Life of Richard Fuller, D.D.

Preface

IT is not without anxiety that I have undertaken this work. The remarkable character to be depicted, the interest and variety of the questions involved, necessarily produce the feeling. But other considerations have outweighed this reluctance. The wishes of the family, with the assurance of sympathy and approval on the part of numerous friends whose judgment I respect, have determined me, in humble reliance on the blessings of God, to undertake the work.

A serious difficulty presented itself at the outset, — the absence of any diary or memoranda kept by Dr. Fuller himself. In the case of men like Chalmers, Guthrie, and Frederick Robertson, — men of kindred genius, — or, in our own land, men like Judson, •Baron Stow, and J. B. Taylor, abundant material was at hand in the full diaries that were kept by the illustrious dead. But, with the exception of a few fragments and valuable letters, Dr. Fuller left no papers of the kind. Like a ship gone over the sea, the waves seemed to close up on a trackless path. But some who have sailed near that ship have watched its progress ; and, though the disappearance of that majestic form has left a sad blank on the horizon, it will still be a source of melancholy satisfaction to the writer, and of interest and profit, possibly, to the reader, to look over these notes of a very remarkable life.

4 PREFACE.

The compiler of these pages is prompted to the work by feelings of mingled love, reverence, and gratitude.

To the friends and admirers of the honored dead in all parts of the land he would here acknowledge his indebtedness for the valuable aid they have rendered.

With the prayer for the blessing of God on this record of a life of consecration to the noblest of all causes, I would inscribe this humble in memoriam to the denomination of which he was such an ornament, and to the Christian world which reveres and cherishes his memory.

J. H. C.

Washington, D.C., 1878.

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Contents

CHAP. PAGB

I. Beaufort, South Carolina 7

II. Early Religious History of Beaufort ... 10

Chapter I. Beaufort, South Carolina

" I know the secrets of a land : Fair is that land as evening skies, And cool, though in the heart it lies Of burning Africa."

SOME places give distinction to those who are born in them. Cicero, in one of his letters, writes that the name of a Roman citizen was an honor and a safeguard to the ends of the earth. Other places are distinguished by the names associated with them. To this class belongs the little town named at the head of this chapter.

It is little more than half way from Charleston to Savannah. After leaving Charleston by steamer by what is known as the outside or sea route, you steer south-west, in sight of the low-lying Edisto Islands, until, after some four hours' travel, the dark outline of what are called " The Hunting Islands " rises directly over the bow. Soon you are over St. Helena bar. Running sometimes over broad sheets of water, then through channels so narrow that one could almost leap from the deck to the shore, after a sharp turn round Pigeon Point you sweep into the noble river where the tide comes in from the south, and the next moment you are at the wharf of the good old town of Beaufort. If not " the joy of the whole earth," as Jerusalem was, it is certainty "beautiful for situation. " We have approached the town from the north. From the south, the Savannah side, the river runs up to the town in almost a straight line from the sea, distant from twelve to fifteen miles. Coming from this direction at night, you would see the lights of the place for miles directly ahead, until Ity a sudden curve the steamer is at right angles to her former course, and } t ou are in what ma}^ be called the Ba} T of Beaufort.

Older than Charleston, and with a superior port of entrance, it was one of the first settlements in the Carolinas. Spanish and French adventurers, feeling their way along the coast, soon found the noble harbor of Port Royal. On the banks of these streams may still be seen the mounds and debris of what are called the "Old Forts," where these first settlers fortified themselves against the attacks of Indians, and adventurers like themselves. We have glowing accounts from some of these pioneers as to their discoveries in the waters and adjoining islands of Port Royal : —

" Here (Port Royal), on the 27th May, 1562, Ribault cast anchor in a depth of ten fathoms, at the opening of a spacious hay, which, from cape to cape, was three leagues wide, and formed the entrance to a noble river. The name of Port Royal was given to this river on account of its size and the beautiful scenery around it. The harbor he esteemed one of the best and fairest in the world; so that the largest ships of France, yea, the argosies of Venice, might enter in there. Having moored his vessels, Ribault with his soldiers went on shore, and was equally delighted with the stately cedars, the widespreading oaks, and the fragrant shrubs." — Rivers' s History of South Carolina, p. 21.

But the English soon drove out the French and Spanish element, and planted a colony of their own in Beaufort. The Province of Carolina at first embraced the whole region south of Virginia, and was formally settled under Charles II. In an age of adventure it is curious to see the professed

BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA. 9

motives of these lord-proprietors of the newly-discovered lands, as set forth in their charters.

The charter is dated March 24, 1663, and runs as follows : —

"Whereas our right trusty and right well-beloved cousins and counsellors, Edward Earl of Clarendon, &c, being excited with a laudable and pious zeal for the propagation of the Christian faith and the enlargement of our empire and dominion, have humbly besought leave of us to transport and make an ample colony of our subjects in the parts of America not yet cultivated or planted, and only inhabited by some barbarous people who have no knowledge of Almighty God," &c. — Rxvers's History, p. 62.

