Memoirs of Rev. John Leighton Wilson, missionary to Africa and Secretary of Foreign Missions

Front matter

7, '^^

^ PRINCETON, N. J.

Purchased by the Hainmill Missionary Fund.

Preface

AT the opening of the Synod of South Carolina in 1890, a memorial address was delivered on the life and character of Dr. J. Leighton Wilson, from the text, "King in Salem, priest of the most high God." Some members of his family requested that a brief memoir be prepared. For three years the subject was frequently on thQ mind, but during the last mission year, from September to June, not more than twenty-four hours were given to the work at home. It was on boat trips and during three summers that the materials were collected and arranged. In the language of China's sage, the writer can say of this biography of the missionary sage of the South, "I am an editor, not an author." In narrative portions, copying from missionary journals, frequently two sentences were condensed into one for the sake of brevity. Could he have visited the relatives, conversed with the friends, and sought information personally, instead of by epistle, no doubt the pages might have been enriched by many incidents. To compensate for this, friends have been kind enough to say ' ' they were glad that Dr. Wilson's life was to be written by a missionary. ' ' A kind Providence watched over the pages that were sent to a distant land, especially over the old letters from Africa, yellow with age. When on the passage to China, during a storm, the baggage was immersed in lubricating oil, and one trunk was broken to pieces and the contents well soaked. The letters were in the other trunk, else they would have been illegible.

6 Preface.

We are indebted to the venerable Rev. Dr. C. C. Baldwin, of Foochow, now nearing his jubilee, for the loan of the old volumes of the Missionary Herald; to our compagno7i de voyage , Mr. G. L. D. Paine, of Boston, for the gift oi Missions and Science; and to the Rev. B. F. Wilson for furnishing the portrait of his great-uncle.

Valuable aid has been received from the Rev. J. B, Adger, D. D., Rev. J. J. Bullock, D. D., Mrs. J. N. Craig, Mrs. Anna Eckard Crane, Rev. R. L. Dabney, D. D., Dr. Gary Gamble, Rev. E. M. Green, D. D., Rev. M. H. Houston, D. D., Mr. John J. James, Miss Alice Johnson, Rev. J. A. Lefevre, D. D., Rev. W. J. McKay, D. D., Rev. W. W. Mills, Mr. Leighton C. Mills, Mrs. John S. Moore, Mrs. Essie Wilson Price,, Mr. Wm. Rankin, Rev. C. A. Stillman, D. D., Rev. and Mrs. J. L. Stuart, Rev. J. N. Waddell, D. D., LL. D., Rev. J. D. West, D. D., and Mrs. Jennie Woodrow Woodferidge. The two contributions received from Drs. Adger and Dabney were very touching, as they were written by amanuenses, as their eyes can no longer behold the light of the sun. With the exception of a few incidents, what they have written is indicated by quotation marks.

Some of those who labor for the spiritual welfare of the colored people may elect to keep a volume specially for circulation among them, as the subject of this sketch was their friend and benefactor.

We are indebted to the Rev. H. T. Graham for revising most of the chapters, and to the Rev. R. E. Mc Alpine for the revision of the others, and to the Rev. Dr. W. J. McKay and Rev. Dr. E. M. Green for correcting the sheets as they passed through the press.

H. C. D.

Contents

Faob.

Chapter I. Chapter H

Home, School, and College, 20

CHAPTER in.

Spiritual Preparation 29

CHAPTER IV.

In the Theological Hall, 33

CHAPTER V.

The Missionary Volunteer, 36

CHAPTER VI.

Seeking a Helpmeet, 42

CHAPTER VII.

The American Board and Western Africa, 45

CHAPTER VIII.

First Voyage to Africa, 63

CHAPTER IX.

Seven Years at Cape Palmas, 70

CHAPTER X.

In Perils and with Cannibals, 84

CHAPTER XL The Death of Colleagues, 89

CHAPTER XII.

The Manumission of his Slaves, 97

CHAPTER XIII.

The Itinerant Missionary, 106

CHAPTER XIV.

The Absent Wife; First Days at the Gaboon, 123

8 Contents.

Pack.

CHAPTER XV.

