LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, S8S- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 1 PRESENTED BY THE HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, 533 Arch Street. with compliments of .sJ^...d^.zfe: SEMI-CENTENNIAL (1835-1885). FIFTY YEARS' WORK IX THE "SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL, EELIEF OF THE POOR, AND CARE OF DESTITUTE CHILDREN," BY THE HOME MISSIONAEY SOCIETY OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA (533 ARCH STREET). COMPILED AXD EDITED BY HENRY E. D WIGHT, M.D., D.D. Give an account of thy stewardship." — Luke xvi. 2. „ NOV 27 188 IX TED BY ^n^ Ct J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. 1885. 1' \* % Copy] k^t, iooy, Oy HENRY E. DwTGH WASBMisj©iofflr MEMORANDA. The following resolutions were passed by the Board of Managers. RESOLUTION IN JUNE (1885). At the stated meeting of the Board of Managers of the Home Mis- sionary Society of the City of Philadelphia, in June (1885), on motion of Mr. Andrew H. Miller, it was Resolved, " That, as this is the Semi-Centennial of the H. M. S., Dr. Dwight he requested to write an Historical Sketch of this Society, describing the theory and methods of our work and its results during Fifty Years in Philadelphia." Carried. RESOLUTION IN OCTOBER (1885). At the stated meeting of the Board of Managers of the H. M. S., in October (1885), on motion of Mr. Eben C. Jayne, it was "Resolved, That this Board of Managers will meet at 1302 North Broad Street, at 8 p.m., October 27, 1885, to hear the Historical Sketch of the H. M. S., prepared at our request, by Dr. Dwight." Carried. RESOLUTION PASSED OCTOBER 27, 1885. At an adjourned meeting of the Board of Managers, at which nearly all the members were present, held at the residence of Mr. Eben C. Jayne, No. 1302 North Broad Street, October 27, 1885, on motion of the Hon. Judge W. B. Hanna, D.C.L., it was " Resolved, That the thanks of the Board of Managers of the H. M. S. are hereby tendered on behalf of the Society to Dr. Dwight for his able and interesting Historical Address, which we have heard with so much pleasure and profit, and that a copy be requested for publica- tion." Carried. CONTENTS. Memoranda 3 Preface 7 CHAPTER I. Origin of the H. M. S. — Aims of its Founders. — The Four Spheres. — Its Twelve Districts.— The Mustard-Seed.— Rapid Growth. — Rev. J. Woolson. — First Fruits.— Success in the 3d, 4th, and 10th Districts. — Rev. John Hersey.— Old Southwark in 1844.— Rev. John Street.— 127 Old York Road. — Mission-Schools. — In Labors more abundant. —Great Harvest. — Taylor's Alley. — Edwin Forrest. — Scenes in a Ball-room. — Five Churches in Ten Years. — Difficulties overcome. — More Light at Many Points. — Boat-Racing at Fairmo'unt. — Panic in 1837. — Old Red Cents scarce. — Riots at Pennsylvania Hall and " The Shelter for Or- phans." — The "Susquehanna" and its Corsair. — 1835-45, the Era of Riots. — Conflicting Views. — Rev. Thomas G. Allen. — The " Benevo- lent" Society. — " In-Door" and " Out-Door" Relief. — Method of Social Science. — The Founders cling to the Gospel 9 CHAPTER II. A New Departure. — 1845. — New Faces at the Anniversaries. — Dr. Mc- Dowell and Dr. John Chambers at the Central Presbyterian Church. — George H. Stuart a Manager in 1846. — 819,000 and Seven Missionaries in 1855. — Increase in the care of Destitute Children. — In Six Years 1000 Children placed in Homes. — Mission-Schools largely augmented. — New Sites for Trade and Residence. — " Swamppoodle." — Its Mission- School. — A Type of 125 Others — Real Evangelism in Large Cities. — Many of the Schools now Self-supporting Churches. — Example of the Apostle Paul. — Some Facts about New York. — What became of "Swamppoodle"? — Some Churches once Mission-Schools. — The Vi- dettes at the Front. — Felix Neff. — Emanuel H. Toland. — A Leaf from their Note-Books. — Barbarism in Philadelphia. — How much was Real Estate worth in Sodom ? — Missionary among Newsboys and Boot-blacks. — Scene in the Old Court-House on Sixth Street. — A Mutual Surprise in a Union Car 20 CHAPTER III. Theory and Methods of Relief. — Are the Poor Worthy ? — By Committees. — No Complex Machinery. — The Master's Example. — Evangelization of Great Cities. — Christ or Belial ! — Must we become Barbarians ? — Re- sponsibility of the Founders. — Our Title. — Home-Mission-Society. — Biblical Authority. — Bible with a Loaf of Bread. — Committee on Office. — Duties they Perform. — Scenes they Witness. — Facilities at their Dis- posal. — Passive Virtues in Women. — " Committee on Supplies." — Coal and Groceries. — Bibles and Meal-Tickets. — The Swiss. — Their Expe- rience and Example. — "Committee on Finance." — The Treasury never Empty. — Care of Trust Funds. — Sansom Street Explosion in 1867. — "Metropolis Committee." — Tenth Ward Fund. — Peter Cullen. — Bald- win's Locomotive Works. — Thomas H. Powers. — Anniversary and Public Meetings. — Funds from the Churches. — Rev. Dr. H. A. Board- man. — Glorious Reunions. — Rev. Dr. Charles A. Wadsworth. — Cottage Meetings. — Examples of their Power 32 5 b CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. PAGE Methods of Work. — Committee on Publication and Printing. — The First Printer in the Middle Colonies. — Annual Reports, in Four Octavo Vol- umes. — The H. M. S. "Quarterly.'' — Testimonials to its Power. — Com- mittee on Legacies. — Their Duties. — Amount in Fifty Years. — Case of Mary J. R.— Value of her Bequest.— The Circle of this Trinity, Sick- ness, Death, and Burial. — Great Epidemics. — John the Baptist and the Messiah. — Epitome of our Work. — Burial of the Worthy Poor. — Why? — Correspondence with Cemetery Companies. — A Prize ($2000) drawn in Mount Moriah Cemetery ......... 47 CHAPTER V. Our Wards. — What is " Home" without the Children ? — Our Founders began this Work. — One Thousand Children placed in Homes prior to I860.— Immense Scope of this Department. — Somebody must care for them. — Some too Poor or too Vicious to care for their own. — Such Pro- vision essential to Large Cities. — Evils of the Asylum Plan. — George Heriot's Hospital. — Christ's Method. — Their First Estate. — Their Value to Society. — Statistics of Pauperism, Ignorance, and Crime. — Herbert Spencer. — His View. — Religious Element in Education. — Ex- perience of Penitentiaries. — Girard College. — Daniel Webster. — Hon. Joel Jones. — Our Method of Indenture. — That "New Light." — Chris- tian Chanty. — Emanuel Wichern. — The "Rauhe Haus." — The Impor- tance of the Family. — In 1874, Charter enlarged. — Full Powers granted. — The Street Arabs. — Often from the Worst Slums. — The Glorious Change. — Examples .......... 56 CHAPTER VI. Review. — The First Decade. — Struggle for Existence. — Second Decade. — Evangelism with Distribution. — Third Decade. — Our Bounds enlarged and Stakes strengthened. — Fourth Decade. — Large Fortunes and Abun- dant Means. — Fifth Decade. — A Vigorous Struggle for Biblical Charity. — The late Henry Disston, a Beloved Manager and Shrewd Observer. — His Interest in our Work among Workmen. — The Christian Scheme vs. " Materialism." — The H. M. S. vs. " Communism."— The Bible's Esti- mate of the Dignity of Labor. — Cottage Prayer-Meetings vs. Infidel Agi- tators. — Scriptural Warnings to Masters. — And Instructions to their Workmen. — Mr. Disston's Liberality. — Capital and Labor both friendly to the H. M. S. — How we reach Employers and the Employed. — The Founders' Position. — Impregnable because Evangelical. — Summary of Fifty Years. — Our Confidence in the Result. — Two Reasons : 1. We have found favor with God ; II. The Spirit of the Age favors our Work. — Final Appeal ........... 66 APPENDIX. Constitution (1835) . .73 Officers of the Home Missionary Society in 1835 . . 77 Constitution (1885) 78 Officers and Board of Managers, 1885 . . . . - .82 Standing Committees of the Board, 1885 ....... 83 Officers and Managers, 1835 to 1885 84 Our Missionaries : their Career and their Offices . . . . .89 Anniversary Speakers from 1835 to 1885 ....... 93 In Memoriam 95 Testimony of the Press . . . . . . . . . . 97 Voices from the Pulpit . . . . . . . . • .100 PREFACE. A voluntaky Society. of many contributors, repre- sented by a Board of Managers who are members of the learned professions or engaged in the pursuits of trade, have distributed as friends of the poor over half a million of dollars in Philadelphia since 1835. " For the spread of the Gospel, relief of the poor, and care of destitute children," they have assisted in the organization of over a hundred and twenty-five mission- schools, most of which are now evangelical churches, distributed often from ten to twenty tons of food an- nually, dispensed in fifty years 4000 to 5000 tons of coal, and placed in Christian families over 3000 chil- dren. Such a Society have cause to give an account of their stewardship to their fellow-citizens in Phila- delphia. The Board of Managers, to meet this desire, so gen- erally expressed, by a formal resolution in June (1885), requested the Editor to prepare an Historical Sketch of the Home Missionary Society of the City of Philadel- phia since its origin, describing the field of its opera- tions, the theory and methods of its w T ork, with the results accomplished by the blessing of God on its labors, for permanent preservation. This involved careful researches into the reports and records kept by the Recording and Corresponding Secretaries, with 7 8 PREFACE. various MSS. now in the vaults of the Provident Life and Trust Company, the current history of similar in- stitutions in Philadelphia and elsewhere, a thorough insight into the aims and plans of the founders, their work, the obstacles they overcame, the means at their disposal, and the results accomplished before incorpo- ration. More than this was needed properly to perform the task assigned to the Editor : an intimate acquaintance with the various departments of the complex work of the Society since 1845 ; the spirit and character of its leaders, some of them the ablest and most prominent of our citizens ; the problems which occupied their de- liberations, so important to the citizen, the statesman, and the philanthropist; the conduct of the Society amid events of the deepest interest to Philadelphia; the principles of truth and duty discovered and illus- trated by them, which lie at the foundation of Our evangelical churches and of society itself; all these have deserved and received careful study and reflec- tion. If he has been successful in this attempt to comply with the resolution of the Board while compiling this historical narrative, the Editor submits the result of these researches to the contributors and the public generally for their careful consideration. H.E.D. CHAPTER L* Origin of the H. M. S. — Aims of its Founders. — The Four Spheres. — Its Twelve Districts. — The Mustard-Seed. — Rapid Growth. — Rev. J Woolson. — First Fruits. — Success in the 3d, 4th, and 10th Districts. — Rev. John Hersey — Old Southwark in 1844 — Rev. John Street — 127 Old York Road. — Mission-Schools. — In Labors more abundant. — Great Harvest. — Taylor's Alley. — Edwin For- rest. — Scenes in a Ball-room. — Five Churches in Ten Years. — Difficulties overcome. — More Light at Many Points.— Boat-Racing at Fairmount. — Panic in 1837. — Old Red Cents scarce. —Riots at Pennsylvania Hall and " The Shelter for Orphans." — The " Sus- quehanna" and its Corsair. — 1835-45, the Era of Riots. — Conflict- ing Views. — Rev. Thomas G. Allen. — The " Benevolent" Society. — " In-Door" and " Out-Door" Relief. — Method of Social Science. — The Founders cling to the Gospel. The Federal Union of this nation (1789) had not reached its semi-centennial when this H. M. Society was organized. In the autumn of 1884 several young men of the Union and St. George's M. E. Churches, in Philadelphia, met together for Home Missionary work. Of these all are known by name, and several are still with us. One was absent in South America for three years, and did not become an active worker until his return, when he served as the Agent and Missionary of the Society for more than eighteen years. In 1835 their Society was organized as the " Home Missionary Society of the M. E. Church for the City and County of Philadelphia." Their object was, as the * The reader of the following pages, who may be interested in the bibliography of the subject, is referred to the following authorities as illustrating and enforcing the views expressed therein: "The Home Missionary Society's Miscellan}-," in the vaults of the " Provident Life and Trust Company,'" Annual Reports of the II. M S.. l8:;5-l «*.">. Stevenson's "Praying and Working." W. F. Craft's " Evangelism of Cities," Joseph Cook's "Importance of Cities," Wit-hern's "Die Innere Mission,' Reports of State Charities, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, 1800-1881. 10 THE FOUR SPHERES. 2d Article of the Constitution, still in existence, states, " To promote the extension of the Redeemer's king- dom, by means of preaching, prayer, and exhortation, and by the establishment of Sabbath-schools, distribu- tion of Bibles, Testaments, Tracts, and other Books of a religious nature." There are four spheres in which the Home Mission- ary Society of Philadelphia has shown its usefulness during half a century. These are the Family, the School, the State, and the Church. Each of them is engaged in training the individual for happiness and holiness when permeated with, true piety. Our found- ers started their organization on this basis. They divided "the whole peninsula, now called Philadel- phia, from League Island to Tacony, and from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, into twelve districts for Mission work," and then adopted the following reso- lution : "Believing the cause of Home Missions to be of considerable benefit to the inhabitants of our suburbs, and that the general knowledge of this Society would be of benefit to it, we will print our Report and freely distribute it." Collections, donations, and subscrip- tions amounted to $60.10. In 1839 the sum received was $413.24. The small seed of 1835 had increased seven-fold, till it had be- come quite a mustard-tree. "We rejoice to find," they report, " upon reference to our records, that our labor has not been in vain, but much fruit has come forth from the seed sown." In the districts Nos. 1, 2, and 3, " supplied by one committee, a regular meeting for religious services, several conversions, 4000 Testa- ments and tracts distributed." No. 4, " a Sabbath- THE MUSTARD-TREE. 11 school with 63 children and 13 teachers, with conver- sions." Nos. 5 and 6 " have a fine Sabbath-school in Rittenhouse Street near Twenty-first Street, Several conversions, joining Nazareth M. E. Church. Two departments : I. scholars over nine years of age ; 250 volumes in the library; II. infant school, average attendance, 101; library, 322 volumes; 25 teachers." In ISTo. 10 the school was on Poplar Lane (now Poplar Street) near Fifth, " with 150 children and 19 teachers. Prayer-meetings signally owned and blessed in the con- version of many precious souls," distributing " 88,133 pages of tracts and religious books, beside Bibles and Testaments." Their Missionary, Rev. J. Wbolson, in one year officiated " at 35 funerals, baptized 38 in- dividuals, and visited 2276 families, beside attending religious services at the Almshouse every Sabbath a.m. and p.m., with monthly concerts in succession in the different churches, bringing thereby to the Society more than 100 annual subscribers, beside several life subscriptions." In 1841 they report " five Sabbath-schools in suc- cessful operation for a long time;" these eventually became churches. The school in the 3d District " had 130 scholars, library, 300 volumes, with a Dorcas Society for clothing the children and aiding them with bodily sustenance." In the 4th District there were " 65 scholars with twelve children in the school." In the 6th District, " school over 100 scholars, with two departments, 500 volumes in the library in good con- dition, with two missionaries to preach the word and labor for souls." The 10th District " was remarkably blessed, for in two years and a half it had grown to 258 scholars, 43 teachers, and over 600 volumes in the 12 BODILY RELIEF RAPID GROWTH. library. A powerful revival of religion gathered in 160 souls as church members," and in 1841 " thirty scholars and four adults (parents) professed Christ before men." That year (1841) the Society procured the services of Rev. John Hersey as their Missionary, and the permission was obtained from the civil authori- ties of South wark " to hold meetings in the public streets, markets, and such places as were convenient for public worship." By such means " Southwark and the other districts — where they subsequently secured similar permission — were prepared to cope with the riots which occurred in 1844." The Missionary, Rev. John Street, in his report for 1842, says: " The poor from almost every part of the city seek my residence. An old lady in Swan son Street, near the Navy- Yard, who can scarcely walk, hobbled to my house (127 Old York Road) for relief." He had thus early commenced a system of general relief. These young men had the common sense to see that their success depended on careful observance of the 2d Table of the Decalogue, and of the Sermon on the Mount. In the 8th Article of the Constitution they state " that the Home Missionary of the Conference, being appointed by the Bishop of the M. E. Church, shall be one of the Managers." Having divided the city into twelve districts, with a committee for each, they urged "parents to send their children to Sunday- school, and if encouragement was given, they prom- ised that they would establish such schools under the direction of the Board." This was the germ of that extensive work among children which has so endeared the Home Missionary Society to thousands of families in Philadelphia. THE OFFICERS THEIR DUTIES. 