of the contributions sent by this church, which occupies in this matter a position altogether unique. Numbers of appreciative letters have been received by the treasurer of these funds, who holds the receipts of the several committees of the Southern Church for contributions sent to the amount of over $4,000.*

The Ladies' Sewing Society of this church has for over sixty years been a leading factor in our church work in providing ways and means for congregational purposes. As early as 1830 a society was organized by the ladies for church work which was called bv them " The Circle of Benevolent Industry." It object, besides providing clothing for the needy poor, was to make for sale articles of wearing ajiparel and other handiwork for ornament as well as use, in order to raise funds for church expenses. Airs. Eliza Sharpe was the first President. In the small beginnings of the Society the articles of needle-work were sent around for sale in a covered basket, which is still preserved. The Society, after filling an important place in the activities of the church for some years, was finally merged into the Ladies' Sewing Society, which in the meantime had been formed.

The first effort of the Ladies' Sewing Society had been to raise funds for a scholarship in Centre College. They then devoted their energies to their own congregational matters, principally in providing a parsonage for the church. This was completed and paid for by the Society during Dr. Bullock's pastorate, and was occupied by him for several years. When Dr. Stuart Robinson became pastor he preferred living in South Frankfort, and at his request the Society sold the parsonage and united with him in purchasing a larger and more desirable property on Second and Shelby Streets. Here was located the Female Academy which was inaugurated by the session of this church, and which under Dr. Robinson's superintendency became widely known as a school of high grade. Mrs. Ann Crittenden was at this time the President of the Societv, having some years before succeeded Airs. John J. Crittenden, who for. many years had been a most efficient President. When the congregation undertook the building of the present house of worship, this Society entered enthusiastically into the work, and was so successful in doing the part that it had assumed, and much more in addition, that the pastor jokingly asserted that the next

By reference to the Treasurer's books it is evident that the Society was true to its name, and was a " Sewing Society *' in the fullest sense. A very large variety of needlework, fancy articles and small wares was readily disposed of at fair prices, and the receipts at some of the monthly meetings for work and articles disposed of during the month amounted to fifteen and even twenty dollars, and occasionally to nearly double that sum. On April 5th, 1867, the Society was reorganized and strengthened by the accession of new members, and at this meeting sixty ladies were present and paid their dues. Tn its continuous work to the present day this Society has been an invaluable aid in providing funds for the congregation, in meeting the various demands for improving, refurnishing and caring for the church building, and in tiding the congregation over repeated financial emergencies, to all of which good work the officers of the church will cheerfully testify.

The Ladies' Benevolent Society of this church has been in active operation about fifty years. The initial meeting was held at the house of Mrs. Thomas S. Page November 13th, 1852. The following ladies were i)resent : ]\Irs. Stuart Robinson, Mrs. Af. Y. Brown. lane B. Page, Eliza P. Monroe, Jane L. Swigert. Rebecca

Dr. Samuel E. James

Cox, A. J. Crittenden, R. A. Samuel, Elizabeth Hodges, Alary E. Batchelor, Martha A. Roberts, Ann M. Knott, Lavinia Herndon, Harriet Page, Matilda Reading, Mary C. Munsell, Mary Williams, Sarah C. Watson, Cornelia Roberts, H. JM. Brown, Hallie Todd, E. C. Strobridge, Margerite Leavy, Ann Hord, Sarah H. Sneed, Susan Rodman, Mary Hendrick, Ellen Clark, Ann E. Tilford and Miss Harvey. They were enrolled and adopted a constitution, and all present signed the same in the order above named. Mrs. M. Y. Brown was then chosen President ; Airs. A. J. Crittenden, Vice-President ; Mrs. Leavy, »Secretary, and Mrs. Batchelor, Treasurer. The town was divided into three districts, and to each was assigned five ladies, whose duty it was to visit and afford relief and sympathy to the needy and distressed, and to report their cases to the regular meetings of the Society. At the next meeting the following additional names were enrolled : Mrs. Juliet Samuel, Mrs. Margerite Herndon, Airs. Charlotte Letcher, Airs. Allie Todd, Airs. James Harlan and Aliss Maria Cronley.