Life at the Gaboon, i43

CHAPTER XVI.

The French at the Gaboon, i59

CHAPTER XVn.

The Naturalist; Discovering the Gorilla, 171

CHAPTER XVIH.

The Linguist, 181

CHAPTER XIX.

The Author 190

CHAPTER XX.

Suppression of the Slave-trade 2iz

CHAPTER XXL Secretary in New York, 228

CHAPTER XXIL Charles Hodge and Leighton Wilson, 242

CHAPTER XXIII.

The Patriot, 247

CHAPTER XXIV.

Secretary of Domestic Missions, 257

CHAPTER XXV.

Secretary of Foreign Missions, 264

CHAPTER XXVI.

Preacher and Editor, 280

CHAPTER XXVII.

Residence in Salem 286

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Love for Children, 293

CHAPTER XXIX.

Life in Baltimore, 297

CHAPTER XXX.

His Last Year, 309

CHAPTER XXXI.

Character and Influence, 321.

John Leighton Wilson, d. d.

CHAPTER I. £tfc in Salem anb a ©oblij Ctncestry.

THE noble pioneers who carried the glad news of salvation to Asia, Africa and Oceanica, and laid the foundation of missionary work in reducing the languages to writing, translating the Bible, establishing schools, and organizing churches, have fallen asleep, and it is fitting that those who have entered into their labors study their lives and character in order that they may be incited to greater activity and more earnest consecration in the Master's service. It is also due to "the generation to come ' ' that we tell of the ardent piety, heroic deeds, and manifold toils and trials of the early missionaries, that they, too, may have a strong faith in the power of the gospel to convert the world. The sweet psalmist of Israel, "the anointed of the God of Jacob," sang :

" Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us, We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And his strength, and his wondrous works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which he commaded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children. That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be bom.

lb John Leighton Wilson, D. D.

Who should arise and tell them to their children; That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments."

A large portion of the Bible is devoted to biography. The gospel in all ages has been exhibited in the dailywalk and conversation of the true Israel. God has chosen the historical method of illustrating the precepts of the word ; and, selecting the holy men of Israel as the exponents of particular graces, has in the Scriptures given us the portraits of his saints. When we preach Christ, we preach him as manifestly set forth in the lives of his disciples. In comparing John the Baptist with the prophets who had gone before, and also with' the ' ' little ones ' ' who understood the wondrous redemption purchased upon Calvary, the Saviour leads us to infer that the saints under the New Testament dispensation may, even while here below, rise from one plane of glory to another ; and that in the character of one disciple there may be exemplified the greatness of Abraham, the pathos of David, the wisdom of Solomon, the enthusiasm of Isaiah, and the consecrated statesmanship of Daniel. The reader can in these pages study the work of the Holy Spirit in its moulding influence as it brings one of the sons of the kingdom into conformity with the mind and will of Christ.

The subject of this memoir could rejoice Ancestry ^^ ^^^ covcuaut blcssiug of a holy ancestr3% In the year 1734 there came to America in one vessel a colony of Presbyterians, who settled in Williamsburg County, South Carolina. These were the Wilsons, Jameses, Gordons, Friersons, Witherspoons and Ervins, and from these six families sprang Leighton Wilson, whose ancestry was wholly Scotch-

Life IN Salem AND A Godly Ancestry. ii

Irish. In the early history of the republic, the sterling character, inflexible courage, perfect honesty and wise conservatism of the Scotch-Irish settlers rendered them pillars in the temple of state. But most of all, their constant appeal to the law and the testimony, their strict observance of the Lord's day, and their rigid enforcement of family discipline, made them worthy citizens of the commonwealth .

The country which they settled as a home aiem s ^^^ themsclvcs and their children was per-

, Plains. ^

fectly level ; not waving or undulating, but absolutely flat, save beside the water-courses, which flowed through the swamps, filled with the bay, the water-oak and the cypress, and beautified by the flowering dogwood, the honeysuckle and the jessamine. On the uplands, except now and then the hickory and the oak, there is but one tree, the tall, long-leaf pine, whose foliage never rustles in the wind, its grand trunk rising fifty or eighty feet before a limb is extended, and its burrs peerless cones, adorning these umbrellas of the forest,, while the straw which covers the ground furnishes the softest carpet.