13 Of this Society J. "W. Thomas was President; George Louden schlager, Vice-President; C. P. Fessenden, Re- cording Secretary; Orrin Rogers, Corresponding Sec- retary; and T. K Peterson, Treasurer. In 1843, S. W. Cade was elected President. From 1838 till 1839, Rev. J. Woolson served as Missionary, " when he resigned for want of support." In March, 1841, "Rev. Jno. Hersey began his labors, but resigned in the same year (July) for a similar reason." In April, 1842, Rev. John Street " was recognized by the Conference as the Mis- sionary at $50 per month, if he could collect his salary." He served the Society till 1859, when the Managers placed on record "that he had been a most able and faithful Agent and Missionary for more than eighteen years in their service." The duties of these devoted men while the Society was principally engaged in evangelistic labors were not confined to visiting the poor, distributing tracts, and holding religious conversation. They had their various " preaching appointments." In the spring and summer they spoke on board vessels, along the wharves, in the market-houses, or wherever they could gather a congregation remote from a church, "Between the hours of public worship in the churches, they were accompanied by some of the members of the Board of Managers, who assisted them in singing, distribu- tion of tracts, and leading the assembly in prayer." In the annual report for 1843 the Managers say, " To re- count all the good it has pleased the Lord to do by these twelve committees would be impossible, and the Board would merely state that hundreds have been brought into the fold of the Great Shepherd who, but for their efforts, might have been eternally lost. They 14 taylor's alley — union in 1845. have established five permanent Sabbath-schools in the most neglected parts of our city, which are now in a nourishing condition." In Taylor's Alley, out of Second Street below Chest- nut Street, there was a ball-room, which Edwin For- rest, the tragedian, used for rehearsals, and which became at night one of the most notorious dens of iniquity in Philadelphia. There meetings were held, and over one hundred persons were converted to God during a single season. In those meetings Rev. Mr. Street was assisted by Rev. Dr. Castle, Rev. Dr. Ken- nedy, and Caleb Lippencott. Among the converts the missionary names of Messrs. E. I. D. Pepper and W. H. Brisbane, who for thirty years filled some of the most prominent pulpits in Philadelphia. Those faithful workers thus banished from that neighborhood the depravity and wickedness which in- fested it, " raised $3000 in 1843, and $4000 in 1844, to spread the Gospel and relieve the poor," and then, WITH A NOBLE LIBERALITY, MADE THEIR BOARD OF MAN- AGERS " A REPRESENTATIVE UNION OF ALL EVANGELICAL DENOMINATIONS IN 1845." While preaching at Fairmount it was resolved " to take up a lot on ground-rent in Callowhill between Eighteenth and Nineteenth Streets," and the work commenced. Appeals were made by the Missionary, Rev. Mr. Street, and a considerable sum was collected. The church was commenced in September, and com- pleted about the end of the year. The lot was " 42 by 100 feet deep." Dimensions of the church, " 36 by 50 feet, and built of brick," in a substantial manner. The " total cost of the Bethlehem Mission-House was $1700, collected by the Missionary, without interfer- EMORY AND SANCTUARY CHURCHES. 15 mg- with the charitable aid contributed for the needy and destitute." This is now known as Emory M. E. Church, Callowhill Street below Nineteenth Street. The meetings held at Mission Hall, Front Street above Noble, were remarkably successful. There the Gospel was regularly preached and blessed of God. In one season " over one hundred were brought into the church ;" in another, " over sixty professed Christ" within the walls of that plain and unpretending build- ing. During nine years, while they occupied that sail- loft, " many hundreds were united with the different churches." Yet another illustration of the power of the Gospel was seen in the Elizabeth Street Church, above Parrish Street, from which went forth the Sanc- tuary M. E. Church, Fifth Street near Girard Avenue, the fruit of the devoted labors of these lay preachers. Let us notice some of the difficulties which our mis- sionaries encountered during the interval from 1835 to 1845, or from the organization till the incorporation of the Home Missionary Society. The following facts, from the current history of the times, will illustrate the social and moral condition of Philadelphia in the first decade of our history. This city evidently needed more light at that time in several forms and on many subjects. For this purpose the Gas Trust was created by Councils, and loans were issued with a trustee- guarantee, which had to be maintained until this year of grace 1885. Hence the semi-centennial of the Gas Trust is synchronous with that of the Home Mission- ary Society. In September, 1835, boat-racing on the Schuylkill was inaugurated while our earlier missionaries were starting Sabbath-schools at Fairmount. Such craft as 16 BOAT-RACING — RIOTS — PANIC. the " Sylph," the " Cleopatra," and the " Blue Devil" were cutting the waves for prizes on the Sabbath while the missionaries were preaching Christ to the children. In 1836 the Pennsylvania Legislature incorporated the United States Bank as a State institution, after it had been vetoed as a national institution by President Jack- son. This proved a failure, and produced the financial crisis of 1837. Trade was paralyzed. The banks sus- pended. Thousands were without employment. Over 300 mercantile insolvencies occurred. Even the old red cent was scarce, and savings-banks issued five-cent notes. Prices fell, and there was universal panic and disaster. But the Home Missionary Society continued its blessed work. The low state of public morals is well illustrated by the events of 1837. Towards evening on the 17th of May crowds began to assemble around Pennsylvania Hall, at Sixth and Haines Streets, below Pace. The managers of the building became alarmed and closed the doors, handing the keys to Mayor Swift. Then the crowd began to batter down the doors, and the mayor with the police sought to penetrate the crowd of rioters, but no citizens came to their assistance. Within the building three fires were kindled. The firemen who repaired to the scene were not allowed to use their engines; the flames were furious, and the destruction complete. For ten years afterwards, within a block of the Home Missionary Society's office, the blackened walls of Pennsylvania Hall showed how low the moral sentiment of Philadelphia had fallen in 1837. The next evening the " Shelter for Colored Orphans," an asylum conducted by the Society of Friends, was attacked by the rioters, who sought to vent their spleen THE SUSQUEHANNA — "a CORSAIR." 17 on helpless children. Here resistance was made, and the building was saved. At Harrisburg, the capital of the State, during the same year, the Buckshot War, though speedily terminated, did not prevent the spirit of misrule everywhere prevalent. One morning in October, 1838, Philadelphia was startled by the news that the ship " Susquehanna," belonging to " Cope's Liverpool Line," and carrying several well-known and respectable citizens, with a valuable cargo, had been captured by a "long, low, black schooner filled with pirates." At once public meetings were held, and revenue-cutters, sloops, and United States vessels all went in pursuit; men were arrested and then discharged for their suspected com- plicity in the outrage. The city evidently needed more lio-ht in regard to that low, black schooner, but there was no telegraph or ocean cable, and all the vessels returned without information. After three months, news arrived that the " Susquehanna" was at Liver- pool, and that on her passage out she had signalled an oyster-boat to supply her with shell-fish off Five- Fathom Bank. That corsair was an oyster-boat. What anxieties, mental suffering, and grief arose among those 150,000 inhabitants fifty years since for want of reliable information as to truth and duty ! And why should I refer to the riots amons; the negroes in Lombard Street, from Fifth to Eighth, or those of the Irish coal-beavers on the Schuylkill, or the weavers' riot in Kensington, or the Catholic riots in 1844? — all prior to the incorporation of the Home Missionary Society, and all of which confirm the statement, " that the founders overcame great difficulties before its in- corporation, and that there was abundant reason in the 2 18 REV. T. G. ALLEN — BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. moral and social condition of Philadelphia for its organization." If any men should be called patriots, they deserve that title ! But they had to contend with bitter prejudices, even among nominally Christian people. As far back as 1831 the true character of a charitable society and the permanent basis for its usefulness was a subject for discussion in Philadelphia. This is well illustrated by the relation which the Rev. Thomas G. Allen, at that time an excellent young clergyman of the P. E. Church, sustained to the Philadelphia Benevolent Society, the first regularly organized charity work in Philadelphia. Having been formally invited by a committee of that Society " to accept the position as general agent, at $500 a year for three days' service each week," he de- clined. In his letter of declination, he writes to the committee as follows : "In taking leave of you, gentle- men, I would beg you to bear in mind that in vain will you look for any extensive or permanent moral results from your efforts unless they are made with an imme- diate reference to the influence of Gospel truth. In proportion as you lose sight of this principle and act independently of it, you may expect languor and in- efficiency to attend your efforts." That very summer, and no marvel, the Philadelphia Benevolent Society became extinct. If we accept the Gospel, we must accept its method of dealing with the poor. Our foun- ders saw this and clung to the Gospel. But there were some in that day who advocated the method of social science. From 1790 to 1834 it was a favorite theory in England, — doubtless the fruit of the French Revolution — that every man ought to make a living for himself and family, and if he could not do OUR FOUNDERS CLING TO THE GOSPEL. 19 so, it should be furnished him from the " rates," or taxes, on land. This method crossed the Atlantic, and in this country took the form of " in-door" and " out- door" relief, to distinguish between that which is fur- nished to those in almshouses and the aid given at their own homes from the public funds. The social scientist said to our founders in 1835 : " Let alms-giv- ing be stopped, let poverty be discouraged. Pauperism has no rightful place in modern society. Poverty is a removable evil, and the poor are to be stimulated, not helped. They must be rescued from the imbecility into which compassion and alms-giving have thrown them. Alms-giving, in the form of money, food, or clothing, out of compassion to the poor, is a crime as well as a blunder." ~Now all such advice seemed to the founders of the Home Mission Society rank infi- delity, — the atheism of the French Revolution. They accordingly took Mr. Allen's advice, and, with the Bible in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other, went to work in earnest. Subsequently we shall learn how their works do follow them. CHAPTER II. A New Departure. — 1845. — New Paces at the Anniversaries. — Dr. McDowell and Dr. John Chambers at the Central Presbyterian Church.— George H. Stuart a Manager in 1846.— $19,000 and Seven Missionaries in 1855. — Increase in the Care of Destitute Children. — In Six Years 1000 Children placed in Homes. — Mission-Schools largely augmented. — New Sites for Trade and Eesidence. — " Swamp- poodle."— Its Mission-School. — A Type of 125 Others.— Eeal Evan- gelism in Large Cities. — Many of the Schools now Self-supporting Churches. — Example of the Apostle Paul. — Some Pacts about New York. — What became of " Swamppoodle" ? — Some Churches once Mission-Schools. — The Videttes at the Front.— Felix Neff.— Eman- uel H. Toland. — A Leaf from their Note-Books. — Barbarism in Philadelphia. — How much was Eeal Estate worth in Sodom ? — Mis- sionary among News-boys and Boot-blacks. — Scene in the Old Court-House on Sixth Street. — A Mutual Surprise in a Union Car. The year 1845 marks a new departure in the history of this Society. Previous to that year it was known as the Home Missionary Society of the M. E. Church. In 1843 a new element appears at the Anniversary. Rev. Dr. McDowell, pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church (Eighth and Cherry Streets), offered prayer: and the Rev. John Chambers, of the First Indepen- dent Church (Broad and Sansom Streets), made an ad- dress, in which he said " he did not recognize Rev. Mr. Street as the Missionary of the M. E. Church, but as the Missionary of Christ, and classes him with Rev. Mr. Allen, above referred to, as the two men who had accomplished more good among the poor than any other whom he knew in Philadelphia." In April, 1845, the new charter which had been 20 NEW CHARTER — 1845. 21 granted by the Supreme Court was accepted. By this instrument the name of the Society was changed to that of the Home Missionary Society of the City and County of Philadelphia. As the City and County of Philadelphia are identical since 1854, the title is now restricted to the city alone. In 1845 the name of Col- son Heiskill, and in 1846 that of Mr. George H. Stuart, appear for the first time on its Board of Managers, and the revenue of the Society for 1847 amounted to $5649, or an increase of nearly §1500 in one year. The population of Philadelphia was now nearly 300,000 inhabitants, and in 1850 its fifteenth annual re- port shows that the revenue of the Society had reached about §9000. This indicates a natural and healthy progress. The presidency of Mr. James I. Boswell closed in 1851, and Mr. Christian E. Spangler (Dutch Reformed Church) was elected to serve in that office till 1856. In 1854, Daniel M. Pox and Lewis Auden- reid were in the Board of Managers. During the year 1855 the operations of the H. M. S. were remarkably enlarged. Nearly §19,000 were spent and over 7000 families were relieved. Seven missionaries, three of whom were ordained clergymen, were constantly at work. Many mission-schools were established from 1855 to 1865. Such names as Matthew E"ewkirk and Charles Santee appear among the Managers in 1856. We propose to notice the changes in the Home Mis- sionary Society of Philadelphia as they occurred, and the results accomplished under three general departments: I. The Spread of the Gospel ; II. The Relief of the Worthy Poor; III. The Care of Destitute Chil- dren. I. In the Spread of the Gospel. — What has been 22 FAMOUS SITES — SWAMPPOODLE. accomplished by the Home Missionary Society of the City of Philadelphia, and how has the work been done ? Let me give an illustration of our work, and then enumerate its fruits in the city of Philadelphia. Let one example suffice. There are now eligible sites for residence and marts for trade in Philadelphia which formerly bore the familiar names of " Rotten Row" (Second and Tasker Streets), " Cow-town" (Eighteenth and Christian), "Smoky Hollow" (Front below Morris), "Dutch Row" (Fifth below Morris), " Goose-town" (Eigh- teenth and Clearfield), and " Green Hill" (Seventeenth and Thompson). These became habitable, and after- wards desirable for trade and residence, through mis- sion-schools, the harbinger of churches, which are now the strongholds of evangelical Christianity. One of our missionary agents was recently at " Swamppoodle." How many of our readers know its locality or ever heard the name ? Yet he has visited it so often that he is quite familiar with that portion of Philadelphia. In the northwest part of one of our suburbs, near the Smallpox Hospital, any one can now find this district, — well known formerly to the sanitary inspectors for the frequent violations of the laws of health, — where Mrs. C. B. had charge of a mission- school. Some one must have started that enterprise. The mind of man in its normal condition refuses to be- lieve that it started itself. In other days — those days of a primitive piety — some deacon, elder of a church, class- leader, or pious vestryman would have canvassed the neighborhood and gathered in the children, hired a room and secured furniture, enlisted the sympathy of teach- ers, and furnished books and papers for the scholars. JONAH AND PAUL IN CITIES. 23 But in modern times such pioneer work is unfashion- able, because it does not suit the love of wealth and the pride of life. Some people prefer to do this work by proxy. Thirty years since it was evident that such enter- prises must be commenced by a responsible party, who under God would lead in the various enterprises. It was our opportunity, as a Society, for the spread of the Gospel. Our Missionary, who for years had been en- gaged in similar efforts, soon found the material, and secured not only scholars but teachers, and has pro- vided books for these struggling organizations, like that at " Swamppoodle." If any of our readers will make the trip to that district he will find the necessity for such an enterprise. There is a profound philosophy in attempting and securing the thorough evangelization of our large cities. Jonah was not sent to the villages of Assyria, but to its chief city, Nineveh. The greater portion of Paul's missionary life was spent in the cities of An- tioch, Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome, the great capitals of the Empire. In these centres of influence, all who were not Christians were called " pagans," which term, before the introduction of Christianity, meant villagers or countrymen. Most of our American Home Mis- sionary churches are built in towns or villages. There is in New York State a city of 50,000 inhabitants " where for twelve years there has not been an English- speaking Protestant church (and now but one), the only Protestant church having been one with German ser- vices." There are in the same State forty-seven cities of ten thousand inhabitants each, and each of these has but two Protestant churches, many of which are small and feebly supported. 24 MISSION-SCHOOL AT SWAMPPOODLE. Our readers might find a two-story house at " Swamp- poodle," the first floor occupied by a Sabbath-school, where the older children are congregated. On the outside of the building the little ones climbed a stair- way to the second story, where the infant classes re- ceived their needful instruction. A marked impres- sion has been made on that benighted district. Men are not now so cautious about owning real estate in that vicinity. They are not afraid to live there, to go by night or day about their usual occupations, because of thieves or highwaymen. Such changes always fol- low in the train of mission-schools and churches. It has been our work to start such enterprises, watch over them during their struggles for existence, and then when these could stand alone, place them under tutors and governors till they were able to start in life for themselves. Is it not time to return to Pauline methods and imitate the Home Missionary Society? See how our cities grow. When the Federal Union of this nation commenced (1789) but four per cent, of its inhabitants were in cities ; in 1835, when our Society w T as organized, eight per cent. In 1885, our semi-cen- tennial anniversary, twenty-two out of every one hun- dred inhabitants are citizens. New York City can outvote any one of twenty States. There are only seventeen States which have a larger population than our commercial metropolis. Napoleon the Great said " Paris is France," but Philadelphia is not Pennsyl- vania, Still, its votes are influenced by demagogues and demijohns as in most cities. No wonder that the Home Missionary Society has secured the confidence of Philadelphia, because its Managers can point to many such light-houses as that at " Swamppoodle," estab- SCHOOLS WHICH BECAME CHURCHES. 