The dues of the Society were twenty-five cents per month, and to this revenue was added the amount of the collections for the poor made in the church.

The Society still continues the beneficent work of its founders, and through the half century has been, and still is, a fountain of blessing to the distressed poor of our church and the community.

Tlie Ladies' Missionary Society of this church was organized March 20th, 1878. At a meeting of the ladies of the congregation on the above date, in the church, Rev. J. W. Pugh, the pastor, was present, and explained the object of the meeting, and at the request of those present, presided during the preliminary proceedings. A constitution, consisting of eleven articles, modeled after that of the Synodical Society, was adopted, and the following ofificers were then chosen : For President, Mrs. Mag Gaines ; for Vice-President, Mrs. Aggie Sneed ; for Secretary, Miss Hallie Herndon ; for Treasurer, Mrs. L. J. Tate. Eight Directors were also chosen : Mrs. Hettie Lindsay, Mrs. Wattie Crutcher. Mrs. Lizzie Bacon, Mrs. Grant Green, Misses Sue Ghieselin, Emma Pruett, Fannie Hendrick and Sallie Jackson. The city was divided into four districts, and two directors were assigned to each for special work in arranging a canvass for funds in the congregation. The collectors appointed were : Misses Lettie Todd, Sallie Sneed, Annie P)ull, Annie Monroe, Mary P)Ush, lycna Pepper, Annie McClure and Kate Bush.

This was the beginning of our Ladies' Missionary Society, which has continued until the present time, and as an auxiliary to our Synod's Society and a component part of our General Assembly's work, represented by the Women's Board, has done noble work for Home and Foreign Missions.

The present ofificers are: Miss INIary Page, President ; Mrs. J. H. Graham, Vice-President ; Mrs. W. F. Barrett, Treasurer ; Miss Sallie Jackson, Secretary.

Young Ladies' Sewing Society

Ill the year 1878 Mrs. E. L- Samuel, of this church, gathered together at her house, one Saturday afternoon, a number of the young girls of the congregation, ranging in age from twelve to eighteen years. The object had in view was the formation of a sewing circle, as a sort of training school to get the girls interested' in church work. About fifteen girls were present, and Mrs. Samuel, with the assistance of Miss Vene Herndon, directed and trained them in the various departments of handiwork for a year or more, during which period they met with Mrs. Samuel every Saturday afternoon.

Other girls becoming interested and joining the circle, a " Society " was launched, with Miss Vene Herndon, President, and Miss Jennie Waggener, Secretary and Treasurer. The following were the first members of the Society : Sallie Cannon, Pattie Roberts, Lucy Stockton, Mary Ely, Annie Crutcher, Sadie Pugh, Rebecca x\verill. Rose Stewart, Allie Todd, Lena Stewart, Nannie Browder, Jennie Bull, Annie Bull, Lillie Cleveland and Kate Green.

The incentive to the first efforts of the little Society was to aid in refurnishing the main room of the church, and the first one hundred dollars earned was given towards the payment of the new lighting apparatus, or " sun light." The second like amount was expended in the repairing and refurnishing of the Sabbath-school room. After this the Society aspired to still greater achievements, and took up the matter of a new church organ. In the course of a few years of energetic efifort and persistent work it was enabled to place the fine

The Society still maintains its active organization of over thirty members, working usually with some definite end in view, after accomplishing which another object is taken up.

Bible Society

The first Bible Society in the United States was the Philadelphia Bible Society, organized in 1808. The following year brought forth the Connecticut, the Massachusetts, the New York and the New Jersey Societies.