But God makes " the wrath of man to praise him." Out of the mixed and false motives of men in pursuit of their own personal ends of ambition and gain he brings forth the accomplishment of his own plans. Through French and Spanish adventure, and English daring and enterprise, the lowlands of Carolina were discovered and settled. After some changes of site and government, and occasional perils from Indian wars, the town of Beaufort was finally built, and continues to the present day, — somewhat of an old-fashioned town under the new dress and manners of the late revolution.

Chapter II. Early Religious History Of Beaufort

" How soft the music of those village-bells, Falling at intervals upon the ear ! "

THE march of events in history is generally after the following order : First the adventurer opens the way ; then the trader follows in his steps ; and then the missionary comes to supply what neither trade nor civilization can give, — " the truth as it is in Jesus." The Roman dominion before Christ prepared the way for the spread of the gospel ; and the discoveries of European adventurers on the American coast, for the planting of the Church of Christ on this continent.

From the grant to the proprietors we see how the Episcopal Church was at first the Established Church. The Puritans settled New England ; and, though flying from persecution in the old country, they soon made it rather warm in the new settlements for all who differed from them. High-church Episcopalians settled Virginia and the Carolinas, and with these it was essential to good breeding and sound doctrine to put down dissenters. But the tide of immigration compelled a more tolerant spirit.

In the year 1761, when the Episcopal Establishment was in full force, the vestry and church-wardens in Beaufort, in their letter to their correspondent in England requesting his aid in procuring for them a minister, gave it as their opinion that "a gentleman of a studious turn and regular deport-

EABLY RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF BEAUFORT. H

ment, who would maintain the authority of the church, without being austere, or rigid to dissenters, of whom there were many, would suit better than one of a contrary disposition. " — Ramsey's History of South Carolina. Statistical Account of Beaufort by Dr. Finley, p. 589.

Religious as well as civil liberty soon became the law of the land ; but to this day the spirit of the old hierarchy breathes around the spires of St. Michael's and St. Philip's in " the city by the sea." We well remember the awe inspired by the white surplices and flowing robes of the bishops and priests, and how the plain dress of the Baptist minister seemed to mark him as a being of inferior sanctity. Either in deference to popular sentiment, or from other motives, Baptist ministers like Furman and Manly used sometimes to don these robes. But "the pride and pomp and circumstance " was all the other way. The very sexton of the Episcopal church in Beaufort, a short, colored man, seemed to ring his bell, and walk about his ample glebe, as if bell, steeple, and himself were far above the neighboring Baptist meeting-houses, sexton, cupola, and all. But ternpora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis; and the Beaufort of to-day, in its political and religious features, is a very different place from the colonial and ante-bellum settlement.

While the Established Church was the church of the majority, all who came from the mother-countiy were not, of course, members of that communion. Independent and Presbyterian churches were established in Beaufort at an early date. To this day the ruins of the old Independent church may be seen on the northern side of the town, — a church which soon declined, and lost its organization. Its members drifted into other churches ; while owls, bats, and coveys of partridges, took up their abode in the old ruins. Mr. Thomas Fuller, the father of the subject of this sketch, proposed to join this body on his conversion in 1803, but, by a singular providence, was diverted from this purpose the night before the contemplated act. There were a few Presbyterians of the regular order in the town, and these met occasionally for worship at the house of Dr. Finlej^.

The Baptist church in Beaufort was organized in 1800 ; though, long before, there was a preparation for it in the labors of devoted missionaries. Through all the region between Charleston (where the venerable Furman ministered) and Savannah (where Marshall and Holcombe labored) these pioneers of our faith travelled and preached. Dr. Holcombe of Georgia, while pastor of the Euhaw Baptist Church, situated a short distance from Beaufort, on account of the superior healthfulness of the latter place made his residence there in the year 1794. His description of the town, especially of its religious complexion, is given in the following letter to his brother, written after his settlement in Philadelphia in 1812 : —

"My dear Brother, — The principal inhabitants of Beaufort, though possessed of learning, wealth, and talents, were, with a few honorable exceptions, strangers to true religion, and strongly prejudiced against the Baptists. The doctrine of regeneration they treated with contempt ; and baptism, if we understand the meaning of the word, had never been administered in their vicinity. If ever I felt the insnaring fear of man, it was then; but, fully persuaded that God and truth were on my side, I never gave place, no, not for an hour, to their deluded adversaries. Several ' fellows of the baser sort ' made attempts to turn my ministerial exercises into ridicule by adding to their sacrilege in stealing my Bible a mock ordinance while I was administering the Lord's Supper to a few of his despised followers. It is with pleasure I remark, however, that the general reception I met with in Beaufort was hospitable and polite. The first baptized in any of these rivers which wash the shores of Beaufort were Mrs. Gedier and Mrs. Jones, who were widows indeed, and, from their age and piety, highly venerable. The day on which they were buried with Christ in baptism was unexceptionably fine. These circumstances brought almost the whole city together. Contrary to the anticipations of some, the behavior of the congregation was becoming the solemnity of the occasion; and the late Col. Edward Barnwell, a zealous Episcopalian, admitted that

