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January 28: Leroy Jones Halsey

28 January, 2022 in Calendar 2022 by archivist | No comments

Leroy Jones Halsey
[1812-1896]
served First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS, 1843-1848

Biographical sketch [PTS Bio. Catalog (1933), pg. 103]—

Born, Goochland County, Virginia, January 28, 1812. Educated at the University of Nashville, graduating in 1834. Tutor at the Univ. of Nashville, 1835-37. Princeton Theological Seminary, 1837-1840. Stated Supply, Cahaba, Pisgah and Centre Ridge churches in Alabama, 1841-42. Ordained on March 21, 1843 by the Presbytery of Clinton. Installed as pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, and served there 1843-1848. Pastor of Chestnut Street church, Louisville, KY, 1848-49. Stated Supply, South church, Chicago, IL, 1861-62. Editor of Interior, 1876. Professor of History, Pastoral Theology and Church Government at McCormick Seminary, 1859-1881. Professor emeritus, and acting professor of Theology and New Testament Literature and Exegesis, 1881-83; acting professor of Church Government, 1883-1892. Died on June 18, 1896. Honors conferred include the D.D. degree, by Hanover College, in 1853 and the LL.D. degree, from South Western Presbyterian University, in 1880.

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November 5: Rev. Frank Bell Webb (1848-1925)

5 November, 2021 in November 2021 by archivist | No comments

Owen, Thomas McAdory, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography (Chicago: The S

DICTIONARY OF ALABAMA BIOGRAPHY, v. 4, p. 1737—

WEBB, FRANK BELL, Presbyterian minister, was born November 5, 1848, at Eutaw, Green County; son of William Peter and Martha Burwell (Bell) Webb, the former a native of Lincoln County, N. C, a lawyer, who came to Alabama and settled in Greensboro, moved to Eutaw in 1839, and practiced his profession there until his death in 1890; grandson of Judge Henry Young and Elizabeth (Forney) Webb, who lived at Mount Welcome, Lincoln County, N. C, the former who was a native of that state, was appointed by President Monroe to be judge of the U. S. district court from the territory of Alabama, went to Alabama in 1818, and held the first court at Neighbors Cross Roads, was elected one of the circuit judges by the first legislature of Alabama, and held that office at the time of his death in 1823, and of John and Elizabeth Randolph (Bacon) Bell, natives of Virginia, who lived at Greensboro.

The Webb family was originally from Dorsetshire, Wales, and it held an honorable position at the time Katherine Parr was regent of England, as far back as 1544. The earliest history that is known of the family runs back to Henry Webb, who was born in Warwickshire, England, 1357.

Mr. Webb received his early education at Eutaw, at Hatfield academy, and at Pleasant Ridge academy. He entered the University of Mississippi in January, 1866, and two years later entered Washington and Lee university, from where he was graduated in March, 1869. He attended the Union theological seminary at Hampden Sidney, Va., and after a three years’ course, was graduated, B.D., 1872. He was ordained as a minister of the gospel of the Presbyterian church, December 1, 1872, and was installed by the Presbytery of Alabama as pastor of the Union Springs church. He remained in that charge for fifteen years; held the pastorate of the Third Presbyterian church of Birmingham for a year; and of the First Presbyterian church of Columbia, Tenn., for twelve years and a half; moved to Talladega in July, 1902, to become president of the Isbell female college; took charge of the First Presbyterian church of Talladega in January, 1902, in connection with the college work; and at the end of two years resigned from the college work and continued in charge of the church.

He was a director on the board of the Columbia Theological Seminary, South Carolina, for four years as a representative from the Synod of Alabama; was for five years at one time and four years at another the chairman of the executive committee of the Synod’s Orphans’ Home; was a member of the executive committee of foreign missions of general assembly for seven years; was moderator of the Synod of Alabama in 1881, 1905 and 1911; was moderator of the Synod of Nashville, Tenn., in 1890; has served as a member of the board of trustees of the Synodical college for Women; was made president of the first State temperance convention, held at Athens, April, 1881; and was appointed delegate to the second World’s Christian Citizenship Conference, 1913. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon Dr. Webb by one of the institutions of learning in North Carolina.