25 lishecl through its agents and missionaries during half a century. If the sceptre of power in this generation is to pass to the cities, it is well for Philadelphia that we began in 1835 to erect them. No one can be in doubt when such churches as Bethany and Tabor Presbyterian, Siloam and Spring Garden M. E. Churches, and Wharton Street Presby- terian are named, as to where these churches are, or what kind of influence they exert in Philadelphia. Yet in the early inception of the mission-schools from which they all sprang, missionary agents canvassed the dis- tricts, collected the scholars, secured the rooms, fur- nished the benches, books, and often the teachers, to carry on the infant enterprise. Their early history sounds like a romance. The Baptist Mariner's Bethel started in a cooper-shop; the Baptist Church, South Broad Street, corner- of Reed, in a public school-house, Federal above Eleventh Street. From such small be- ginnings arose the Episcopal Church, Twenty-eighth Street above Girarcl Avenue; the Baptist. Church, Frankforcl Road above York; Olivet Methodist, on the road to Bridesburg, above Alleghany Avenue; Aramingo M. E. Church, Frankford above Alleghany Avenue. In a similar way the Mantua Presbyterian Church, in Aspen Street, West Philadelphia, corner of Preston Street. From this enterprise the Belmont M. E. Church took their building after the Presbyterians left it for another, and formed a school, out of which has arisen the Belmont M. E. Church, or two churches from one planting, in the old mansion on Westminster Avenue. What strange places have seen the birth of some churches ! If our Divine Master was born in a manger, 26 MOKE OF THE SAME KIND. is it strange that His churches should first see the li°;ht in out-of-the-way places? The Memorial Methodist Church, Eighth and Cumberland Avenue, was origi- nally organized in a public school-house ; Eden Meth- odist started in a ball-room, second story of a tavern; Cambria M. E. Church was organized under a tree, on Kensington Avenue ; the Eighteenth Street M. E. Church was organized as a mission-school in a lao;er beer saloon, second story, the owner himself giving the chairs for the children. Oh, what anxiety, what labors, in season and out of season, have not some of these managers and missionary agents- endured ! What ob- stacles overcome, that these vines might be planted in the vineyard of our Lord ! On the Darby Road at Greenw T ay a school was or- ganized in the public school-house. Mr. "W. C. Long- streth was its superintendent for a number of years, through whose instrumentality a building costing $12,000 was erected, in which is a lyceum, mothers' meeting, Sunday-school, and religious meetings. Why should we add others from this list of over one hun- dred and twenty-five mission-schools, and the churches which grew out of them ? The German Lutheran Church, Third and Columbia Avenue, originated in a bakehouse; the Twentieth Street M. E. Church was organized in the upper room over a bakery ; Hancock M. E. Church and Bethany School for Colored Chil- dren, Brandywine west of Fifteenth, were organized in a building previously occupied as a carpenter-shop ; North Broad Street Presbyterian, Oxford Street Pres- byterian, Greenwich Presbyterian, St. Matthew's Epis- copal, St. Peter's Lutheran, Scott M. E., Meadow, and Broad and Jackson Street M. E. Churches were FELIX NEFF — ALPINE MISSIONS. 27 thus canvassed for, furnished with rooms, lights, fuel, books, and often with teachers, and sometimes with superintendents, through the assistance of one of our missionaries. Space would fail us to describe the origin of Trinity Reformed, of Epworth M. E. Church, between West Philadelphia and Haddington, Grace Presbyterian, or Olivet Presbyterian, Twenty-second and Mount Vernon Streets, or the Episcopal School of the Epiphany, Twenty-third below Race Street, or the Baptist, Twenty-third above Race Street; and yet let it not be forgotten that some of the men still live and walk the streets of Philadelphia whose hands were vis- ible at the planting of these vines, and, above all, that they are or have been missionaries or missionary agents of this Society, especially Rev. E. H. Toland. So much for those permanent structures which abide the changes of time. What shall I say of those skir- mishes which the videttes are carrying on at the front ? Among the most interesting of Missionary biogra- phies is that of Felix jSTeff. He labored in villages ; we work in a city. His pilgrimages were on foot, across mountain torrents and snow-drifts; we use railway-trains, street-cars, and omnibus-coaches. He climbed to Alpine hamlets, in rain or snow or sunshine, over rocks, amid the dangers of storm, or avalanche, or deep snow-drifts, mounting the slippery glacier which lay in his path, or cutting steps in the ice for the people to reach his chapel ; travelling to La Grave, far up among the Cottian Alps, almost inaccessible in winter. Such is the romance of the life of Felix ~NeW. What a contrast between it and that of our mission- ary agents ! And yet both they and Neff moved on the frontiers of civilization. There are heathens in cities 28 REUNIONS — COTTAGE MEETINGS. as well as the country. Our men move from day to day through the streets and alleys of Philadelphia, holding their meetings in day-schools, cooper-shops, bar-rooms, and restaurants; yet the work is much the same on both sides the Atlantic. Neff termed his meetings reunions. These are our cottage prayer- meetings. In travelling he conversed with all he met by the wayside on the matters of eternity. Wherever he held a reunion he preached and expounded the Scriptures, seeking no ends of his own, simply point- ing men to Christ; not trying to found a sect, but al- ways co-operating with pastors, and supported by Chris- tian friends. His only regret was that such reunions were not held in everv hamlet throughout Switzerland. Our missionaries, like that noble standard-bearer of the Alps, press forward everywhere, over valley and mountain, through city and village, wherever oi^r chil- dren, taken from the slums of Philadelphia, — as the wards of the Home Missionary Society, — are nestling in the bosom of Christian households amid the popu- lation of three sovereign States, — New Jersey, Penn- sylvania, and Delaware, — together larger than France, and bear aloft the banner of the Gospel, carrying life on their mission. To read their note-books, to listen to their experi- ences, is even more thrilling than the journal of a traveller in the "land of the midnight sun," or the adventures of explorers in Arctic seas. Listen: " On such a day, at such a place, met a workman who has found Christ while reading 'James's Anxious Inquirer,' a loan to him after religious impressions received at one of our Conferences. He has now found Christ for himself. He must tell it or get it told to others. He A CAPITALIST WITH FUNDS. 29 cannot rest until he has a meeting in his own house, and finds others equally anxious with himself. It is a fire in his bones, and he is ready to adopt as his motto, ' Compel them to come in.' " It is high time to answer that man's letter. " Mr. , Agent H. M. S. : It is with the greatest respect, and at the desire of many in my neighborhood, that I send you these few lines to beg you to hold a meet- ing. I will pay for the lights and the room, and am sure that you will have a good attendance. ' Go into the streets and lanes, seek the maimed, and the halt, and the blind, and invite them to my supper.' All these are in this' vicinity." Y/hat a letter from a workman ! The writer was present at that meeting with our Mis- sionary Agent. That room, 15 by 12 feet, was indeed a Bethel, and that audience of twelve persons felt the power of the Gospel. It is in this way we seek to save certain districts of Philadelphia from Barbarism. A gentleman of large wealth and previous knowledge of our city was not long since on a visit to invest funds for certain trust companies in the Eastern States. At Philadelphia, while passing up one street and down another between the Delaware and Broad Street, he asked a friend, with earnestness, " Where are all the churches, most of which, when I was a boy, lay between Pine and Vine Streets, and between the Delaware and Broad Street ?" "But," replied his friend, "they have gone westward, or northward, or southward of the old city." "Are there no people left," continued the stranger, " in the Philadelphia of my boyhood, that I see so few churches ? Here are houses as aforetime, and plenty of people in the streets if there are none in the houses." 30 REAL ESTATE IN SODOM. In view of all this desertion of large districts by evan- gelical Christianity and an earnest, enlightened pulpit, one church after another being sold to the highest bid- der, how long ere Philadelphia will equal Sodom, and how much was real estate worth in Sodom ? Will men invest trust funds in what promises to be a second Sodom ? Albert Barnes was accustomed to say " that churches are the best police stations which a city can have." They cultivate those moral influences which have been its safeguards, when schools, newspapers, and libraries fail. But if men will leave and then sell the churches, we must save the souls. Here has been our harvest. The Bible explained and enforced in cottage prayer-meetings, in school- houses, over bar-rooms, in tents, and by the wayside, has proved the power of God unto salvation to multi- tudes of believers. In a careful canvass of 8052 hands employed in the various industries in a portion of the old city, out of tens of thousands who live there, it was found that each received a trifle over $200 apiece yearly, — most of these were in their youth. Out of 2462 mechanics in the same district, having families to support, the average wages were $600 annually. These said " that an elegant church was no place for them, and that they could not pay pew-rent." They found " that a back seat behind a big pillar was the only place for them, unless they went into the gallery." The parents said " they sent their children to Sunday- school because it cost nothing." Just here the Home Missionary Society, with its seven missionaries and twelve committees, heard the Macedonian cry from the old city of Philadelphia. For fifty years it has an- swered that cry with an expenditure sometimes of OLD COURT-HOUSE OX SIXTH STREET. 6 $19,000 per annum, and with an active force of seven missionaries on the field. Notice a single example of their work. Some years since a missionary agent was asked to hold a meeting for newsboys in the court-house, corner of Sixth and Chestnut Streets. After canvassing the neighborhood he secured an audience. For several successive weeks these wild Arabs of the streets were brought together to hear the Gospel, receive tracts, and Biblical instruction. The scenes in that court- house defy description. No sooner are the newsboys fairly in possession than they mount the judges' bench, seize the insignia of office, play judge and jury, person- ating well-known attorneys, and contend for the liber- ation of some one of their number who plays the part of criminal in the dock. This travesty on justice ends with a shower of paper bullets. After months of pa- tient work the outcome is a " Newsboys' Home" where these untamed youth are carefully housed and supplied with all the comforts of life. But there is more to follow, as this narrative, among many such, will serve as a specimen. Recently, in a " Union" car, two gentlemen sat on opposite seats, one in citizen's dress, a well-known missionary agent of the Society, the other a stranger in uniform. As the latter sharply eyed the former the usual reserve was broken by the question, " Did you, sir, ever address the news- boys in the court-house on Sixth Street?" " Yes, sir," was the reply of the missionary. " Well, I am happy to state that your labors bore some fruit in my case. I have risen from a newsboy who sold the Ledger to a surgeon in the United States navy. You will never know how much I owe to you, sir." CHAPTER III. Theory and Methods of Relief.— Are the Poor Worthy?— By Com- mittees. — No Complex Machinery. — The Master's Example. — Evangelization of Great Cities. — Christ or Belial ! — Must we be- come Barbarians? — Responsibility of the Founders. — Our Title. — Home-Mission-Society. — Biblical Authority. — Bible with a Loaf of Bread. — Committee on Office. — Duties they Perform. — Scenes they "Witness. — Facilities at their Disposal. — Passive Virtues in Women. — " Committee on Supplies." — Coal and Groceries. — Bibles and Meal-Tickets. — The Swiss. — Their Experience and Example. — " Committee on Finance." — The Treasury never Empty. — Care of Trust Funds. — Sansom Street Explosion in 1867. — "Metropolis Committee." — Tenth Ward Fund. — Peter Cullen. — Baldwin's Lo- comotive Works — Thomas H. Powers. — Anniversary and Public Meetings. — Funds from the Churches. — Rev. Dr. H. A. Boardman. — Glorious Reunions. — Rev. Dr. Charles A. Wadsworth. — Cottage Meetings. — Examples of their Power. The charter, as granted by the Supreme Court, gives us power "to relieve the poor" in such manner as shall be provided by its by-laws, without regard to the re- ligious opinions of those who may have need of its aid. Let us notice briefly a. THE THEORY ON WHICH SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL RELIEF IS EXTENDED. In the successful conduct of a Society like ours we must not forget that there are views of truth too com- prehensive, arguments too subtle, and diction too elab- orate to be edifying to the common people. And are there no enterprises started by Christian liberality — charity organizations not excepted— too complicated in their machinery, or too various, multiform, and far- 32 33 reaching, to be generally appreciated ? Hence the im- portance of a right theory on which to start the Society. From 1835 we have been strictly an evangelical asso- ciation designed for the diffusion of Christianity in accordance with the great commission, " Disciple all nations." For half a century we have been about our Master's business of evangelizing mankind in Phila- delphia. Why ? Because the same causes which trans- ferred the sceptre of civilization from the banks of the Nile and of the Euphrates to Western Europe must, ere long, carry them from the great cities of the At- lantic coast to the Amazon and the Pacific slope. Thoroughly evangelize our great cities through the family, the school, and the church, under Christian in- fluence and leadership, and the question will answer itself, To whom, Christ or Beelzebub, shall America belong ? It is the purpose of our Lord to elevate men in knowledge and intelligence. A community, like our city, which neglects this business is not serving Christ, but the Prince of darkness, and instead of propagating the Gospel and its attendant blessings, will soon become, if it is not already, a field for foreign missionary labor. The human mind in the humbler classes is rising and expanding with a degree of energy hitherto un- known. The mixed population from Europe on the West, and Asia on the East, which is pouring into these great cities of the Atlantic and Pacific seaboard, are not to be barbarians. We cannot stop this migration any more than we can stem the resistless tides of the sea. But we can take it by the hand as it reaches the shore, we can elevate and Christianize it, or else in the end we must become barbarians, Goths, Huns, or Van- dals, like our conquerors. How ? We can occupy the 3 34 TRIUMPH OF INFIDELITY. intellectual power and discipline of this community with spiritual subjects in some proportion to the atten- tion paid to secular knowledge. The Author of our nature and of Revelation requires of all classes of citi- zens — poor as well as rich — a share of the intellect as well as of the heart, and an undue direction of our talents, no less than of our affections, to this world, of necessity dis- qualifies men for faith. What a picture for a patriot ! This continent filled with powerful States, with more people than the earth now contains, and with a civiliza- tion higher than any which has preceded it, to become the embodiment of a learned and triumphant infidelity, a greater peril to the welfare of the race than other pos- sible evils which affect it. Hence the importance of the steps taken at the for- mation of the H. M. Society of Philadelphia, and the weighty responsibility assumed by those who enlarged its sphere. We have not yet reached the depth and extent of meaning in our name, " The Home Missionary So- ciety." Our founders did not think of it when they chose it. We have not yet understood the magnitude of the business we carry on, to bring the ever-in- creasing thousands in the humbler classes of Philadel- phia under evangelical influence, to the welfare of man and the glory of Grod. So much for the theory on which spiritual and physical assistance is extended by the Home Missionary Society. Let us now attend to b. THE METHOD OF DISPENSING IT. It seeks to relieve every case of want and distress which may be brought to its care. It guards against imposture through visitation and investigation by tried METHOD OF OUR WORK. 35 and trusted agents. By maintaining at all times a friendly disposition towards the needy, even when it may not be deemed prudent to give the help asked for, it is enabled to exert a good moral influence in reani- mating the dejected by inspiring a self-helpful spirit. It discourages inconsiderate alms-giving as tending to produce paupers. To the contributors cards are issued, which may be given to those asking assistance on the streets or from house to house. These intro- duce the applicant to the agents, and secure for him such relief as the Society is able to afford if his case be found suitable. The facts in the case will be re- ported if it be so desired by the contributor. There are given away to the poor who are known to the agents to be worthy large amounts of food, clothing, and fuel. In all times of need the Society is the active friend of the poor of our city, giving counsel, encour- agement, and material assistance in health, medicines and visits in sickness, and, when needed, Christian burial in death. This plan, which has been published for years in our annual reports, was substantially the method of our founders. In the month of February, 1842, Rev. John Street thus writes : " In the past month I have been engaged in visiting the poor, relieved the wants of several, paid out to different individuals $11.50, and preached almost every night at our different places of meeting." Thus evangelism was accompanied by dis- tribution, the Bible with a loaf of bread, balm for the wounded spirit with clothing for the body, coal for the winter's cold with sympathy for the widow and her orphans. And what marvel ! In the beatitudes of Luke the 36 $20,000 YEARLY — SEVEN AGENTS. missionary read to his audiences, "Blessed be ye, poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." " If thou wilt be perfect," said our Lord, to the rich young man, who turned sadly away after having asked the way to eter- nal life, " sell that thou hast and give to the poor." Said James, the brother of our Lord, " Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He hath promised to them that