| |
THE
subject of this sketch was born in Bristol, Wayne Co.,
Ohio, on the 25th of June, 1843. From his birth his life
was one of sorrow, pain, and suffering. The enemy of all
truth seemed to foresee that God intended to use him as
one of his chief instruments in establishing a great
reformation in the world, by which thousands of precious
souls who were bound in chains of darkness might be led
out into the beautiful Evening Light and set free.
Therefore the arch" fiend put forth his best efforts
to destroy his life, beginning as soon as he was born.
The following beautiful lines penned by his own hand, show
the disadvantages under which he labored in early life.
Conceived
in sin, to sorrow born,
Unwelcome here on earth,
The shadows of a life forlorn,
Hung gloomy o'er my birth.
A mother's heart oppressed with grief,
A father's wicked spleen,
Who cursed my faint and gasping breath,
Combine to paint the scene.
But life held on its tender thread,
Days unexpected grew
To weeks, and still he lived,
Why, heaven only knew.
He lived, though life was bitter gain,
His youth a flood of tears,
His body doomed to cruel pain,
His mind to nervous fears.
But
the heavenly Father had his eye upon him and sent his
guardian angel to protect his tender years. He was
converted when about twenty-two years of age, and a few
weeks later enlisted as a soldier in the Union Army, and
went to fight for his country. It is said that he did this
to save his brother, who was a man of a family, and about
to be drafted, going in his stead and acting as his
substitute. He remained a short time and returned home.
About two years after his conversion he entered upon the
duties of a minister of the gospel, and in this capacity
he labored faithfully with tongue and pen until the close
of his life.
During his early Christian experience the Lord began to
show him the true church, the body of Christ; but the
light not being clear, he was influenced by certain
parties to unite with the so called Church of God, or
Winebrennarians. He was deceived in making this step
because of their name, " Church of God, " which
he well knew by the Word was correct; and not discerning
clearly the body of Christ, he yielded to their
solicitations.
He remained in this sect about ten years, but never
enjoyed the spiritual liberty and freedom he had before
uniting with this body. In the year 1879 he became
interested in a paper called the " Herald of Gospel
Freedom, " which was published in the interest of the
sect to which he belonged, acting as the editor of the
holiness department. In the year 1880, he became editor of
the whole paper, and during this prophetic year God showed
him more clearly than ever before the evils of
sectarianism, the downfall of Babylon, and enabled him to
discern the body of Christ, the true church. True to his
convictions of right, he at once began to cry out against
sectarianism, proving by the Word that she is a part of
Babylon, and exhorting God's little ones to come out of
her that they partake not of her plagues.
This astounding declaration fell like a thunderbolt from
heaven (which it was) on the sectarian world, and it
appeared that all the demons of earth and hell were
stirred, and they became terribly enraged against him. He
was persecuted, tried, afflicted and tormented; but God's
grace was sufficient and enabled him to stand for the
truth. After having assumed control of the paper
mentioned, he became impressed that its name ought to be
changed, and he laid the matter before God, asking what it
should be called. "Gospel Trumpet," came ringing
in his soul. This was the name he got from heaven, and
this name is no doubt destined to become familiar with
God's children throughout the length and breadth of the
earth.
After removing a number of times from place to place he
finally settled permanently at Grand Junction, Mich.,
where the paper was published for a number of years. He
was very earnest and zealous in thework for the Master.
Although his body was frail and his constitution weak from
the day of his birth, yet by the help of the Lord, he was
enabled to accomplish a vast amount of work during his
life. He seemed to be a living miracle, and it can be
truly said that he walked and labored in the strength of
God. He was the author of a number of books including one
of poems. The following is a copy of the last poem he was
engaged in writing, just before the summons came, calling
him away, leaving it unfinished. The first stanza, two
lines of the chorus, and one line of the second stanza, is
all that was written. It is entitled
A
HYMN
Shall
my soul ascend with rapture,
When the day of life is past?
While my house of clay shall slumber,
Shall I then with Jesus rest 1!
Cho.—O my soul, press on to glory!
Worlds of bliss invite thee on.
O shall my immortal spirit,
We see in this that his thoughts were being wafted away to
his future and eternal home, to which he was so soon to be
called. He was sick but a few days with an affection of
the lungs and heart, and God gave him grace to bear his
sufferings very patiently, when on the morning of Dec..
12th, 1895, about 3 A. M. he quietly and gently passed.
|
|