He was a Knight of Pythias and for two years held office as district deputy grand chancellor; served for two years as grand chief templar of the Order of Good Templars in Alabama. While surprising to us today, it was not uncommon for Southern Presbyterians to hold membership in the Freemasons and similar organizations. That practice seems now to have died out among Presbyterians. Rev. Webb was also a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon college fraternity. He was editor of the Orphan’s Home Monthly, published by the Synod of Alabama in connection with its orphanage work.

Married: October 30, 1872, at Lexington, Va., to Mary White Paxton, daughter of Maj. James Gardner and Annie Maria (White) Paxton, of that place, granddaughter of Matthew and Mary White, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Augusta County, Va., and of Elisha and Margaret (McNutt) Paxton, who lived on a landed estate along the James River Valley of Virginia. The Paxtons are descended from a soldier of Cromwell who emigrated with his comrades to the north of Ireland, and later came to America. Children: 1. James Gardner Paxton, d. July 8, 1902, m. Mary B. Abernathy of Leighton, who lives with her son, Frank Bell, in Tuscaloosa; 2. Martha Bell, m. Mr. Morris, McComb, Miss.; 3. Frank Bell, d. January 22, 1887, at Union Springs; 4. Mattie Frazer, McComb, Miss.; 5. Annette Paxton, Talladega; 6. Virginia Foster, m. Jewell W. Dickinson, Talladega. Residence: Talladega.

Frank Bell Webb died on 30 November 1925.

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July 29: First Presbyterian, Hazlehurst, MS (org. 1860)

29 July, 2016 in Uncategorized by archivist | No comments

Excerpts from “History of FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Hazlehurst, Mississippi”
by John T. Armstrong, Jr.

In 1832 evangelists organized a Presbyterian Church in Gallatin, a community located four miles west of what is now Hazlehurst. The Gallatin Church prospered until 1858, when the railroad was constructed to the east, and Hazlehurst was settled and later incorporated. On July 29, 1860, Reverend D. A. Campbell of the Presbytery of Clinton (Mississippi) founded the Hazlehurst Presbyterian Church. With the advent of the railroad Gallatin declined, and by order of Presbytery the Gallatin Presbyterian Church was dissolved on March 11, 1866; the congregation of approximately twenty-five adults joined the Hazlehurst Church.

fpcHazlehurstMS_1860-1985_coverThe initial entry in the Session Book of the Hazlehurst Church is as follows: “At a congregational meeting held on the fourth Sabbath of July, A.D. 1860 in the town of Hazlehurst, Reverend D. A. Campbell of the Presbytery of Clinton, of the Synod of Mississippi, proceeded to organize a church, to be received under the care of said Presbytery. The following persons were enrolled as members: M.W.Trawick, Elijah Peyton, A. W. Griffing, Mrs. Elizabeth Griffing, Mrs. Phebe I. Griffing, Mrs. Lucy M. Campbell, Mrs. Matilda Peyton.”

The house of worship was completed in 1867. Although the structure has been enlarged and remodeled several times, the original building remains almost intact. The first building consisted of what is now solely the sanctuary. Exterior brick were added in 1941, and the educational annex, to the rear of the Church, was dedicated in 1959.

The steeple bell was cast especially for the Church in 1867, a gift from Miss Isabella Faler. In 1901, the Ladies Aid Society purchased the sanctuary chandelier. The fixture originally burned acetylene gas, but in 1920 was wired for electricity. The pulpit furniture was donated to the Church in the early 1870s by the A. Mangold family.

When the Church was remodeled in 1941, the present sanctuary pews were installed. They are of walnut and are the third set of pews to be used in the Church. At the end of each pew is a small plate bearing the name of the donor.

The sanctuary windows were presented to the Church in 1964 as a memorial to the ministry of Samuel Craighead Caldwell, D.D., long time minister of this Church. The three stained glass windows in the Fellowship Hall today were in the sanctuary behind the pulpit from 1901 until 1964.

A memorial tablet in the vestibule was dedicated to the memory of Reverend Martin W. Trawick, the first minister of the Church, 1864-1874. A second memorial tablet was placed in remembrance of Samuel Craighead Caldwell, D.D., who served as minister for forty-two years, 1888-1930.