love Him ?" How could any sincere minister of Christ's Gospel preach the offers of a free salvation to a race of spiritual paupers, and yet refuse, if he had the means, to supply their bodily wants ? While, therefore, our founders made the Gospel the most prominent thing, they offered relief for the body. As the years rolled on and their means increased, their liberality abounded, till the Society was able to dispense nearly $20,000 a year through seven missionaries, but always on the theory, " previous visitation by tried and trusted agents precedes supplies." The H. M. S. of the City of Phila- delphia is four years older than the corporate Board of Missions in the M. E. Church of the United States. Our system of committees, by which all contributions resolve themselves into a General Mission Committee, was adopted by that body after we had proved its efficiency for forty years. This work of relieving the poor is under the con- stant supervision of the " Committee on Office" whose duty it is " to make a daily visit to 533 Arch Street, and exercise general supervision over the office and those employed therein." In midwinter sometimes 300 persons will seek refuge at the office in a single day. These are all entered on a regular note-book, name and residence of the applicant, by whom recom- 37 mended, and the nature of his wants. As soon as practicable he is visited, and if found to be a suitable case his wants are supplied, and the friend who recom- mended him properly notified. From all nations, climes, tongues, and kindred, of all ages and both sexes, come these weary-laden, poverty-stricken sick and wounded children of Adam. In a single day one of the Managers, who enjo t ys the gift of tongues, con- versed with over twenty persons in four different lan- guages, and found out that the last man had the small- pox and wanted to go to a hospital, and yet they were all provided for before the day closed ! The office note- book, containing each clay's record, is open to gen- eral inspection by proper persons, and subject to care- ful revision at the meetings of the Board. Every want and every allowance, every individual, from the octo- genarian to the babe in its mother's arms, is thus under careful and competent observation by men who know their work and how to do it. As the office is connected by telephone with over forty benevolent societies in correspondence and mutual aid, beside all the business places of our city, every facility is given for the direct and prompt execution of our work. Employment for those who require it, medicines for the sick, ambulances for the wounded, hospitals for the homeless, food for the hungry, safety for those in danger, burial for the dead, are easily accessible and speedily procured. While witnessing the scenes of that office the mind is peculiarly impressed that it is pre-eminently in woman that the passive virtues are exemplified. She is permitted to suffer where man is given to toil, and 38 often without sympathy from sterner natures, whose toil she sweetens with her gentle assiduities. In God's book of remembrance alone the noblest pages of such heroism and even of martyrdom are written. What displays of female patience do we see in our work ! How the hearts of our agents are made to bleed over a wife's devotion and a mother's love, in trying " to keep the home together," and in seeking salvation from rum and ruin as they stare her in the face and bring the wolf to her door ! How many thousands of such suffer- ers have found that office like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land ! Through the kind benefactions of our contributors may many thousands more enjoy the same privilege ! To provide the requisite materials for the office work, the " Committee on Supplies" buy through competent agents in open market the various articles necessary for the relief of the poor. We are especially careful to secure such purchases at the most favorable times and at the lowest prices. As our credit is good, after half a century in the business, and as we» always have a good bank account, merchants will sell to us even lower than to some business men. Hence we obtain the best articles in the market. Our coal, always the most important article on the list, is purchased at bottom prices, at the mines, and forwarded, as to op- erators, with the cheapest portage. One of our Man- agers,* who has supervised the coal and its distribution for many years so ably and economically, deserves the thanks of every sincere friend of the poor in Philadel- phia, as well as the blessings of every widow and * Our President. "committee on supplies.*' 39 orphan who secures comfort thereby. Every year from $4000 to §5000 must be expended by this Com- mittee, with the greatest care and observation that the groceries, provisions, coal, shoes, clothing, etc., may be the best of their kind, and go as far as possible. The best merchants in the Board are always selected for the Committee on Supplies, and with good reason; for where you have 4000 families to help through their distress, and but $4000 to spend for the necessaries of life, it takes long heads and warm hearts to complete the bargain. Every purchase by this Committee is carefully scanned in open Board, the quality, quantity, and price stated, so as to secure the combined wisdom of twenty-seven gentlemen, each of whom has shown himself competent to manage his own affairs. But there are many who have no means to prepare a meal, even if they had the materials to compose it. In a single year meals are furnished to a thousand appli- cants, more or less, suitable for any stomach, at a res- taurant near the office. Many a hungry applicant has thus gone on his way rejoicing, while his soul was fed by a tract or Testament received with his meal- ticket. Probably no European country offers so promising a field for the study of charitable methods as Switzer- land. Certainly none is more in harmony with our free institutions than our sister republic. It is most remarkable how those cantons have adhered to a Bib- lical charity. We are not surprised to learn that the homes of Calvin, Zwingle, Beza, Farel, (Ecolampadius, Monod, and D'Aubigne still cling to the maxims of Christ and his apostles in their dealings with the poor. " The Bible with a loaf of bread is our motto," says 40 EXAMPLE OF THE SWISS. Godet of !Neufchatel, one of the ablest of Continental scholars and profoundest of thinkers in our age. This reduces vagrancy and pauperism ; this prevents indiscriminate and duplicate giving on the only sure basis, for it applies common sense to the maxims of the Old and New Testaments. This gives employ- ment and relief, for it blesses rich and poor alike, "both him that gives and him that takes;" elevates the home, the life, health, and habits of the poor by the only safe method. This insures the religious tract, newspaper, and the voice of prayer as essential to the Committee on Supplies as coal, clothing, and groceries. This sets men to work if able-bodied, and relieves their sufferings if sick. This enforces the Apostle's command, " If any would not work, neither should he eat." When good men intrust their benefactions to the Home Missionary Society they know that its oper- ations are open to inspection, and its servants are worthy of confidence. Here is no bureau for espionage without relief, no mere surveillance without real com- fort and consolation. But if the Committee on Supplies is essential to the welfare of the poor, no less important is the Committee on Finance to the rich. Here we place our bankers and ablest financiers, who for many years have shown their tact in management, who thoroughly understand the value and usefulness of a dollar, not only the funds of our contributors, but those intrusted to us for distri- bution by men of large wealth and larger benevo- lence. What a comfort to such men, who have patiently served for years, to see how a little money can be made, in their hands at least, to go a great way ; to be always ready, when other societies have no funds, and their 41 poor ,come to our doors, to stand up like a wall of de- fence, and be able by their wise provision to meet the flood of poverty and misery in a great city of 1,000,000 inhabitants ! During fifty years they have met all demands from those who were worthy recipients. For half a century the Home Missionary Society has never been bankrupt. The Treasurers who have served us, one of them for thirty-three years, never said the treasury is empty. We have often — oh, how often !— heard it said our financial strength is low, or we need more money, but never yet are we without a dollar. What is the reason ? A well-known physician was once asked by some of his wealthier patients, " Why do you care for the poor ? Why not devote all your time to the rich ?" " Ah !" said he, " I love to help the poor because God is their banker." We say it reverently, the Home Missionary Society has had God for its banker. One branch of finance is the care of trust funds. Within the last thirty-five years we have been placed in charge of larsce sums of money raised for definite purposes, or given by private individuals for benevo- lence. On a Thursday afternoon, June 6, 1867, there was a terrible and most destructive explosion in the steam saw-mill of Geasey & Ward, in Sansom Street, south side, above Tenth. Twenty-two dead bodies were taken out of the ruins. In aid of the families and individuals thus afflicted nearly $1000 were col- lected and distributed by the Agents of the Home Missionary Society. In February, 1878, a committee, consisting of S. A. Caldwell, B. B. Comegys, E. A. Rollins, I. P. Scott, I. H. Campbell, James Bateman, and Henry M. Dech- 42 ert, and appointed at a meeting of the citizens to col- lect funds for the relief of suffering caused by the loss of the steamer " Metropolis," handed over the sum of $2559.25 to the Treasurer of our Society, with the following resolution : " After carefully considering the whole matter, it was voted that the fund, now in the hands of the Treasurer, subscribed and paid for the relief of the suffering caused by the loss of the steamer ' Metrop- olis/ as well as any further subscriptions made and realized for that object, be paid over to the Home Mis- sionary Society of the City of Philadelphia, for the. purpose of carrying out in the most effectual method the aims of the subscribers, and that a list of the names of the sufferers and statements of their necessities shall from time to time be furnished by the Committee to that Society. " Very respectfully, " E. A. Rollins, " Secretary." No higher testimonial of respect and confidence could be expected from the best representatives of our merchants and bankers than this vote of the " Me- tropolis Committee." From the Tenth Ward, in time of public calamity, we received $1229.86 for distribu- tion among the poor of that ward, and in the Thir- teenth Ward, as directed by the executor of the estate of Peter Cullen, $400, in 1875. Such are the testimo- nials from city officials of public confidence. From that large and wealthy firm, Messrs. Burnham, Parry & Williams (Baldwin Locomotive Works), various THOMAS H. POWERS. 43 sums, amounting during fifteen it >vei ^_ hav listributed by us to their be But among private individuals, the chief eontr: : :ur trust funds, who. while he lived, was known our books by that unknown title. " Friend of th and when he die I, was mourned - a prince among benefactors and philanthropists, the late The : H. I wers, during fifteen years intrustc t the S< .:- . every year, in various sums, the large amoun: : i -1 T . M)0. After his lepartore the Managers ex- pressed their feelings : - :-rrow in a formal testinio- nial: "Bur - bristian philanthropist, and for ms rs the chief contributor to our trust funds, we re- rd our own loss. TTe remember, with dev :: _ grati- tude to God, not jnlythe large mount of his bene- factions, year augmenting them, but the ent confidence he express 1, after careful s r ::iny of our methods and agents, in the manner adopted this S :ety for the distribution of its funds among ::hy pociV' Every voluntary assc '.don for be::; lent pnrj - - must by some means get ;ess t the f the] lie. The pulpit and the press have been our t est rrierj Is for this object. Our Standing Committee on A and Pi Met have had no slight task to perform. Th:- S 2ietj - rn in a Christian church. During fifty years it has : -ecei ".-.". u |25,( ) firom the Dgelical churches : Philadelphia by public tributions. Eev. Dr. Henry A. Boardman, wh sc ministry in the Tenth PresbyteriaD inrch began 1835. g -torned to take nj yearly contribution for oni S iety, which amounted ... >ne \sion to $300. Its ablest leaders and best in - 44 NO DIVORCE IN THIS WAR. have been nurtured from infancy in the church. All its officers and agents are church members, and nearly all its contributors. What utter folly, nay, worse, suicide, to divorce such an organization from the Christian churches of our city, or from the best and holiest incentives to benevolence, the glory of God, and the highest welfare of man ! Thanks to our Heavenly Father, this attempt has never been seri- ously made within the Society, and when the com- bined forces of scepticism and infidelity, under the garb of a nominal Christianity from without, shall at- tempt to impair public confidence in all our societies for general relief as well as Christian benevolence, may they find the Board of Managers as firm as ada- mant ; and why so firm ? Because they have the fear of God before their eyes and the influence of Chris- tian churches at their back. Such anniversary occasions are glorious reunions. There the best platform talent, so difficult to obtain, is always ready to advocate the aims and objects of the Home Missionary Society. There we meet pastors, honored and beloved in all our churches, who in their own pastoral visits see our work and feel its power. There we see in the pews the ablest of our mer- chants and professional men, who come to listen to the claims of our Society on their hearts, their con- sciences, and their purses, while in the galleries we get a glimpse of hundreds of our beneficiaries, who in their own lives have felt the power of a new affec- tion, — that ardent love for our work, — evinced by long pilgrimages to the anniversary exercises, and their tears when present. On one occasion, after a powerful dis- course from Rev. Dr. Wadsworth in the church at WIDOW WITH FOUR CHILDREN. 45 Arch Street west of Tenth, $500 was raised. During half a century we have raised S10,000 on anniversary occasions. The same Committee have charge of all public meet- ings during the year, in a lecture-room, over a bar- room, or in a cottage. Wherever we can get a hear- ing, there we go, if invited, and sometimes without invitation. Thus we obtain access to families, for often one or two, sometimes many, ask our mission- aries to visit them. Listen to these narratives from their note-books : (1) " After a meeting, I called on a widow with four children. She is sick. To secure daily bread, her boy, twelve years of age, sells papers. He called to see me, asking for a situation in the city, whereby he might help his mother. I knew a man of business who wanted a boy, took Mm with me and secured the place. He has been with him three weeks, and gives such good satisfaction that his wages have been raised, and he is promised permanent employ- ment with a knowledge of the trade. When the mother had sufficiently recovered she came to thank me for the interest I had taken in her son. In this case it was not the money given which called forth her gratitude, but the fact that I had helped the family to help themselves. " (2) One family consisting of a wife and three chil- dren, for the husband was in prison. I found the chil- dren, one a babe at the breast, in very destitute circum- stances, — no food, no coal, and rent in arrears, with daily prospect of distraint. I aided them to secure tbe necessaries of life and paid a quarter's rent. When tbe husband was released, he called to see if I could get him a situation. I gave him a start to buy 46 A HUSBAND IN PKISON. rags. He did well, for he was an intelligent man, and as a mechanic knew how to make an honest livelihood, if he could obtain a situation. While he was buying and selling rags this was obtained. His employer likes him very much, and he has earned a suit of clothes. Now he goes to church and takes his chil- dren with him." Are not the neighborhood meetings of value to the poor? Is not this Biblical charity? If we add to all this the immense number of souls saved, the families improved in temporal as well as spiritual condition, the homes renewed and sanctified, the com- munity ennobled and purified, who can estimate to Philadelphia the blessings which have followed from the fifty years' work of the Home Missionary Society ? CHAPTEK IV. Methods of "Work. — Committee on Publication and Printing. — The First Printer in the Middle Colonies. — Annual Eeports, in Four Octavo Volumes. — The H. M. S. "Quarterly." — Testimonials to its Power. — Committee on Legacies. — Their Duties. — Amount in Fifty Years. — Case of Mary J. K. — Value of her Bequest. — The Circle of this Trinity, Sickness, Death, and Burial. — Great Epi- demics. — John the Baptist and the Messiah. — Epitome of our Work. — Burial of the Worthy Poor. — Why ? — Correspondence with Cemetery Companies. — A Prize ($2000) drawn in Mount Mori ah Cemetery. But what shall we render to our Committee on Print- ing and Publication ? We live and labor for the poor in a city where the first printer for the middle colonies came to these shores with "William Penn in the year 1682, who started the first paper-mill in Pennsylvania, and achieved the freedom of the press a century before the case of Wilkes in the English House of Lords; who lived to see his son " the friend and patron of Benjamin Franklin, and the founder of the newspaper press in the Middle Colonies." With such antecedents, why should we ignore the power of the press ? What a fund of information, what a history of facts, principles, and struggles for the poor is contained in the annual reports of the Home Missionary Society for half a century ! If bound together they would comprise four large octavos of 300 pages each, with such appropriate titles as " Life among the Lowly," " Sparks from the Ashes of City Life," " Grace 47 48 H. M. S. QUARTERLY. Abounding in a Second Sodom," " The Triumph of a Biblical Charity." To these might be added our " Quarterly," published at a critical period in the his- tory of Philadelphia, for the benefit of our friends and contributors who desired to know more of our work, what it is, and how it is done; to state our methods, and record their results. By it we sought to enlighten the public as to the labors of tried and trusted agents, their contests, trials, and success ; to disclose the mani- fold character of our work, and the means at our dis- posal for the spread of the Gospel, relief of the poor, and the care of destitute children. This Quarterly made a deep and salutary impression throughout this city and over the country. Compli- mentary notices by the press, including magazines, political and ecclesiastical; letters from clergymen of distinction, from lawyers of national reputation, judges on the bench, city and State officials, showed how highly they appreciated this effort to revive the claims and the power of a Biblical charity. These testimoni- als might be published with good results, but our space will not permit it. Think of the labor entailed on the Committee for Printing and Publication, who carried on a newspaper, some of whose issues consisted of eight pages, that it might prevent that charity which is like a certain philosophy, falsely so called, and like a certain faith, which, while "it is dead, being without works," yet speaketh! What an herculean effort to rouse the churches of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, like living cells in the midst of dead matter, are the life-centres in human society, that they might give unto men, and in yet larger measure, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked, shelter to the houseless, COMMITTEE ON LEGACIES. 