The homes in the earlier years of the century were plain, but comfortable. The house, a frame building of two stories, was faced on the four sides with a wide piazza, from which small rooms were cut off. Each home was provided with a book-case, in which was found Scott's or Henry's Commentary, the Family Library, the

Presbyterian standards, a number of volumes

Books. . , , .

of sermons, and ancient and modern histories. The voice of prayer and praise was heard morning and evening, the children were taught to work and to obey ; they were instructed in the Catechism and the Holy Scriptures, and brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It was a godly community. There was a church in every house.

Salem's hospitality was far-famed. The people were "lovers of hospitality." The belated traveler had but to rein his horses at the door, and he received a hearty welcome. Few "calls" were made ; it was usually ' ' to spend the day, ' ' and not infrequently ' ' to stay a week. ' ' For the noon-day dinner the bill of fare was stereotyped : a ham and large chickenpie, rice and corn bread, a great variet}' of vegetables deliciously prepared; this followed by dessert and coffee. In the morning a saddle-horse to ride over the plantation was placed at the disposal of the visitor.

The church was the centre of the community, the axis around which their hopes and joys revolved. The people believed in religion, talked of religion, taught religion, and made religion their chief concern. They gave double honor unto those who labored in word and doctrine, and counted their ministers as "holy men of God," who, as undershepherds, were to lead them into the ' ' green pastures. ' ' They gave heed how they heard, and the good seed fell into good ground and brought forth abundantly. They loved the sanctuary of Jehovah ; they ' ' offered in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy, ' ' and worshipped the Lord in "the beauty of holiness." A large handsome church, erected forty years

Mount Zion. ° ' •'

ago, with its porch upheld by massive Doric columns, is now the Mount Zion of that Presbyterian region, but before that time there was a square framebuilding with its high box-pulpit, and it was in this sanctuar}^ that the subject of this memoir worshipped in his youth.

On the Sabbath the grove was filled with horses and vehicles, as the people assembled for worship ; but what means that mighty chorus of voices that rises in such

delightful harmony? Lo ! it is Afric's sons underneath

the great arbor, who lift up the voice of

Afric's Sons, ° ^

praise to their great Creator. The minister first preaches to them ; then they fill the spacious galleries of the church and join in worship with the white congregation. Twice a year hundreds of colored communicants surround the communion tables to celebrate the dying love of their Saviour and Lord. Each master and mistress returns home on Sunday to assemble the servants to catechize and instruct them. The minister goes to some neighboring plantation and again preaches, and often during the six days of the week in the evening, while the flaming pine-knot lights up the darkness, he addresses the sons of Ham. They receive him as an angel of God, join with him in the service of song, listen to his exhortations, and when he departs they hold the stirrup as he mounts and bid him God-speed. Delightful was the relationship between the white pastor and his sable parishioners. This was Salem, the home of the Wilsons, and in the midst of these surroundings was the childhood of the Missionary-Secretary spent.

The study of the family tree is interesting. We can trace the lineaments of this Master in Israel in the faces of his ancestors :

WILSON. JAMES.

Robert Wilson m. Mary Gor- William James ?n. Elizabeth

don. Witherspoon.

Roger Wilson m. Mary Frier- John James m. Mary Dobin. son. John James m. Mary Ervin.

William Wilson m. Jane E. James.

John Leighton Wilson.

Three (and perhaps four) of those first-named above crossed the Atlantic together in the ship which landed the colony in the Carolina wilds. Robert Wilson, the founder of the Wilson family, of Black River, was born in 1 7 ID, or a century (less one year) previous to his great-grandson. As an illustration of how ' ' a little one may become a thousand, ' ' it may be mentioned that his son Roger was one of five children, and his grandson William one often, so the near relatives of John Leighton were legion. Of the two elder Wilsons the writer knows only of their reputation for eminent piety. They served God in their generation and he blessed them and their children. The Gordons and the Friersons were among the staunchest of the families of the Palmetto State. A large colony of the latter removed to Maury County, Tennessee.