Sixteen regularly installed ministers have nurtured the spiritual growth of the congregation over these one hundred and fifty-five years since 1860. Our current Interim Pastor, the Rev. Larry C. Mills, has ministered to the flock for six years, and counting. This Church has been blessed with ministers who have faithfully preached the Word of God from the pulpit.

Image: Front cover of The First Presbyterian Church, Hazlehurst, Mississippi, 1860-1985, by Allen Cabaniss, VDM.

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July 20: Henry Rowland Weed

20 July, 2015 in July 2015 by archivist | No comments

An Anonymous Author Identified

Henry Rowland Weed was born in Ballston, New York on July 20, 1789. He received his college education at Union College in Schenectady, NY, graduating in 1812, and prepared for the ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary, graduating there in 1815. He was ordained by the Presbytery of New York on January 4th, 1816 and installed as pastor of the Presbyterian church in Jamaica, Long Island, NY, where he served from 1816 until 1822.

His next charge was as pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Albany, NY, 1822-1829. Leaving the pulpit ministry for a time, he was employed as an Agent of the Board of Education, 1830-1832, after which he returned to the pulpit, first serving as stated supply for the First Presbyterian church of Wheeling, Virginia (later West Virginia). That arrangement led to his being called by that church and he continued there in Wheeling until 1870, his longest pastorate, though in his final years he was infirm and his associate often took over the duties of the pulpit.

Alfred Nevin notes that “Dr. Weed was an able, earnest, faithful and successful preacher. He contributed occasionally anonymous articles to the religious periodicals of the Church, including the Biblical Repertory, but avoided regular authorship. [Between 1829-1868, there were 39 articles that appeared anonymously in The Biblical Repertory; there was also one article by Rev. Weed which appeared under his own name]. For the use of his own Bible class, he published a series of questions on the Confession of Faith, which was afterwards published by the Presbyterian Board of Publication. Rev. Weed died at Philadelphia, on December 14, 1870.

We may never know which of the otherwise anonymous articles in Princeton’s Biblical Repertory were authored by Rev. Weed, but from another source, we do at least have some interesting insights into the man’s character in his early ministry :

From the Long Island Daily Press, Tuesday, January 29, 1929, Section A.

1815: Rev. Henry R. Weed, fresh from Princeton Seminary was called to the Presbyterian church. Weed discouraged the practice of giving wines and liquors at funerals. Time out of mind, in humbler families rum was handed from one to another as they stood out of doors about the house, each man drinking out of the mouth of the upturned flask. Wine was passed to the women within the house. Captain Codwise who lived at Beaver Pone had a cask of choice wine in his cellar for years, reserved for his funeral. The last and most distinguished occasion in Jamaica for thus regaling the attendants was the funeral of Rufus King, our minister to England, who died April 29, 1827, at the age of 73. It was a warm day and the waiters were kept going about indoors and out with silver saivers before them loaded with decantors, glasses and cigars.

1818: Mr. Weed and Mr. Sayres were chosen inspectors of common schools for Jamaica. They did their duty so strictly and exposed so many shortcomings in the teachers that they were not re-elected.

Those instances strike us as the errors of a young pastor, too often zealous about things that matter, yet without a balancing wisdom and measure of discretion. I think we can assume that he gained that wisdom over time, particularly given his long tenure as pastor in Wheeling.

As a sample of Rev. Weed’s Questions on the Confession of Faith, here are the questions attached to Chapter 1 – Of the Holy Scriptures:—

Question 1. – Do the works of creation and providence, teach us that there is a God? Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20.
Question 2. – Which of His perfections do they manifest?
Question 3. – Do they teach enough of God, to leave man inexcusable? Romans 1:20.
Question 4. – Do they afford all the knowledge that is necessary to salvation? Proverbs 29:18; 1 Corinthians 1:21.
Question 5. – Has it pleased God to reveal Himself and the way of salvation to mankind in any other way? Hebrews 1:1-2; 2 Peter 1:19.
Question 6. – In “what divers manners” did God reveal Himself to His people before the Sacred Scriptures were written?
Answer: By angels, dreams, visions, and voices, by Urim and Thummim and by immediate suggestion to the mind. See Numbers 12:6, 8; Exodus 3:1-4.
Question 7. – Why was revealed truth committed to writing? Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16.
Question 8. – Do the Holy Scriptures now supersede the necessity of all those former ways of God’s revealing His will unto His people? 2 Timothy 3:15.