49 friends to the fallen, visitors to those in prison, and, above all, the Gospel of Jesus Christ ! But in an active organization like the Home Mis- sionary Society of Philadelphia for benevolent effort there should be — there must be — a " Committee on Lega- cies;" not, certainly, " legacy-hunters" who are waiting for " dead men's shoes," but when legacies are given, to see that they are properly secured and wisely in- vested in harmony with the design of the testator. By a careful estimate of the several bequests during the half-century just closed, we have received already in funds over §50,000, and when the legacies already made, but which are not yet paid, are secured, we shall have obtained §100,000. For some of these bequests we maj' wait an indefinite period before the estates are settled, but " we are on the bond," and as the sun rolls round, will secure our money if anybody obtains anything. What a testimony to the hold which this Society has on the affections of God's people, that in fifty years we have already received $1000 per annum ! Surely we have not served God for nought. And when these kind mementos have come from our own beneficiaries, on the bed of death, whom father and mother for many years had forsaken, — and yet they remembered that fond parent, the Home Mis- sionary Society, who received them with open arms in their orphanage, — the tears of gratitude to God moistened many cheeks at the intelligence. Listen to the following narrative : In 1854 an appli- cation was made at the office for a visit to a consump- tive, who was a widow, by the Society's Agent. Rev. Mr. Street w r ent, and after conversation, reading of the Scriptures, and prayer, she manifested great anxiety 50 AFTER MANY DAYS. for the welfare of her infant child, scarcely eighteen months old. Our Agent assured the dying woman that her own soul was of paramount interest, and that he would provide for the child. As death approached, her mind was greatly relieved that the Home Mission- ary Society would assume the care of her child. During her sickness the Society secured the necessary temporal relief, — coal, groceries, physicians, and medicines, with such comforts as the sick require. Through the kind attention of Mrs. Street, the Agent's wife, the child was provided with a home. At that time Mr. Thomas T. Mason, one of the Managers, was in the dry-goods business, and received a call from R. GL, of M., J. County. As Mr. G. had no daughter, he was prevailed on, after consultation with his wife, to take the infant to his own family. Thirteen years passed on. The present Agent, Rev. E. H. Toland, in his visits among the children, called at M., and found the child, whose name was on our record as an infant, now a blooming young maiden of nearly sixteen summers, much beloved by her foster-parents, respected by the family and neighbors, living in a fine house surrounded by a garden, and every comfort in life. Mary J. R., the helpless orphan, was now, though still a ward of the Society, a student of Litiz Seminary for young ladies, a member of the Christian church, and of the church choir. The cordial reception extended to the Agent, the many questions asked concerning the wel- fare of the Home Missionary Society, especially the tender concern manifested by the central figure in that family group, showed how our work is best appreciated by those best qualified to judge, and who welcomed bur Agent to their home. The assurance was given THE CIRCLE OF THIS TRINITY. 51 that the Society should not be forgotten, and contribu- tions soon came regularly from that quiet home in J. County as the years rolled by. Soon Mary's foster-father died, and bequeathed to her 85000. Though many suitors appeared, her tender attachment to Mrs. G. and her own delicate health, inherited from her mother, prevented her acceptance of such offers. Her contributions continued till her death, sometimes as high as S100 a year. Her foster- brother, Robert G., was lost in the war of the Rebel- lion ; and in the event of Mrs. G.'s death she would have received the entire estate had she survived, be- cause she had been adopted by the family. During August, 1880, conscious that her departure was near, she drew up her will, which was admitted to probate. In that will 8500 was left to the Home Missionary Society, and the rest to benevolent institutions. She lived and died a Christian, and her works do follow her. What a star in the crown of our rejoicing ! May many of those who are and have been wards of this Society imitate her blessed example ! Sickness, death, and burial constitute the last things of life. They are, however, in the plans of most per- sons, the last things to be thought of, and for which the poor are most unprepared. They unveil the escha- tology of the Scriptures, and bring us near to the powers of the world to come. Most properly, there- fore, do they come within the purview of a Society which seeks to care for all men from the cradle to the srave. Within the circle of this trinity — sickness, <-5 t, ' death, and burial — we often secure our greatest vic- tories, obtain our brightest rewards, and impart our sweetest consolations. 52 GREAT EPIDEMICS. Here our beloved physicians show their skill and their remedies — offered gratuitously to the sick poor — and sometimes work wonders in the healing art. Three of our Managers have for many years given yearly as much as $100 apiece that the sick poor might be properly supplied with medicines. Here our sur- geons have gratuitously performed operations which would do honor to the ability of a Nelaton or Graefe, an Agnew or a Gross. Then come those great epi- demics, the deadly typhus and typhoid, scarlet and intermittent fevers, smallpox and yellow fever, cholera infantum and Asiatic cholera; for all these have held high carnival in Philadelphia since 1835, and have tested the ability and patience of our Managers, agents, and contributors. What a demand for physicians and medicines, to save life, restore health, and pre- vent the breaking up of the humble homes of the poor! Our blessed Lord, in order to convince John the Baptist that he was indeed the Messiah, said, " Go and tell John that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them." What an epitome of our work ! In the tides of disease which sweep over our great cities one is reminded of the angel in the Apocalypse who had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues. E"o other method to relieve these plagues has yet been devised equal to that which Jesus gave to John in his despondency. This is our warrant, to care for suffering humanity from the cradle to the grave, to provide transportation for helpless strangers, homes for the homeless, hos- pitals for the sick and insane, medicines for those who AND BURIAL. 53 need them, funerals for those who cannot bury them- selves, and a grave for their bodies, for they rarely have one of their own. We leave no one without the consolations of religion and the hopes of the Gospel. Therefore we carry the ordinances of God's house to the sick-chamber, to the dying mother and helpless infant, baptized in the arms of lier victorious faith ; to prison, where the condemned malefactor asks to be admitted to the true church, ere lie expiates his crime on the gallows, like the dying thief, who on a cross received the assurance, " This day shalt thou be with me in paradise." I have stated that we bury the poor. This may sound like news to some ears, for " with a great price have we obtained this freedom." There is nothing which the poor so much dread on entering a hospital as the prospect of a " post-mortem" or dissection by students in anatomy. This may seem strange to medi- cal men, to whom familiarity with such scenes in the " Green-Room" often breeds contempt. Of course pay-patients are provided with a safe-conduct out of the hospital as well as into it, if they so desire, but charity-patients have no alternative, and must submit at least to "post-mortem," if not to dissection, in nearly all the public hospitals in case of death. By simply stating that in case of death we desire to re- move the dead for burial we are able to secure a Christian funeral and burial, which is a source of great consolation to survivors. For years we have had our own lot at the Odd-Fel- lows' Cemetery. Since this became well occupied we were at a loss where to go. At last one of the Mana- gers wrote to a personal friend as follows: 54 THE " Dear Sir, — I have been for a long time desirous to secure a burial-place for the worthy poor in our city. I have noticed in my medical visits among this class of our population that many of them dread most of all, in prospect of death, the ' Potter's Field,' which means, in reality, the vault with its arsenious acid and water, perhaps dissection in our own medical schools, or transfer, by sale, to some Western or Southern medical institution for a similar purpose. To Christ's poor such a prospect is not pleasant, nor is it necessary so long as our prisons, houses of correction, and county jails furnish all the material which our medical schools require. I' have made several personal appeals to some of our cemetery companies on this subject, but always with a negative answer. " Some dread the prospect of a 4 Potter's Field' amid the expensive monuments and elaborated tombs, as it might affect their business prospects, forgetting ' that on earth rich and poor dwell together, for the Lord is maker of them all;' and if on the earth, why not under it, in their graves ? Others, in these cemetery compa- nies, assert that their charters admit of no provision for any ' poor-lot,' and if such a lot were granted they might forfeit their corporate rights. It seems, as the result of this investigation, that our boasted civiliza- tion recognizes no rights of the poor on the part of the rich, either in life or death. More than a year has been spent in these fruitless requests. May I urge personal reasons with you, as well as arguments drawn from our common humanity and Christianity, in offering the following propositions to your cemetery company : " (1) What will your company charge me for a lot of CHRISTIAN BURIAL, A PRIZE. 55 land containing six hundred square feet in which to bury strangers and the worthy poor ? " (2) Provided your Board of Directors will not con- sent to such a sale of their real estate, do you know of any method by which corpses can be safely interred and permanently buried, without danger of transfer, at a given price per body, which you will state in your reply ?" To this came the following answer, after an interval of two years : "Dear Sir, — I rejoice at last, after so much nego- tiation and such earnest personal solicitation on your part, that the worthy poor can be decently buried in Philadelphia. I believe the cemetery company will, in the end, be richer pecuniarily,, and certainly deserve the esteem and respect of every high-minded Christian, if they can fulfil this negotiation. Christ never will desert His poor, and, cost what it may, we, as His followers, should never suffer them to be deserted, especially at the hour of death. You propose ' to hand over the lots to one of the oldest and best of our city's benevolent institutions, the " Home Missionary So- ciety," office, 533 Arch Street' The ground donated will contain, if buried as you propose, 400 dead bodies, which, at §5 per head, our cheapest rate, is §2000. Yours respectfully." These lots are now (1885) enclosed with a neat and permanent enclosure, — marble posts with galvanized iron tubing, — so well made and placed that they will remain for half a century. CHAPTER V. Our Wards. — What is " Home" without the Children? — Our Foun- ders began this Work. — One Thousand Children placed in Homes prior to 1860. — Immense Scope of this Department. — Somebody must care for them. — Some too Poor or too Vicious to care for their own — Such Provision essential to Large Cities. — Evils of the Asylum Plan. — George Heriot's Hospital. — Christ's Method. — Their First Estate.— Their Value to Society.— Statistics of Pau- perism, Ignorance, and Crime. — Herbert Spencer. — His View. — Religious Element in Education. — Experience of Penitentiaries. — G-irard College. — Daniel Webster. — Hon. Joel Jones. — Our Method of Indenture. — That " New Light." — Christian Charity. — Emanuel Wichern. — The " Pauhe Haus." — The Importance of the Family. — In 1874, Charter enlarged. — Full Powers granted. — The Street Arabs. — Often from the Worst Slums. — The Glorious Change. — Examples. The Home Missionary Society feels a deep interest in everything pertaining to the home-life of its bene- ficiaries ; and what is home without the children ? As the Germans reply, " Like a house with the lights extinguished." From its origin, as we have already shown, the care of children was an important and most useful depart- ment of its multiform work; but this work was not developed into its present proportions until 1874, when Article V. was adopted as an integral part of the con- stitution. As far back as 1860 the number of children under care had reached over 1000, and during the twenty-five years since that date the number has reached over 3000. Most persons have no idea of the impor- tance of our work among children. It came upon us 56 57 as a matter of necessity. We had to do something for the offspring of parents who were either too poor or too vicious to care for their own children. This is now just as essential to the civilization of large cities as to start mission-schools or build churches. Our Managers decided at an early period to place as many of them as possible in country homes, where they might acquire habits of industry and thrift. The Scriptures, under an inspired pen, assert that " God setteth the solitary in families," and our experience shows that there is no place like a Christian family for the training of children. In the days of Queen Elizabeth of England there was a wealthy goldsmith who left a large estate to the city of Edinburgh to endow an asylum where orphan boys could be sheltered, fed, clothed, and taught with- out expense to his beneficiaries. George Heriot's Hos- pital is one of the wealthiest charitable asylums in Great Britain. The founder was deeply impressed with the miseries of poor orphans, and he supposed that by keeping them near to the charitable influences of an asylum their pauperism would be relieved. If those pupils had all been placed in families, they would have seen the influence of constant exertion on the part of their adopted parents and guardians to support a family, and by the light of example would have caught their inspiration to work and struggle with obstacles in life. Those orphans in Heriot's Hospital are removed from the world where they were born, deprived of the natural discipline of the family, so that their mode of life, instruction, and training become artificial. They grow up to eighteen years of age in seclusion, like ascetics in a monastery, without knowledge of the 58 • CHRISTIANITY VS. HEATHENISM. world and without preparation to face the duties of life. One of the ablest thinkers of Edinburgh assured me that it was harder to provide for Heriot's benefi- ciaries than for the poor themselves, and that the hospital was regarded by some of the best people in Edinburgh as a nuisance. There must be a Christian method to provide for the chil- dren of the poor and to secure them from vice. Infidelity and heathenism recommend infanticide or desertion by parents and guardians. Terence, one of Rome's illustrious dramatists, urged his wife to destroy their expected infant, especially if it were a daughter. Said Seneca, Rome's great moralist, " monstrous children we destroy, the weak and ill-formed we drown, and the rest, even legitimate children, we expose for the speculator to buy, to be sold as slaves or reared as prostitutes, or maimed for exhibition by beggars and mountebanks." Such was the state of the world when Christ came. In what state do we find these children ? They exist in garrets and cellars, sleeping on straw beds or bare floors, packed closely together, to keep off, if possible, the wind and rain. Their food consists of crusts and victuals which they gather stealthily — through fear of the police — from back gates. They have a piteous, hungry look, and are always on the brink of starvation. These are found filled with perishing dreams and with wrecks of forgotten delirium. They hardly raise their eyes, except in beseeching looks for assistance, and their heads, rarely covered, droop towards the dirt. Their humility and meekness is the fruit of their hope- less condition, not of a chastened spirit. Mutter they may, but with the terrible emphasis of shame and bias-. 