History deals more fully with ancestors on the maternal side. William James was born in Wales, near the close of the seventeenth century, and on account of the persecutions of the Stuarts removed to County Down in Ireland. He afterwards joined the colony which emigrated to the Sunny South, and was one of the original elders of the Williamsburg Church, the mother of Presbyterianism in Eastern South Carolina.

His son, John James, also became a Pres-

Maj. John -u • i i i ■, ^ . .

James. Dytenau elder, and was a member of the onginal session of the Indiantown Church. He was in the prime of manhood when the Revolutionary struggles of the colonies began. He raised a company of volunteers, and this, with some others, formed the original brigade of partisans which, under the magnificent leadership of Francis Marion, immortaHzed itself in the struggle for American Hberty. He has left a name around which tradition has gathered many stories illustrative of mental vigor, personal intrepidity and patriotic ardor. His son, Captain John James, appears to have inherited, in no small measure, the same traits of character, and was also distinguished for the conspicuous part he bore in achieving the liberty of his country." He had seven sons and daughters ; and as the teacher may be made illustrious by his pupils, so may the father be honored by the character and virtues of his children.

One of the sons of Captain James was lam^ William E. James, who for thirty or forty

years was a member of the session of Darlington Church and one of the leading elders in the Synod of South Carolina. He was a man of stalwart frame and commanding presence, blessed with great wealth and noted for his liberal support of the gospel. He was never absent from the weekly prayer-meeting, and was exceedingly gifted in public prayer. His petitions were marked by their fervor, appropriateness and variety of expression, and were almost wholly in the language of Scripture. He was an efficient teacher and superintendent of the Sabbath-school. For ten years the writer sat in his class and can testify to his aptness to teach. He specially remembers when at the age of twelve the Book of Romans was studied, and how lucid were Mr. James' explanations. Though two and thirty years have passed since we sat with the watchers the night previous to his burial, yet it is a privilege to testify to our personal indebtedness to the religious instructions of this great and good ruler in Israel.

To the two brothers specially mentioned

Miss Lavinia 1.1 • • , 1

, here there was given a sister, who was sum-

James. " '

moned in 1830 to act the mother's part to the two little daughters of Rev. R. W. James ; and, when these were grown and married, to go in 1846 to the home of her brother William and care for his five motherless ones. A lady of great loveliness and amiability ofdispoi6 John Leighton Wii^son, D. D.

sition, and of marked energy and executive ability, she managed well the affairs of their households, and all of those whom she lovingly served rise up and call her blessed. This handmaid of the Lord labored much in the church, and was a succorer of many, especially of her beloved nephew on the coast of Africa. Another and younger sister, Sarah, was the mother of Rev. Dr. E. M. Green, who was to the subject of this memoir, his own son Timothy in the faith.

Rev. Robert Wilson James, the eldest uncle w' Tales of Lcightou Wilson, was born June 3, 1792; graduated at the South Carolina College in 1813 ; began the study of theology under the Rev. James W. Stevenson, D. D., of Tennessee, and completed the prescribed course at Princeton Seminary in 18 17. The next year he was called to the pastorate of Indiantown and Bethel Churches. He then accepted a call to Salem, Black River, where he labored till the time of his death, thirteen years afterwards. "He held in fine combination an active, penetrating intellect, a resolute will, sound judgment, and great gentleness and benevolence of spirit — a well-rounded man. Social and hospitable, he won and kept a large circle of friends. His manner of presenting and enforcing divine truth was highly original. He thought his own thoughts, and spake his own words. In the courts of the church his intellectual ability, wise counsel, and gentle deportment found ready recognition. His opinions, carefully matured and forcibly uttered, often determined the most important questions. While his peers readily accorded the esteem to which his merits entitled him, his younger brethren looked up to him with affectionate veneration. He was one of the original founders and earnest supporters of Columbia Seminary. He prepared very carefully his discourses for the ignorant sons of Preaching to Africa who flocked in great numbers from

the Sons . . , , .

of Ham. the large plantations on the river to hear his simple, lucid, earnest, and forcible presentation of gospel truth. He was largely instrumental in his own Synod in arousing a zeal in their spiritual welfare ; and it is probable that his profound interest in their spiritual condition was the means of directing the missionary enthusiasm of his young neighbor and kinsman, J. Leighton Wilson, toward the dark continent."