The sixth vSociety organized in this country, for publishing and distributing the Holy Scriptures, was the Kentucky Bible Society, formed in Lexington in 181 1.* Among its founders and active supporters were : Revs. James Blythe, Robert H. Bishop, Nathan H. Hall, John T. Edgar, James McChord, John Lyle and Eli Smith ; also Hon. Benjamin jNIills, Joseph C. Breckinridge, David A. Sayre, and other prominent laymen. Gov- -ernors Isaac vShelby, George Madison, John Adair and Gabriel Slaughter were in succession also active members and promoters. The dues from members of the Society were one dollar and hftv cents a vear. with the

* The data used in this part of the work are taken from "Sketches of Bible Work" by Rev. Dr. George S. Savage, for thirty-two years the District Superintendent of The American Bible Society, for Kentucky.

David Nicol

payment of three dollars upon entering the Society and signing the constitution. The field of operations, besides Kentucky, was the territories of Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Louisiana. The Society placed Bibles on all the steamboats of the Western rivers, and Testaments in the hands of the soldiers of the War of 1812, in addition to canvassing and supplying its own extensive field. Branch associations were rapidly formed in the variotis towns and counties of the State, and these were supplied from Lexington with Bibles and Testaments for local distribution. To aid in the collection of funds, " Cent Societies " were formed by the ladies and children in the churches, and we find allusions to the Frankfort Cent Society in the records of our Sundayschool. In 1818 the American Bible Society of New York granted the Kentucky Society two sets of stereotype plates, dift'erent sizes, to aid in the work, and later on the Board of Managers in New York made this significant record in their annual report : " There have been printed during six years of the Society, at the depository of the American Bible Society in New York, and in Lexington, Ky., on stereotyped plates, 36,375 copies of the Scriptures."

In 1818 tiie Kentucky Society was merged into an auxiliary of the American Bible Society, a new constitution was formed and officers elected. Governor George Madison was President ; Lieutenant-Governor Slaughter, Vice-President ; and among the Directors were Rev. Eli Smith and John Brown, of the Frankfort Church. Thomas T. Skillman, at that period the most noted publisher and bookmaker west of the Alleghenies, was the publisher of the Society, and in one year alone he issued three editions of two thousand copies each of the Scriptures, printing them on paper made near Georgetown, Ky., " and equal in workmanship to the Eastern pubHcations." This Society made a record for itseh' and for the State. " Its early date, its liberality, its efificiency, its zeal and the wide range of its operations, the conceded influence it had in the organization of the great American Bii^le Society, and the framing of its constitution, make a chapter of history worthy to be recorded and perpetuated. Kentucky was in the West, and concentrating interests were eastward, and it became apparent that the Kentucky Bible Society, with its noble and heroic record, had about served its day and generation as an independent organization, and should become an auxiliary to the National Society."* One of the articles of the new constitution provided that the annual meetings of the Society shall be held alternately in Lexington and Frankfort.

In 1823 the Frankfort Society was reorganized as an auxiliary to the American Bible Society, with Rev. Eli Smith Corresponding Secretary, and at the same time, in accordance with the principles and constitution of the National Society, all the other Protestant Churches were included in its membership, under the name of " The Franklin County Bible Societv."

This Society has continued without intermission to the present day, and each year, on the last Sabbath evening of February, holds its anniversary reunions in one of the participating churches, making its annual report and electing its officers for the ensuing vear. The resident pastors are cx-o-fficio \'icc-Presidents of the Societv and members of the Board of Managers. This

J. Buford Hendrick First Church, Frankfort. I93

Society, during its seventy-eight years of active life, has been a source of blessing and a power for good in the communitv and the adjacent country. It has made many general canvasses and visitations in the city and county, supplying the Scriptures to the destitute. At one tim.e the Society employed a special agent, who in the course of his work explored the adjoining county of Owen, visiting live hundred and seventy-seven famihes, of which number sixty-nine were without a copy of the Scriptures. It has also at different times aided in special work irs the mountains of Kentucky. In the year 1866 Rev. George S. Savage was appointed agent of the American Bible Society for Eastern Kentucky, and has, almost without intermission, made annual visitations to this field, usually upon the occasion of the anniversary of the local Society. To his abihty, zeal and fostering care the continued success and efficiency of the Franklin County Bible Society are largely due.