59 pheruy, as if they were a sacrifice on some altar, whose oblations availed not towards pardon which they might implore or reparation which they would attempt. Yet these are our wards. As children were not left out of the ancient cove- nant or of the Christian church, so they are not neglected or forsaken by the Home Missionary So- ciety. For many years we have had a special depart- ment for them, and we are, in fact, the only Society for general relief who have the right to claim the title of the Children's Aid Society of Philadelphia. As the result of careful observation, we believe that the safety of property, no less than its productiveness, in a word, the welfare of the State, depend on the over- sight of these children. This is susceptible of proof; actual statistics show that in France the one-half of the people, who are unable to read or write, commit ninety per cent, of the crimes. In Scotland pauperism diminishes just as schools increase. In Pennsylvania one in ten of the illiterate is a pauper, while in the rest of the population who can read, only one in 300 is a pauper. As three-fourths of the crime and pauper- ism in Philadelphia is among the intemperate, so three- fourths of the intemperance is among the illiterate. But the training of the intellect alone will not elevate the poor or make good citizens. Herbert Spencer, one of the ablest original thinkers of our generation in England, has argued very forcibly to prove that crime is compatible with mental training. His statistics show that crimes are more frequent among certain classes of educated minds than in those of inferior intelligence. Mr. Spencer, however, fails to see what real education is, and the only basis on 60 EASTERN PENITENTIARY. which it can rest. Without the religious element we cannot draw out the mental powers and endue the mind with the higher aspirations and incitements to virtue. The ability to read, write, and cipher is often an incitement to crime, because some forms of crime require intelligence. Pickpockets even respect a man who can write another's name and read the Police Gazette. Our fathers were wiser than some of their descend- ants. They insisted on religious culture as the true basis of our charitable institutions. Thomas Brad- ford, LL.D., one of the commissioners for building the Eastern State Penitentiary, and one of its inspec- tors for thirty years, urged the appointment at the outset " of a moral instructor who should preach the Gospel, converse and pray with the inmates." So far as the " separate system" of prison discipline has been successful in that penitentiary, it is directly traceable to the efforts of the moral instructor. In the contest over the will of Stephen Girard, Hon. Daniel Webster, in behalf of the heirs as opposed to the city of Philadelphia, claimed that the college, with the exclusion of all ecclesiastics, according to the will, would be contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of the United States, since that instrument recognized Christianity as the national religion by public consent and numerous enactments. When Girard College was opened, evangelical Christians feared it would prove a curse to Philadelphia, and Hon. Joel Jones and his associates in the Board of Directors, when called upon to select a system of moral philosophy in harmony with our republican institutions, adopted the ]STew Testament. INDENTURES AND OBLIGATIONS. 61 Under its present management, with such men in the Board of City Trusts, one of the finest chapels has been erected on the grounds, and more evangelical truth, from intelligent lay preachers, is heard there than in many Christian churches, even though Girard forbade any ecclesiastic ever to enter its walls. "With such examples in the history of Philadelphia, what other course could be taken by our Managers with the children committed to their care except to train them for heaven ? They are careful to select homes where future guar- dians will feel this responsibility. Every such guar- dian signs the indenture, and solemnly promises, (1) That he will send them to Sabbath-school and to church. (2) That he will have them taught to read, write, and cipher. (3) That at the end of their ser- vice they will be returned to the Society, and that he will show that he has complied with the requisitions of the indenture. (4) That he will carefully initiate them into the trade or occupation for which they are placed under his care. (5) That he will promise to teach them to speak the truth, to be honest and pure, to fear God and to keep His commandments, remembering that in the judgment thej will be accountable for the welfare of these children. (6) That he will write at least once in six months to the Secretary of the Board, that the Managers may be informed of their health, deportment, and general condition. (7) That he will not transfer or surrender them to any one without the written approval or consent of the Agent of the Home Missionary Society. (8) That the Visitor of the chil- dren shall be permitted to visit any and all children placed or bound by the Society, and to hold converse 62 THE RAUHE HAUS AT HORN. with them alone if desired. (9) That all persons taking children from the H. M. S. are required to notify the Agent of any change they may make in their residence. It is earnestly recommended by the Home Mis- sionary Society to all guardians to give every reasonable opportunity to their wards to attend public worship and sabbath-schools. Thus has the Home Missionary Society for fifty years secured the Christian education of children under our care ; thus have we lighted up thousands of homes with the controlling power of a new affection, Christian charity. About the year 1835, contemporaneous with the re- vival of evangelical religion in Germany and with the establishment of the Home Missionary Society of the City of Philadelphia, a candidate for the ministry, aroused by the condition of the humbler and poorer classes at Hamburg, began his work in the Rauhe Haus at Horn. He felt the importance of the family in the training of children, and with eight illegitimate children and four brought up by drunken and criminal parents he formed his first household. On the same farm, at convenient distances, he established families of twelve each in houses of refuge and redemption for abandoned and neglected children, the offspring of sin and profligacy, of misery and destitution. The beauti- ful and tasteful residences which the inmates erected, and which compose the Rauhe Haus, are famous throughout Europe, and made Emanuel Wichern the representative of Home Missions in Germany and a leading member of the highest council for the Prussian Church. In twenty-five years he sent out over 800 children, many of whom became heads of various re- THEIR CONDITION A^'D REFOBM. 63 formatory institutions throughout the world. During half a century we have likewise raised over 3000 to be useful and even prominent in their various spheres of usefulness. In 1874 our charter was so enlarged as to give full legal sanction and the protection of the State to the Society in this department of their work, should any complication arise from interference by others. As these children enter or are brought by parents and the police to the office, they are found to be the most ill-clad and wildest in Philadelphia. Accustomed to use vile language, they would swear and fight with each other, and could hardly be restrained. Shoeless and hatless, with hair tangled and faces unwashed, many of them with ragged and torn clothing, they have a keen, wild expression of eye which shows the genuine type of the street Arab, found only in the worst slums of a great city. How soon is all this changed when removed to the enlightening and ennobling influences of a family where Christ's spirit and example are felt, in the country ! Here they find goodness and piety united. Their vices and bad habits are soon concealed before true virtue. They long to be like their friends, who know how to control their temper. Their minds and their consciences are aroused. The moral power of true religion is seen in their conduct, and thus these outcasts are reformed, regenerated, and saved. What a blessed change ! ~No department of our Society's work is so cheering and comforting to our agents and the Board, for we can see the children grow not only in stature but in favor with God and man. Listen to these narratives. Let the cases speak for 64 EXAMPLES. themselves: (1) A poor orphan boy of Philadelphia, of vicious habits, whose bed was the cellar-door or open wagon, and whose food was secured by begging, was placed with a reputable farmer. The requisitions of the Society were faithfully complied with by his em- ployer, and after an absence of sixteen years, James applied personally at the office (533 Arch Street) for several boys to return with him to the country. That boy is now a land-owner, a useful citizen, a member of the Christian church, and not one hundred miles from Philadelphia. (2) Another boy, whose mother was a degraded character, and frequently before our courts, recently returned to the city from the country, where, eleven years ago, he was placed by the Society. But what a contrast ! Instead of the little outcast who followed a debauchee around the city, he comes back to our office a young man of more than ordinary intelligence, having, at the close of his apprenticeship, educated himself in a seminary, paying for it with his own earn- ings, to qualify himself for the higher duties of an active life. (3) A lady of wealth, member of the P. E. Church, discovers in the office, during one of her visits, a little girl in filth and rags, standing by the register. Her heart was touched as she heard the child's story : " Her parents, both drunk at home, had sent her out to beg, for the} 7 had been warned out of the house for non-pay- ment of rent." At first the lady objected on account of her size, but through persuasion was induced to take her on trial. After two weeks a letter came, in which her employer wrote that she did not desire a better girl. During fourteen years little Maggie has ORPHAN BOY IN PEISON. 65 maintained an excellent character, and for eight years has been a communicant of the P. E. Church in one of our suburban districts. Not long since her em- ployer called to say that she would soon marry a worthy citizen. (4) An orphan boy in Moyamensing Prison, without guardians or friends, was committed by a magistrate on a charge of larceny. Our Agent, on investigating the case, learned that he was in company with another boy, who stole a blanket, and, being homeless and friendless, was suspected of being a confederate, and was therefore committed to prison. But his innocence being admitted by the principal, his release was pro- cured, and he was placed in charge of the Home Mis- sionary Society. A farmer in Delaware wanted a boy. We placed the orphan at Moyamensing Prison in his charge, where he attends school, enjoys moral instruc- tion, a good example, and a healthy occupation. We have heard from him " that he is satisfied with his home, and his guardian is satisfied with him/' It has been a prominent object in our plans of use- fulness to break up this ignorance and vice among the youth of Philadelphia, and thus prevent intemperance, pauperism,, and crime. As the statistics of our great cities prove that many children may become criminals, our experience proves that multitudes of them may become Christians, good citizens, and blessings to mankind. CHAPTER VI. Eeview. — The First Decade. — Struggle for Existence. — Second Decade. — Evangelism with Distribution. — Third Decade. — Our Bounds en- larged and Stakes strengthened. — Fourth Decade. — Large Fortunes and Abundant Means. — Fifth Decade. — A Vigorous Struggle for Biblical Charity. — The late Henry Disston, a Beloved Manager and Shrewd Observer. — His Interest in our "Work among Workmen. — The Christian Scheme vs. " Materialism."— The H. M. S. vs. " Com- munism." — The Bible's Estimate of the Dignity of Labor. — Cottage Prayer-Meetings vs. Infidel Agitators. — Scriptural Warnings to Masters. — And Instructions to their Workmen. — Mr. Disston's Liberality. — Capital and Labor both friendly to the H. M. S. — How we reach Employers and the Employed. — The Founders' Position. — Impregnable because Evangelical. — Summary of Fifty Years. — Our Confidence in the Kesult — Two Beasons : I. We have found favor with God ; II. The Spirit of the Age favors our Work. — Final Appeal. What is the retrospect ? Our founders, during the first decade of the Society's history, had to contend with the schemes of French infidelity in the State, and imperfect views in the church of what constitutes an American society for the relief of the poor. During the second decade, the problem to be solved was the practical union of evangelism with proper distribution to the poor. From 1855 to 1865 the sphere of the Society was greatly enlarged by the peculiar scenes of usefulness preceding and during the war of the Rebellion. Fields of labor were en- tered and cultivated which our founders never imag- ined. In the fourth decade the large fortunes accu- mulated during the Civil War, and the enormous 66 HENRY DISSTOX. 67 growth of our city, offered not only free scope, but abundant means to carry on our work. Since 1875, from the growth of spiritism, materialism, and other forms of scepticism, Ave have had to contend manfully for a Biblical charity. The late Henry Disston, who for several years was a beloved member of our Board, and the founder of one of the largest saw manufac- tories in the world, took a deep interest in our work among the laboring classes. His penetrating mind saw the necessity for the Home Missionary Society among workmen. He felt that materialism could criticise and attempt to destroy the Christian scheme of benevo- lent effort, by all forms of labor and trade unions, but offered nothing to take the place of a permanent society for meeting human want and woe. He saw that our methods imparted temporary relief to mitigate pressing necessities, while we encouraged our beneficiaries to make fresh determination for self- support. As long as some persons are more shrew T d than others property will be unequally distributed, and as the industries of civilization are developed, the range of wealth and poverty will be increased. To prevent this inequality by destroying ownership is communism. This cuts the nerves of personal enter- prise and ruins society. The Home Missionary Soci- ety seeks to bridge over that gulf between rich and poor by homes, clothing, wholesome food, medicine, and medical assistance. Thus we are brought into constant contact with em- ployers and the laboring classes. The Bible honors the laborer. The patriarchs were herdsmen. Moses and David were called from following the sheep ; Gid- eon from the threshing-floor ; Elisha from the plough. 68 EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYED. Jesus was a carpenter ; four of his apostles were fish- ermen, one a publican, one a tent-maker. Laborers who study the Bible, attend cottage prayer-meetings, and hear missionaries do not become infidels or infidel agitators. The Bible utters its warnings to masters — " I will be a swift witness against him that oppresseth a hireling in his wages" — and teaches the laborer " to be obedient to them that are his masters according to the flesh, in singleness of heart, as unto Christ." We thereby are able to mitigate and relieve cases of overweening covetousness in employers as well as un- reasonable demands of the laborer. When mutual recrimination and violence are resorted to, we teach them that their interests are one. This led Mr. Diss- ton not only to take a deep personal interest in the plans and discussions of our Board, but also to con- tribute largely to their execution. We accomplish these results among the laboring classes by the estab- lishing and maintenance 'of Sabbath-schools and cot- tage prayer-meetings, by showing them that their religious privileges are sustained chiefly by capital, and that many corporations furnish us with money for books and kindred provisions for operatives. The girl, who stands looking at the spindles while she tends them, is taught that the piston manipulates the shuttles, just as her brother learns the same lesson at the lathe. Our agents and missionaries, by their cheer- ing, elevating, ennobling influences, show that the Gos- pel has a melting power to excite a fraternal spirit in both employers and employed. We have thus traced, far too imperfectly, the career of the Home Missionary Society in the City of Phila- delphia for half a century. We have shown how a few RETROSPECT. 69 young men, feeling the necessity for individual effort and influence in evangelizing Philadelphia, first organ- ized this Society; then, with a simple spiritual piety, began their warfare with the spirit of the world, the flesh, and the devil, that, if by any means, they might save some. On the one hand they met a religion of taste and sentiment not opposed to the spirit of the world ; on the other stood sacerdotalism — vicarious re- ligion — invading the sole and eternal priesthood of Christ, a religion of forms and ceremonies, not opposed to the pride of life, while all around them were their fellow-citizens, many of them without an}' one to care for their souls. These young men believed, with the great mass of Protestants, that the work of redemption has always been carried on in the world's history by remarkable effusions of the Holy Spirit in special seasons of mercy. "With this earnest conviction, they at once began work in twelve districts, by as many committees, and with the Divine blessing left five prominent churches as the landmarks of their labors, with several mission-schools, to their successors. We have seen the glorious results which followed, when the Societv was enlarged by the admission of all the evangelical denominations to a representation in our Board of Managers, through the act of incorpora- tion in 1845 ; what power was given to the spread of the Gospel, — one hundred and twenty-five moral light- houses, first started as mission-schools, now as churches, for the most part, permanent life-giving forces in Phil- adelphia, with the system of cottage prayer-meetings, greatly enlarged by the efficiency of seven missionaries in the field; what energy was imparted to the relief 70 SUMMARY— FAVOR WITH GOD. of the worthy poor, from the cradle to the grave, in all forms of practicable charity; giving counsel, encour- agement, and material assistance in health, medicines and visits in sickness, and Christian burial in death; what an extent was given to our glorious work for chil- dren, whereby over 3000 helpless, often homeless, youth of both sexes and all ages have been provided with good homes in Christian families, with regular trades or occupations, the privileges of a church or Sabbath- school, often both, and with prospects for usefulness and position in life impossible and inconceivable in their first estate. Such has been the work during half a century. We lay it before the citizens of Philadelphia and all friends of voluntary associations in behalf of the worthy poor. With the observation and experience of half a century we advance with confidence in the results of our work and in the claims of this Society to the earnest sup- port of all who are true patriots and seek the welfare of their fellow-men. There are two special considerations which embolden us, in expectation of their general acknowledgment by our friends and contributors. I. The history of the Home Missionary Society shows that we have found favor with God. The evidence of this fact is so conclusive to us, who for many years — some for a quarter, and one for half a century — have toiled and prayed and plead for the Society in private and before the great congregation, as well as in the public assemblies of our citizens ; who have borne the burden and heat of the day, and are now growing old; to us, I say, this evidence is so conclusive as to confirm all our impressions as to the useful character of the work. In the retrospect we have been prospered beyond our SPIRIT OF THE AGE. 71 expectations by the presence and assistance of our Heavenly Father. In estimating the value of our work we look not only at the intrinsic importance of it in itself, but at the great crises in the history of our city when the Home Missionary Society has been able to meet the