This is but a brief sketch of the life and labors of one of the most eminent ministers of South Carolina. It is introduced specially to show the early influences brought to bear upon the subject of this memoir. Here was a sedate and pious youth, with his mind partially fixed upon the ministry as his future calling ; what more natural than that his uncle, so well known for learning and piety, should be to him a pattern he might safely imitate? He visited frequently at his home, had access to his rare and ample library, sat under his ministry, listened to his counsels, and spent one winter under his roof. The nephew was the minister's friend and young companion. Blessed relationship !

Mr. William Wilson, Leighton' s father, was a planter. Like the patriarch Jacob, he was "a plain man dwelling in tents," which we mean only figuratively, for the frame house in which his distinguished son was born and died was the first house in that part of the country that was glazed and ceiled. He was a noble specimen of the Presbyterian eldership, a pillar in the house of the Lord. He feared God and commanded his children after him ; was just and honorable in his dealings with his fellow-men ; gentle and kind in his family relations, and exerted a wide influence for good in the community in which he Hved, He placed a high value upon education, and sought to confer upon his children the highest and choicest blessings of this life and of that to come. He was a man of wisdom and prudence, possessing "an excellent spirit," and, like Enoch, walked with God.

He married Miss Jane E. James, the eldest daughter of Capt. John James. It is an old adage that the son frequently inherits the moral qualities from the father and the intellectual from the mother, and in the subject of this memoir we find a happy blending of the gifts and graces of both the house of Wilson and the house of ., , , Tames. The gentleness and goodness, the

Moral and -' *=" ° , '

Intellectual purity and piety of the one; the splendid Character- physiquc, the wide intelligence, the sound judgment and strong common sense, the active energy, and the executive ability of the other. He possessed the nobleness of heart of the paternal, and the sterling qualities of mind of the maternal, side of the house. He was a Wilson in humility of soul, simplicity of life, loveliness of character, and consecration to the church ; but it was the James' blood coursing through his veins that made him a Joshua to the Southern Church in her days of poverty and desolation.

Besides the missionary to Africa, there were born in the house of William Wilson three sons, William, Samuel, and Robert. The first of these settled in Marion County, and the other two on the right and left of the old homestead. He had also three daughters : Mary, Mrs. Flinn Wilson; Martha, Mrs. W. E. Mills ; and Sarah, who never married. The last was a lady of remarkable intelligence, and the special correspondent of her absent brother. She was a great friend of the ministers ; among these one of the most beloved was the late Dr. Plumer.

On the 25th of March, 1S09, there was joy in the home, for a man-child was born there, and a few weeks afterwards the godly parents, at Mount Zion, presented him to the Lord. The father called him ' ' John Leighton," after the pious and eminent commentator, prophetic of the mantle of holy living and burning zeal which should fall on his shoulders. The young mother's words no doubt were, ' ' I have lent him to the Lord ; as long as he liveth shall he be lent to the Lord ' ' ; and as she returned home with the babe in her arms, she sang :

"Mine heart exulteth in the Lord, Mine horn is exalted in the Lord ; My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies ; Because I rejoice in thy salvation.

For there is none beside thee ; Neither is there any rock like our Lord. "

How little did Hannah know of the future of the great judge and prophet who anointed the first two kings of Israel ! In like manner Jane James Wilson scarcely imagined the conspicuous place in the world's evangelization that would be filled by her darling boy, now by dedication and baptismal seal a minor in the household and kingdom of Christ !

Chapter II

A CHORUS of voices sang "Home, Sweet Home" around the Wilson fireside. A godly and worthy father ; a gentle and loving mother ; strong, manlybrothers, full of life and generous impulses ; and three sisters, intelligent, affectionate, and winning; it was the abode of peace and joy. There was plenty with frugality, an abundance of earth's stores with the economical expenditure of the same ; perfect contentment with the added blessing of godliness. They visited among relatives and friends living in the neighborhood, entertained with lavish hospitalit)^ and the younger members of the family enjoyed the pic-nic, the social gathering, and the pleasant holidays. Amidst these happ}' surroundings was Leighton's childhood spent.