The full text of Rev. Weed’s Questions on the Confession of Faith and Form of Government of the Presbyterian Church (1842) is available in digital format.

Words to Live By:
Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.
(1 Timothy 4:12).
How can a young pastor earn the respect due to his office as pastor? By being an example of the Christian faith, in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. Occasionally you may see young pastors who have a tendency to be overbearing, perhaps thinking that a show of strength or adamant will is necessary to accomplish their goals for the church. But as Francis Schaeffer was good to remind us, “the Lord’s work must be done in the Lord’s way.”

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March 1: Van Horn on WSC Q. 8

1 March, 2015 in March 2015 by archivist | No comments

STUDIES IN THE WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM
by Rev. Leonard T. Van Horn

Q. 8. — How doth God execute his decrees?

A. — God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

Scripture References: Rev. 4:11. Eph. 1:11. Isa. 46:10. Mark 13:31.

Questions:
1. To what can we compare the decrees of God to enable us to better understand them?

“We compare the decrees of God to the plans an architect draws for a great building. If most of us saw the blue-prints for this building we could not imagine what the building would look like . . . But when the building was all complete then we would see what was in the architect’s mind and what was the meaning of his blue-prints. So we cannot read God’s mind except by what He has said and done and by what He is doing.” (The Christian Faith According to the Shorter Catechism, by Dr. Wm. Childs Robinson, Pgs. 12-13).

2. What is the meaning of God executing His decrees?

The meaning is God bringing His will to pass, doing what He purposed from all eternity.

3. Is it possible for the decrees of God to fail?

It is not possible. No man can stay the hand of God or question what He is doing. (Dan. 4:35)

4. Where does redemption fit in the division of his decrees?

Redemption comes to pass in His providence as His majestic gift to some men through Jesus Christ.

5. What is the difference between His works of creation and providence?

Creation is His work of making all things out of nothing by the word of His power. Providence is His work of constant support and control of the universe and all that is in it.

6. What can be learned from the execution of God’s decrees?

Two verses are suggested to teach us great lessons: (1) Rev. 4:11 – the fact that He created all things for His own glory and therefore we should attribute to Him the glory, honor and power. (2) Heb. 1:3 – the fact that He is upholding all things by His power and therefore our complete sense of security is in Him.

SECURITY

According to some teachers of psychology, the child is not to be punished; the young person is to be allowed freedom; the older person must have everything going his way — all of this so that none will lose his sense of security.

The word “security” has rapidly become one of the most important words in our language. Adjustment, success, marriage and many other facets of life have all come to depend on security.

Is this matter of security so important for our lives? Does so much really depend on it? Is it possible to live without a sense of security? These questions, and others, are questions asked in our age.

Our Catechism Question gives the answer to many of these inquiries. Our Lord recognized that security is important — though it is not the security fashioned by the modern psychologist. The security that comes to the Christian is the recognition of Isaiah 46:10 – “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” This is the basis of a security that is lasting, a security that places its confidence in the God of the Scriptures.

In Hebrews 13:5 the writer states: “ … be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Immediately following we find: “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Certainly it is important for us to understand that we have this security. We are taught that we are not alone in the providences of life but that we have, in God, the One who is upholding us by His power. We are taught that His power is executed in His decrees and He is doing what He purposed from all eternity.

This type of security is important. This security is not lost on the basis of whether or not we are punished, or allowed freedom, or have everything going our way. It is based first on our having a saving know¬ledge of Jesus Christ, by His grace. Second, it is based on our keeping the commandments of God. At that point we recognize that God can uphold us and keep us — and we are secure.

Published By:
THE SHIELD and SWORD, INC.
Vol. 1 No. 8 (August 1961)
Rev. Leonard T. Van Horn, Editor

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