exigencies of the times. How often might it be said of this Society as of a poor wise man in Ecclesi- astes, who lived in a certain city besieged by a great king, who built great bulwarks against its walls, and yet that poor man by his wisdom delivered the city ! The Society has advanced in its work, if not always in one direction, still along the whole line there has been progress; and never was there a greater call for the prosecution of our various enterprises than at the pres- ent time. • May we not expect the continued sympathy and support of our fellow-citizens ? But there is another consideration still, of great im- portance, by which our hopes are roused. II. The emphasis with which the Most High, by the tendency of the times and the imperative wants of our city, is summoning all who seek God's glory among men to the dis- charge of their duty. What means this neAv state of things on our earth, these new movements in all human affairs, the new achievements in science and art, the new modes of communication, by which we move at fifty miles an hour over its surface, and speak to each other by the telegraph and telephone, as if within hail- ing distance ? Why these constant changes in the views of men and the modes of human life, whereby doors of entrance are open and barriers removed, knowledge, trade, and civilization advancing, all man- kind excited and moved as never before ? Is it not a sign from heaven that another scene is opening in the 72 FINAL APPEAL. drama of history, for which our work in Philadelphia has prepared the way among us, — the triumph of Christianity among men, the world reclaimed and con- verted to Christ ? The same Jehovah rules in the spiritual as in the physical and temporal spheres of existence, that by means of the latter He may accomplish His plans in the former. Are these great changes not to move all good men to increased activity? Shall not the churches feel these movements ? Will not all men be quickened in their zeal by them ? The age favors evangelism, the relief of the poor, and the care of destitute children. The devoted men of our day — and nowhere more than in Philadelphia — are preaching, printing, and praying for the increase and invigoration of all forces and agencies which ennoble and elevate mankind. This new order of things among men fills us with courage and confidence in the final triumph of the business committed to our care for half a century. We believe that ere long the usefulness of the Home Missionary Society, if we are not weary in well-doing, will not only be acknowledged by God, but by all true patriots and benefactors of mankind. APPENDIX. CONSTITUTION (1835). ARTICLE I. This Association shall be called the " Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, for the City and County of Philadelphia." ARTICLE II. The object of this Society shall be to promote the exten- sion of the Redeemer's kingdom, in the city and suburbs of Philadelphia, by means of preaching, prayer, and exhorta- tion meetings ; as also the establishment of Sabbath-Schools, the distribution of Bibles, Testaments, Tracts, and other books of a religious nature. ARTICLE III. The business of this Society shall be conducted by twenty-five Managers, members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, to be chosen annually, by the Society, in the month of April ; the said Managers to elect out of their own body a President, Vice-President, a Recording and Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, and Book Agent. ARTICLE IV. At all meetings of the Society, and of the Board of Managers, the President, or in his absence the Vice-Presi- 73 74 CONSTITUTION 1835. dent, or if both be absent, such member as shall be chosen, shall preside. He shall sign all orders on the Treasurer. ARTICLE V. Section 1. The Recording Secretary shall keep fair and regular minutes of the proceedings of the Society and Board of Managers ; prepare and send notices of all meet- ings of the Society to the different Methodist Episcopal Churches in the City and Liberties ; notify the Managers of the Stated and Special Meetings, also countersign all orders on the Treasurer. Sec. 2. The business of the Corresponding Secretary shall be to conduct the correspondence of the Society, and report the same at each meeting of the Board. Sec. 3. The Treasurer shall give such security for the performance of his trust as shall be determined upon by the Board of Managers. He shall be prepared to make a statement of the balance on hand at each meeting of the Board, and to keep a register of the subscribers' names and places of residence ; also a list of donations in a sepa- rate book. Sec. 4. The Book Agent shall purchase and take charge of such Books, Tracts, etc., as the Board may di- rect, and shall supply the same as may be required. He shall render a fair account to the Board at each Stated meeting. ARTICLE VI. The Anniversary of this Society shall be held either in March, April, or May, as the Board may direct. ARTICLE VII. Section 1. The Board of Managers shall meet once in every month, or at the call of the Secretary, if requested CONSTITUTION 1835. 75 by three members of the Board in writing. They may adopt such By-Laws to regulate their proceedings as shall not be inconsistent with the Constitution, and fill all vacan- cies that may occur during the year. They shall call a meeting of the Society once every three months, at which time they shall report their transactions, and the state of the funds ; and Public Meetings when and wherever it shall be deemed expedient by them. Sec. 2. They shall assign to the different Committees, with the advice of the Conference Missionary, their fields of labor, which Committees shall report monthly to the Board. The Conference Missionary shall be requested to report quarterly. Sec. 3. They shall also order such purchases of Books, Tracts, etc., as may be found necessary ; or make any other appropriation of the funds which the interests of the Soci- ety may require ; but in no case shall appropriations exceed the amount in the hands of the Treasurer. ARTICLE VIII. The Conference Home Missionary, being regularly ap- pointed by the Bishop or Bishops of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, shall be entitled to a seat in the Board of Managers. ARTICLE IX. Five members at all meetings of the Board of Mana- gers, and twelve at all meetings of the Society, shall con- stitute a quorum. ARTICLE X. Any person subscribing the sum of one dollar or up- wards per annum, payable quarterly, shall be a member of this Society; the payment of five dollars or upwards, at one time, shall constitute a life member. 76 CONSTITUTION 1835. ARTICLE XI. This Constitution may be altered or amended at any Quarterly Meeting, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present, provided the proposed alteration be stated and delivered in writing to the Board of Managers, at least one month before said Quarterly Meeting. OFFIOEKS THE HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY in 1835. President. — J. M. Thomas. Vice-President. — George Loudenschlager. Recording Secretary. — C. P. Fessenden. Corresponding Secretary. — Orrin Rogers. Treasurer. — Thomas K. Peterson. Booh Agent. — John Wiall. Joseph T. Elsegood. Lambert Wilmer. John F. Rudolph. William C. Griffith. Henry CI egg. Joseph Thompson. James Beck. Charles Stackpole. Managers. Israel Jones. L. Dorphey. Henry Hay dock. John Street. John G. Smith. Peter Y. Calder. Daniel Beidelman. Washington Pedrick. 77 CONSTITUTION (1885). ARTICLE I. This Association shall be known by the name, style, and title of " The Home Missionary Society of the City of Philadelphia." And by that name, style, and title shall have perpetual succession, with power to have a common seal, and the same to change at pleasure, to make contracts relating to the Institution, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, and by that name, style, and title be capable of holding, purchasing, and taking any estate, real or personal, for the use of the corporation, with power, whenever deemed necessary, to sell, convey, or mortgage the same or any part thereof, provided the annual income of said estate, exclusive of annual contributions and the value of any real estate bought for the use of the Society shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars, nor be applied to any other purpose than that for which the Association is formed. ARTICLE II. Section 1. The objects of this Society shall be the spread of the Gospel and the relief of the poor, in such manner as shall be provided by its By-Laws. Sec. 2. The operations of this Association (so far as re- spects relief to the poor, etc.) shall be conducted without regard to the religious opinions of those who may have need of its aid. 78 constitution 1885. 79 ARTICLE III. The annual contribution of five dollars will enable any one to become a member of this Society, and the payment of fifty dollars at any one time will constitute a life mem- bership ; and at any duly convened meeting of the Asso- ciation fifteen members shall constitute a quorum. ARTICLE IV. Section 1. The business of this Association shall be conducted by twenty-seven managers, who shall be chosen at the First Annual Meeting of the Association following the adoption of this Constitution. At the first meeting of the Board of Managers following they shall by lot divide themselves into three divisions, oue to serve for one year, one to serve for two years, and one to serve for three years; and at every subsequent Annual Meeting nine Managers shall be chosen to fill the places of the retiring portion of the Board. The annual election shall occur in the month of October of each year, at such time and place as the Board of Managers shall determine. Sec. 2. The Managers so chosen shall from time to time have power to elect from their own body a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Recording and a Corresponding Sec- retary, and a Treasurer, each to serve one year, or until their successors are elected. Sec. 3. They shall have power to employ such persons as may be necessary to carry out the object of the Society. Sec. 4. They shall have power to appoint an Executive and other committees, whose duties shall be defined by the By-Laws. .Sec. 5. The Stated Meetings of the Board shall be held at least once every three months, at such time and place as 80 CONSTITUTION 1885. shall be determined by the By-Laws, and the Association shall meet annually in the month of October in each year, or oftener if it shall be necessary. ARTICLE V- It shall and may be lawful for the Managers of the Society, in their discretion, to receive any homeless or needy child or children, in order to rescue them from want or shame, and temporarily care for and furnish them with food, clothing, or shelter, and also to provide the means for imparting intellectual, moral, and religious instruction adapted to the culture of the ignorant and neglected under their care; and when children shall be voluntarily surren- dered to the care of said Managers by their father, or, in case of his death or absence, by their mother, or by their guardian or other person having the control of such chil- dren, it shall be lawful for said Managers to procure homes for and to place such children with persons of good moral character, to be cared for and trained for usefulness, and may, when in their discretion it shall appear proper, bind such children as apprentices, according to the laws of this Commonwealth, to such persons, to learn such trades and employments as in the judgment of the said Managers will be most conducive to the benefit and advantage of such children; and the said Managers shall have full power and authority to provide homes for or to bind such children, in their discretion, to and with such person or persons re- siding in or out of this Commonwealth as may apply therefor. ARTICLE VI. The Board of Managers shall adopt such By-Laws, Rules, and Regulations for the government thereof as they may deem necessary, provided that they shall not be in- CONSTITUTION 1885. 81 consistent with the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution and laws of Pennsylvania, or this Charter. ARTICLE VII. Any alteration of this Constitution not inconsistent here- with may be made at a meeting of the Society, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present, pro- vided the proposed alterations be stated and delivered to the Board of Managers in writing at least one month be fore the meeting at which they are to be acted upon. OFFICERS AND BOARD OF MANAGERS, 18 8 5. President — Thomas L. Gillespie. Vice-Presidents. — S. K. Shipley and S. G. Lewis. Recording Secretary. — William M. Capp, M.D. Corresponding Secretary. — Jos. H. Schenck, M.D. Treasurer. — William H. Lucas. Solicitor. — William H. Sutton. Members whose Term expires September 30, 1885. George H. Stuart. Hon. W. B. Hanna, D.C.L. William H. Sutton. Samuel E. Shipley. Joseph H. Schenck, M.D. Levi D. Brown. Samuel C. Perkins. Joseph B. Van Dusen. Edwin J. Howlett. Members whose Term expires September 30, 1886. William M. Wilson. j Joseph Thompson. H. E. Dwight, M.D., D.D. ' Samuel G. Lewis, Henry M. Kimmey. Horatio G. Kern. William Holloway, M.D. J. Lewis Crew. Members whose Term expires September 30, 1887. Thomas L. Gillespie. Andrew H. Miller. William Gulager. William M. Capp, M.D. William H. Lucas. 82 Solomon Smucker, Jr. John H. Watt. William Waterall. Eben C. Jayne. STANDING COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD. On Office. — William Waterall, Henry M. Kimmey, Wil- liam Holloway, M.D., Andrew H. Miller, William H. Lucas, Joseph H. Schenck, M.D., Joseph Thompson, Eben C. Jayne, William M. Capp, M.D. On Supplies. — Solomon Smucker, Jr., Levi D. Brown, Edwin J. Howlett. On Finance. — Samuel G. Lewis, John H. Watt, Horatio G. Kern. On Anniversary and Public Meetings. — Henry E. Dwight, M.D., D.D., William Holloway, M.D., Edwin J. How- lett, William Gulager, Levi D. Brown. On Publications and Printing. — William Holloway, M.D., William Waterall, William Gulager, Henry E. Dwight, M.D., D.D., William M. Capp, M.D. On Employment. — William Holloway, M.D., Joseph H. Schenck, M.D., Samuel E. Shipley, John B. Van Dusen, J. Lewis Crew. On Legacies. — Andrew H. Miller, Hon. W T illiam B. Hanna, D.C.L., Samuel C. Perkins. Auditors. — Horatio G. Kern and John H. Watt. Missionary. — John Barry. Visitor.— J. W. Field. General Agent. — Emanuel H. Toland. 83 OFFICERS AND MANAGERS WHO HAVE SERVED FROM 1835 TO 1885. 1835. J. M. Thomas. 1840. Orrin Eogers. 1841. Samuel S. Cain. 1842. S. W. Cade. Presidents. 1 1843. James I. Boswell. 1851. Chris. E. Spangler. 1856. George H. Stuart. 1 1875. Thomas L. Gillespie. Vice-Presidents. 1839. Geo. Loudenschlager. 1841. Joseph T. Morrison. 1842. Elwood H. Stokes. 1843. Edmund J. Yard. 1845. William Coffin. 1849. Chris. E. Spangler. 1851 George H. Stuart. 1856. Edward H. Worne. 1857. Matthew Newkirk. 1860. Isaac K. Smith. 1862. Alexander G. Cattell. 1870. Thomas L. Gillespie. 1874. Samuel R. Shipley. 1875. Samuel G. Lewis. Treasurers. 1835. Thomas K. Peterson. 1842. Thomas T. Mason. 1877. Andrew H. Miller. 1882. William H. Lucas. Corresponding Secretaries. 1835. Orrin Rogers. 1841. Joseph T. Whitecar. 1843. Benjamin Matthias. 1845. John G. Miller. 1874. Joseph H. Schenck. Recording Secretaries. 1835. C. P. Fessenden. 1840. P. K. Hoeflich. 84 1874. W. M. Capp, M.D. MANAGERS 1835-85. 85 Solicitors. 1874. Hon.Wm.H. Sutton. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1835. 1838. 1838. 1841. 1841. 1841. 1841. Managers. J. M.Thomas. J 841 Geo. Loudenschlager. 1841, C. P. Fessenden. Orrin Rogers. Thomas K. Peterson. Joseph T. Elsegood. Lambert Wilmer. John F. Rudolph. William C. Griffith. Henry CI egg. Joseph Thompson. James Beck. Charles Stackpole. Israel Jones. L. Dorphey. Henry Haydock. John Street. John G. Smith. Peter Y. Calder. Daniel Beidelman. Washington Pedrick. William Barnes. R. T. Kensil. Rudolph K. Hoeflich. Thomas T. Mason. Zophar C. Howell. James Perry. William Bovard. Charles L. Orum. 1841. 1841. 1841. 1841. 1841. 1841. 1841. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. 1842. Richard Jennings. John Hickman. Robert Maguire. Wendall W. Fraley. Thomas L. Smith. James Watts. Joseph T. Whitecar. Richard Woodrop. Charles McCall. Edmund S. Yard. George C. Kooken. George Smith. T. I. Byre, Jr. S. Ross. I. Colesbury. Samuel S. Cain. El wood H. Stokes. Alexander Coyle. Edmund J. Yard. John Hartley. Thomas H. Stephens. W. C. Poulson. Robert Jennings. S. W. Cade. Thomas Brewer. William Wilson. M. H. Treadwell. G. M. White. R. McGrath, M.D. 86 MANAGERS 1835-85. 1843. Samuel W. Stockton. 1 1848. 1843. Jacob Carrigan. j 1848. 1843. George M. White. 1 1849. 1843. Samuel Irwin. s 1849. 1843. Samuel Ashmead. ' 1849. 1843. Willoughby H. Reed. \ 1849. 1843. Samuel Sappington. 1849. 1843. James I. Bos well. 1850. 1844. W. P. Hacker. 1850. 1844. Thomas Percival. 1850. 1844. James McCrea. j 1850. 1844. John H. Githens. 1 1850. 1844. David G. Walton. j 1851. 1845. Robert Wilson. I 1851. 1845. G. A. Shorjock. 1851. 1845. Colson Heiskill. ; 1852. 1845. Elihu D. Tarr. ; 1852. 1845. Jonathan Mulford. 1 1852. 1845. John Anspach, Jr. j 1852. 1846. Wilson Dunton. 1852. 1846. C. E. Spangler. 1852. 1846. Chas. Wannemacher. 1852. 1846. Eliashile Tracy. 1853. 1846. George H. Stuart. 1853. 1846. Thomas Harris. 1853. 1846. Wilfred Hall. 1854. 1846. George Fithian. 1854. 1846. Edwin Booth. 1854. 1847. Thomas Powers. 1854. 1847. J. B. Longacre. 1854. 1847. Robert Henderson. 1854. 1847. William M. Muzzey. 1855. 1847. John H. Githens. ' 1855. William Coffin. John Eckel. Joseph H. Hildeburn. William Raigoul. Francis N. Buck. A. H. Julian. Thomas S. Foster. J. G. Wilson. Joseph Walton. J. Sibley. T, Watson. Caleb Jones. B. A. Fahnestock. John M. Ford. Charles Harkness. John Tucker. John W. Thomas. A. T. Chur. George Nugent, Jr. Harry Conrad. William C. Ludwig. Joseph B.Vandusen. Lewis Audenreid. Isaac R. Smith. Thomas Clark. Daniel M. Fox. Robert Knight. John A. Brown. Benjamin Milnes. Joseph E. Hover. James Appleton. Charles Santee. I. S. Cummings. MANAGERS 1835-85. 87 1855. Samuel S. Shriver. 1855. E. H. Worne. 1855. James M. Billings. 1855. Chas. H. Curnmings. 1855. William N. Whitaker. 1855. Joseph Maxfield. 1856. Robert Shoemaker. 1856. Jacob M. Johnson. 1856. James B. Rodgers. 1856. Matthew Newkirk. 1856. T. Esmoude Harper. 1856. Alexander T. Lane. 1856. Thomas Pedrick. 1856. H. M. Kimmey. 1857. Dwight J. McCann. 1857. Samuel Mullen. 1857. Francis Bacon. 1857. James Neal. 1857. Hiram Miller. 1859. James P. Butler. 1859. James W. Carson. 1859. D. W. C. Moore. 1860. Henry L. Benner. 1860. Robert P. King. 1860. Thomas Potter. 1860. John Wiest. 1861. Samuel Work. 1861. Alexander G. Cattell. 1861. Robert Grigg. 1866. Thomas L. Gillespie. 1867. George W. Hill. 1867. Jacob A. Gardner. 1868. George B. Bains. 1868. Alexander Whildin. 1868. Rene Guillou. 1868. James H. Eldridge. 1868. Hon. Wm. B. Hanna, D.C.L. 1869. Andrew Robeno, Jr. 1869. Horatio G. Kern. 1870. William M. Wilson. 1870. Henry Disston. 1870. Wm. M. Capp, M.D. 1870. A. H. Franciscus. 