He grew to manhood not in the busy mart _ or in the counting-room on a crowded street,

but upon his father's plantation, as free as the bird that flies in the air, or the squirrel that leaps upon the limbs of the tree. The boy on the Carolina farm at an early age learns to ride and drive a horse, and to feed and curry him. He can plant the kitchen garden and use the spade and the hoe. He can grasp the plow handle and drive the furrow through the broad acres, and knows how and when to plant, "chop," pick, gin, and pack the cotton, and can by muscular strength turn a five hundred pound bale on its end. He can cUmb

Home, School, and College. 21

the tall trees, set traps for birds, hunt rabbits, fish in the streams, bag a covey of partridges, shoot deer, and engage in a hundred athletic sports of the field and forest. It was by this out-door exercise that the subject of this sketch grew in stature to the height of six feet one inch, rather heavily built, with broad shoulders and a splendid chest, and laid the foundation of that remarkable physical strength which served him for nearly twenty years in the African jungle and for over thirty years in the mission-rooms.

His early education was conducted in the log school-house in the country, and there is a family tradition that, in order to be free from interruptions, he would climb a pine tree to study his Latin. Without vouching for the truth of the story — for to ascend the straight, smooth trunk of the monarch of the Southern forest is no easy task — it goes to prove that Leighton at an early age developed studious habits, and that in his first days at school he had classical teachers. His father was long since laid in the grave, but were it possible to call up his shade, we would like to inquire what there was about this son that caused him to pay such special attention to his education. He must have seen something in the boy which seemed to forecast his future. To

Academy. . . . ,

pursue his academic studies he sent him to the fine school at Springville, in the adjoining county of Darlington, and after that to Scion College or High School at Winnsboro, S. C, at that time under the superintendence of a noted teacher, Dr. Samuel Stafford. At this institution, in the olden time, many of the distinguished men in the State were educated. He also spent one winter under the instruction of his uncle, the Rev. R. Wilson James, who, as we have noticed in the previous chapter, was not only distinguished for his preaching ability, but was also eminent for his learning. Perhaps it was he who first suggested to his father the expediency of giving Leighton a finished education.

The next step proved the father's wnsdom. At that time the reputation of the South Carolina College at Columbia for a high standard of scholarship was well established, and there was a distinguished and accomplished facultj' teaching in her classic halls. Yet unfortunately, the president. Dr. Cooper, was an avowed infidel! His influence against religion was being felt through the State, and the young men of the commonwealth were being tainted with skepticism. It was not till after some years had passed that public sentiment became so strong that he was ejected from his position, and a chair established for teaching the evidences of Christianity.

Mr. Wilson, the elder who feared God, re-

College.

solved that he would not expose his son to any influence that would shake his faith in the truth of the gospel, so he sent him in 1827, at the age of eighteen, to Union College at Schenectady, New York, then under the able presidency of Dr. Nott. It was a costly undertaking. When young Wilson was near graduation he sent to his father for his travelling expenses home and says : " If I come all the way by land it will cost $250. If by water to Charleston $40 less will answer. I shall be content to follow either course that you suggest. ' '

Before he entered college, probably previous to the time he went to school at Darlington, he united with the people of God on profession of his faith in Christ, under the pastorate, it is supposed, of Mr. Harrington. Among the Presbj^terian families of Salem, it was not infrequent that the children of the covenant at an early

Home, School, and College. 23

age came before the church session and took upon themselves the vows that believing parents had made for them in infancy. He was a consistent and exemplary member of the church.

He entered the junior class at Union College in the fall of 1827 and graduated in the summer of 1829. His ocean voyages began in his boyhood, for he took his passage at Charleston and sailed for New York. A few of his college epistles, addressed to his sisters, have come down to us after the lapse of threescore and five years. His first letter tells of two severe maladies, sea-sickness and home-sickness, but he soon regains his spirits and writes of his surroundings : "I am well pleased with the college and the young men here. I have a good many warm friends in the place, and have had repeated exhibitions of the sincerity of their friendship for me. ' '