1870. Samuel G. Lewis. 1870. Thomas T. Tasker. 1870. Peter B. Simmons. 1870. A. L. Kaub. 1870. Theodore Bliss. 1871. William J. Miller. 1871. Caleb J. Milne. 1871. George Illman. 1871. H. H. Wilson. 1871. R. P. Gillingham. 1871. John H. Watt. 1871. H. B. Lincoln. 1871. I. S. Custer. 1872. Andrew H. Miller. 1872. John A. Stoddart, 1872. Solomon Smucker, Jr. 1873. T. R. Davis. 1873. Hon. W. H. Sutton. 1873. John A. Stoddart, 1873. Samuel R. Shipley. 1873. Wm. Holloway, M.D. 1874. David C. Landis. 88 MANAGERS 1835-85. 1874. Geo. W. Huntzinger. 1 1878. 1874. J. H. Schenck, M.D. 1878. 1875. E. A. Crenshaw. 1878. 1875. William H. Lucas. 1879. 1875. William Waterall. 1879. 1875. William Gulager. 1879. 1877. Henry E. D wight, 1879. M.D., D.D. 1 1883. 1878. Lewis Thompson. j 1883. Eben C. Jayne. Joseph Thompson. Wm. M. Shoemaker. William L. Dubois. Levi D. Brown. Samuel C. Perkins. George R. Kellogg. Edwin J. Howlett. J. Lewis Crew. OUR MISSIONARIES : THEIR CAREER AND THEIR OFFICES. In 1834 three young men, known in the M. E. Church as "exhorters," felt deeply concerned at " the waste places throughout the city and county of Philadelphia." Their names were John Street, Thomas K. Peterson, and Lambert Wilmer. Of these Mr. Street soon went to South America, and was not actively identified with the H. M. S. until 1837, when his name again appears on the Board of Man- agers. Mr. Street aspired to rise from his position as an " exhorter" to that of a " preacher's appointment," and not satisfied with one, " took up two under the Presiding Elder of the Philadelphia District." These were, one at Evans- burg, the other at Lumberville, Pennsylvania, being part of what was called the " Norristown Circuit." Rev. John A. Roach, D.D., was "taken from the Circuit" — i.e., Evans- burg and Lumberville — and "stationed at Norristown" in 1836. Mr. Street "took his appointments at Evansburg and Lumberville, preached in those places one year, and received S80 for his services" A preacher under appoint- ment with wife and children on such a salary ! At the close of the ecclesiastical year the u Norristown Circuit applied to the Conference for Mr. Street to return." At the same meeting of the Philadelphia Conference in 1837 his name was presented by St. George's Church of Philadelphia as a travelling preacher, and he was recom- mended by the " Quarterly Conference" of Evansville and 89 90 MISSIONARIES: THEIR OFFICES. Lnmberville Circuit." Presented by Rev. James Smith, Presiding Elder, and urged by Rev. Dr. John P. Durbin, Rev. James B. Heageny, and Rev. Robert Gerry, his request was approved. Bishop Hedding was anxious that he should be received, but " as the Philadelphia Conference was crowded at that time, Mr. Street, with his wife and four children, if re- ceived, would, have afflicted other ministers in the Conference" Misery loves company, and John Street's application was withdrawn at the same time with that of Mr. David Kol- lock, a well-known citizen of Southwark, who, with his brother Street, remained efficient and useful ministers of the Gospel in Philadelphia in spite of their "rejected ad- dresses." What was a real loss to some church " in the Philadelphia Circuit" was a great gain to the Home Mis- sionary Society of the City of Philadelphia. Few men could have filled, or did fill, the sphere of usefulness in which Rev. John Street so ably and faithfully served for nearly twenty years " on a stated salary of $500 annually, if he could collect it" The preceding pages show what his work was and how he was peculiarly honored of God. His fearless and earnest proclamation of the truth, his ten- der sympathy with the poor, and his tireless energy in the service of Christ will not be forgotten for generations yet unborn. During the last twenty-five years he has been remarkably successful in business, and as he approaches fourscore with a fine family of sons and daughters, he can say with the Psalmist, " I have not seen the righteous for- saken or his seed begging bread." In 1850, after Mr. Street had served continuously for twelve years as the sole Missionary and Agent, Rev. Roland T. Kensil was appointed his assistant, and served till 1857. In 1853, John P. Arrison was added to the list of missionaries, and served as such till 1859, when he became MISSIONARIES: THEIR OFFICES. 91 General Agent, which office he held till 1866. At the time of his death he had been connected with the Society thirteen years. Eev. Thomas S. Durham, James Nolen, William Brobston, Albert G. Roland, were all appointed in 1856, and all served till 1857, when Rev. S. W. Ziegler took the place of William Brobston, and remained till 1861. In 1855 and 1856 nearly $3000 annually were paid for missionary salaries, as the mission-schools and location of destitute children demanded the outlay. In 1866, Wilmer W. Walter was chosen Missionary, and re- mained till 1881. During these fifteen years Mr. Walter was largely engaged in the distribution of trust funds committed to our care for certain beneficiaries. On the retirement of Mr. Walter, Mr. John Barry took his place as Missionary, and Mr. J. W. Field as Visitor of our children, who have rendered excellent service in the spheres of labor committed to their care. Messrs. Rowland and Kensil, well known for their devotion to the poor, were also employed by the Philadelphia Tract Society. The self-denying labors of these men, especially in the sphere of mission-schools and the indenture of destitute children, have been already referred to. They deserve the commendation of every public-spirited citizen and philan- thropist for their work in all the various departments of the Home Missionary Society. Rev. Emanuel H. Toland, General Agent of the Home Missionary Society, was elected to that office in July, 1866, and. began his duties in October of the same year. He had previously been connected with the Union Benevo- lent Association, Sabbath-School Association, The Southern Home for Destitute Children, and the Ladies' Union City Mission for ten years, dividing his time among them. For twenty years he has been entirely devoted to the 92 MISSIONARIES: THEIR OFFICES. interests of the Home Missionary Society. Born and trained in Philadelphia, of a well-known and excellent family, he has been connected with the M. E. Church for almost half a century, and as a local preacher and ordained deacon and elder for nearly forty years. At the earnest solicitation of Mr. Thomas T. Mason, who for thirty-three years was our Treasurer, he resigned all the positions which he had held to become our Agent. Owing to the protracted sickness and death of Mr. John P. Arrison, a devoted layman of the Presbyterian Church, who had served the Society acceptably for ten years, the office was vacant for eight months, and the Treasury nearly exhausted. From this cause the amount of money re- ceived in 1866 was only $4634, of which $720 was re- ceived by collections from the churches. In 1867 the amount received was over $7000, and increased steadily in some years until it amounted to twelve or thirteen thou- sand dollars. For fifteen years previous to 1868 the H. M. S. had rented rooms at 507 North Street, between Market and Arch Streets, at 42 West Fifth Street, at 531 North Street, and at 25 East North Street. During the agency of Rev. Mr. Street the Society's office was at his residence, 157 Old York Road. But in 1869 the H. M. S. purchased the house No. 533 Arch Street for a permanent residence, which they Tiave occupied since that date. A bequest of $5000 had been received from the estate of the late John Wright, Esq., for the purchase of real estate, and invested in United States gold bonds. The additional sum of $2100 had also been collected for the purchase of the property. The mortgage on the property has been paid by subsequent bequests. ANNIVERSARY SPEAKERS FROM 1835 TO 1885. 1835. Kev. Dr. Durbin. 1836. Bishop Hedding. 1837. Rev. J. Woolson. 1838. Rev. Matthew Simpson. 1839. Rev. Dr. Durbin. 1840. Rev. John McClintock. 1841. Rev. Anthony Atvvood. 1842. Rev. John N. Maffit. 1843. Rev. John Chambers, D.D. 1844. Rev. Dr. Durbin. 1845. Rev. Thomas H. Stockton. 1846. Rev. Dr. Dales. 1847. Rev. John Chambers, D.D. 1848. Rev. Dr. J. F. Berg. 1849. Rev. Dr. Willetts. 1850. Rev. Dr. C. A. Wadsworth. 1851. Rev. Dr. Nicholas Murray. 1852. Rev. D. W. Bartine, D.D., Rev. Mr. Myer, Rev. William D. Regan. 1853. Rev. J. Chambers, D.D., Rev. A. A. Willetts, D.D. 1854. Rev. Dr. Jenkins, Rev. Dr. Dales, Rev. Mr. Rob- inson. 1855. Rev. J. W. Smith, D.D., Rev. J. B. Dales, D.D. 1856. Rev. J. Ley burn, D.D., Rev. D. W. Bartine, D.D. 1857. Rev. A. Cook man, Rev. R. Jeffrey, Rev. F. Moore. 1858. Rev. Wm. J. R. Taylor, Rev. Kingston Goddard. 1859. Rev. Dr. Wm. T. Brantley, Rev. J. W. Craycraft. 1860. Rev. J. W. Jackson, Rev. B. T. Noakes. 93 94 ANNIVERSARY SPEAKERS. 1861. Eev. Dr. E. S. Henson, George H. Stuart, Esq. 1862. Rev. Dr. E. E. Adams, Eev. Mr. Chaplain. 1863. Rev. Dr. Thomas Brainerd, Rev. R. Jeffrey, Rev. F. Moore. 1864. Rev. Mr. Colton, Rev. Dr. Adams. 1865. Rev. Dr. Wylie. 1866. Rev. G. D. Boardman, D.D., Rev. Mr. Suydam. 1867. Rev. J. Spencer Kennard, D.D., Rev. A. J. Ky- nett, D.D. 1868. Ex-Governor Pollock, Rev. J. Neill, Rev. A. A. Willetts, D.D. 1869. Rev. Dr. D wight, Rev. T. J. Wylie, D.D., Rev. John Ruth. 1870. Rev. Alexander Reed, D.D., Rev. J. H. Torrence, Rev. J. Neil. 1871. Rev. H. C. McCook, D.D., J. W. Custis. 1872. Rev. H. A. Cleveland. 1873. Rev. George J. Mingins, Ex-Governor Pollock. 1874. Rev. Dr. Harper, Rev. Dr. Willitts. 1875. Rev. Dr. Dwight, Samuel R. Shipley, Esq. 1876. Rev. Dr. McVickar, Rev. J. A. D. Hughes, and Dr. Henson. 1877. Rev. Dr. Currie, Rev. H. Westwood. 1878. Rev. Jacob Todd, D.D. 1879. Rev. James Morrow, Rev. J. W. Smith, D.D., Rev. Dr. Willetts. 1880. Rev. Dr. T. T. Everett, Rev. J. R. Ashton. 1881. Rev. Dr. Colfelt, Rev. Dr. Todd. 1882. Rev. Reese F. Alsop, D.D., Rev. Dr. Tiffany. 1883. Rev. Dr. A. J. Kynett, Rev. Dr. Robbins, Rev. Dr. G. D. Boardman. 1884. Rev. Drs. Vernon and Hoyt, Rev. W. D. Roberts. IN MEMORIAL* The intelligence of the death of Rudolph K. Hoef_ LICH, for nearly forty years the Secretary of this Society, and one of its original founders, and always, during his connection with it, one of its most constantly devoted and energetic supporters, having been announced to this Board, the following minute w r as directed unanimously to be spread upon the record : Resolved, That the Board of Managers of the " Home Missionary Society of the City of Philadelphia" desires to record its sense of high appreciation and esteem for the noble and Christian character, the integrity of life, and the devotion to usefulness — manifested in his untiring attention to the management, as one of its Board of Managers, of the affairs of this Society — of the late Rudolph K. Hoef- lich. In his death is recognized the passing to his reward of a good man ; and they feel called upon to imitate him in all right living, even as he imitated our Great Exemplar. Testimonial Resolutions by the Board of Managers of the Home Missionary Society of the City of Philadel- phia on the death of Thomas T. Mason : Whereas, The all-wise Creator has in His overruling providence called from labor to rest our beloved friend and fellow-laborer, Thomas T. Mason, therefore be it * Mr. Hoeflich died March 7, 1877, aged fifty-nine. 95 96 IN MEMORIAM. Resolved, That we, the Officers and Managers of the Home Missionary Society of the City of Philadelphia, rev- erently bowing to the authority of Him who has the issues of life and death in His hands, do nevertheless sensibly realize the great loss our Society has sustained in the death, of a valuable member, one who helped to advance the Society, and who for thirty -three years served faithfully as its Treasurer, watching over its funds and general interests with a fidelity that urgently calls for these feeble words of honest praise. And be it further Resolved, That we feel it to be our duty to bear testi- mony that Mr. Mason, in the discharge of his duties as Manager, Treasurer, and recently as General Collector of our Society, did all willingly and cheerfully in the spirit and name of his blessed Master, who has now called him home. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be presented to the family, and that the Board attend the funeral in a body from his late residence, No. 419 Arch Street, on Monday afternoon, the 14th instant, at three o'clock. Dr. Henry E. D wight at the Anniversary held at the Spring Garden M. E. Church, delivered a touching address, in which he referred feelingly to the death of Mr. Thomas T. Mason, a member of the Board of Managers. Mr. Mason was one of the original founders of the Society ; for forty-two years a constant and active member of the Board of Managers; for thirty-three years Treasurer, and for sev- eral years its Collector. The pneumonia which caused his death was caught while he was collecting funds for the Society, at the advanced age of seventy-two years. TESTIMONY OF THE PRESS. [From the Public Ledger.] The Home Missionary Society of the City of Philadelphia — Its Origin and Objects. — The Home Missionary Society of the City of Philadelphia was organ- ized about the year 1835 by a number of young men, its objects then being the distribution of tracts to the large number of boatmen who then crowded along the Schuyl- kill River, and the holding of cottage prayer-meetings in the narrow courts and streets, especially in neighborhoods that were almost destitute of churches. One noted place was known as Taylor's Alley dance-house, and here hun- dreds of dissolute and abandoned persons received religious instruction and were converted, afterwards connecting them- selves with churches of different denominations. The first business-meeting was held at 127 Old York Road, above Button wood, in a small frame house. In the year 1837, Rev. John Street took charge of the Mission, on a salary of §500 per year, and this amount was raised by one- dollar subscriptions. After a few years it was found neces- sary to afford temporal relief to the poor from the above- mentioned house to hundreds of applicants. Most of the early missionaries were in part associated with the Tract Society, from which they obtained their tracts, and in their daily visits they would often find many cases of extreme suffering and want, which they were enabled to relieve through the Home Missionary Society. 1845 was a mem- 7 97 98 TESTIMONY OF THE PRESS. orable year with the Society, when it was incorporated, embracing in its management gentlemen of various denom- inations, and this feature it has retained ever since. From the beginning of the Society it has sought to ameliorate the condition of the poor of the entire city by giving them temporal and spiritual relief, and in every possible way to elevate the unfortunate, to comfort and strengthen the weak, and to provide for the destitute. The sick and dying have been visited and provided with physicians and medicines, and strangers have been shel- tered, fed, and clothed by it. Wanderers have been re- claimed, and transportation furnished to thousands who desired to reach distant homes and friends, and such as were found needing hospital care were sent there. Desti- tute and neglected children have been removed from sur- roundings of vice, wretchedness, and want, and placed under the auspices of the Society in good homes in the country. Over 3000 have thus been cared for, and have grown up to maturity, becoming respectable and useful members of society. This organization was one of the first agencies that undertook this class of charitable work aside from the Guardians of the Poor. The various reports of the agents during the forty-two years of the Society's existence abun- dantly show the utility and importance of this part of its operations. The officers relate many instances of children who through their efforts and the influence of the Society have succeeded well in life. The Society has also been the almoner of many of our wealthy citizens in helping needy applicants and also in- vestigating cases that have been brought to their notice. It may be interesting to know the manner in which applicants obtain relief. A needy person presents herself TESTIMONY OF THE PRESS. 99 to one of the contributors or at the office of the Society, No. 533 Arch Street, and, after making known her wants, receives a card, which she hands to the Missionary, John Barry, or to the General Agent, Emanuel H. Toland. The latter's district is south of Market Street, and the former's is north of that thoroughfare. The man in whose district her residence is, visits it, and if her story is found to be true, the party who gave her the card is promptly notified, and she is at the same time supplied with what- ever necessaries she may require. In this way applicants deserving of help have been furnished with coal, groceries, shoes, clothing, bedding, medicines, stoves, furniture, and in fact with whatever the needy condition required. In this way, during the past fiscal year, 12,639 families have been relieved in one manner or another. One thing should also be noted, and that is that no hungry person is permitted to leave the office of the Society without re- ceiving proper help. Impostors, as a matter of course, often turn up, but the card system has aided greatly in their detection, and in preventing their continued impo- sition upon the public. The Society is now assisting the managers of the Seashore House at Atlantic City in visiting and examining all applicants for admission to that insti- tution. VOICES FROM THE PULPIT. Rev. Dr. Colfelt: " And this is the grand encomium that I would pass on this Society. With a report like that it can never be said that this is a charitable society, but there is no charity in it. With gifts recorded in tons, rather than in pounds, the hand of detection is mantled in the hand of charity." Rev. Dr. Todd : " God's poor are our brothers, and God's storehouse is the common place of supply for us both. If we have been intrusted for the time with the keys, we at the same time have been commanded by our Lord ' to be ready to distribute/ not grudgingly nor of necessity, for God ' loveth a cheerful giver.' " Rev. Dr. Alsop : " This Home Missionary Society under- takes to visit with bread in one hand and the truth in the other. Its motto is not like that of some other societies, — 1 Send her away, for she crieth after us,' — for this Society remembers the promise and the prophecy, 'The poor ye have always with you.' Hence widows and children have learned to call it blessed. It asks for your sympathy and aid that it may go on in its blessed and blessing work. Shall we help it, and so share its benediction ?" Rev. Dr. Tiffany : " Have we not abundant reason to bless God for the existence of such a society, and that He has continued it for nearly half a century of active useful- ness ? Is it not a privilege to encourage these Managers and their agents in their self-denial and devotion, and to say in our petitions at the mercy-seat, ' May God bless the efforts of The Home Missionary Society, and crown its labors with His own blessing' ?" 100 3/ e