EARLY RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF BEAUFORT. 13

what I advanced to prove the essentiality of immersion to Christian baptism was sufficient for my purpose. Similar concessions, it is well known, have been made by the great Luther and the Church Prayer-Book. Subsequent to this period, the liquid element there, in countless instances, has reflected as a faithful mirror the burial and resurrection of our Lord in this holy ordinance. To about five hundred of its subjects at once I have since had the honor and happiness to administer the sacred Supper within those walls which witnessed its shameful profanation by the sons of Belial. To the rest of us had been added some even of those profane mockers. Judge of the triumphs of my soul when I beheld with others the flower of Beaufort filling their seats at the Lord's Table, to such an extent, that the disparities between communicants and the residue of the assembly were, in all respects, glorious to almighty grace." — Holcombe's Letters, p. 54.

In the year 1800 the church was formally organized, and settled the beloved Joseph Cook as the first pastor. In the old meeting-house was a marble tablet on the right of the pulpit, with the inscription: "Joseph Cook. — He, being dead, yet speaketh." We remember, as a bo}~, reading, and wondering what it meant. Dr. Holcombe was called to the church on the death of Mr. Cook ; but, declining the call, Dr. Brantly was elected pastor. This eminent minister, while he served the church, was at the same time president of the Beaufort College, — a double duty which more than once devolved on this servant of Christ, alwa} T s abundant in labors. If the Baptists had anj^where the mark of the first Christians, as the sect " everywhere spoken against," they certainly enjoyed this apostolic distinction in Beaufort. The novelty of their views of baptism and church-membership, so different from the old traditions, not only attracted attention, but insured persecution. Dr. Holcombe was a Revolutionary soldier, a man of courage, not apt to blanch under fire ; but he had a good deal of rough experience at first as a minister in Beaufort. The wealthier classes were impatient of any change in these matters ; while there were not wanting the "lewd fellows of the baser sort," who are always on hand to give a rough expression to these sentiments in violent demonstration. But, if "the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church," conduct like this was sure to re-act in favor of the truth. The frowns of wealth, the coarser assaults of ruffianism, but swelled the triumphs of grace. "The word of God grew and multiplied." Under the successive ministrations of Cook and Brantly, and the excellent Graham (a Scotchman), and the subject of this sketch, the church was gradually but firmly established. The first shock of the late war broke on the shores of Port Royal, when almost the whole white population of Beaufort left their homes, many of them never to return. But " the remnant," which is always left, has been gathered again; and, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Jones, they are now worshipping in the house built by the prayers and toils of the lamented Fuller.

Chapter III. The Family

" All, all are gone, — the old familiar faces."

AMONG- the first settlers in Carolina we find the names of Fuller and Middleton. The early chronicles mention the services of Capt. Fuller in repelling the attacks of Indians. If he is the progenitor of the Beaufort family, we may trace the origin of the spirit which burned so brightly in the descendants, and made them men and women of true and loft}' coinage. The record of the name on the mother's side is more full. The name Middleton occurs repeatedly in the colonial records with honorable mention. In successive administrations, in questions of finance and the management of the colony, in that critical transition period, in civil disturbances and riots which were of frequent occurrence, the Middletons appear throughout as wise counsellors and true patriots. With such a line of ancestors, we are not surprised to find the name of Arthur Middleton among the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Fuller and Elizabeth Middleton married and settled in Beaufort during the Revolution, or soon after those stirring daj's. Beaufort was, then as afterwards, the summer retreat of the neighboring planters. Its comparative exemption from malaria, with its convenient and beautiful location, made it a pleasant and popular summer residence.

The winter months the planters usually spent on their plantations, supervising the preparation of their crops for the market, and maturing their plans for the next season. Their leisure hours they passed in literary pursuits, and in those field-sports which were so attractive in a region whose fauna and flora border on the tropics.

But, as soon as the spring fairly opened, the malaria came with the vegetation ; and it was at the peril of contracting the deadly country- fever, more dreaded even than the yellowfever, that the planters lingered on their places. The colored people, from some peculiarity of constitution, are not as susceptible to these fevers ; as, in Africa, they will live and thrive where disease and death lurk for the white man like the beasts of the jungle. So, with the early spring, the families returned to the comparatively healthy retreat which Beaufort afforded. Possibly from the constant smoke, or the free circulation of the air directly from the sea, — at any rate, Beaufort was always regarded as a safe and healtlry summer retreat. When the tide was up, and the heat of the day was tempered by the fresh sea-breeze, and the people came out for their evening ride or walk, it was a very picturesque scene. The main street that skirted the river in its sweep around the town was lined with equipages and pedestrians ; while the noble sheet of water, dotted over with pleasure-boats racing and dashing over the waves, was not unlike the beautiful Bay of Naples. The black thunder-cloud, too, that invariably rose over the land against the sea-breeze, supplied the place of Vesuvius in the picture. Beautiful walks ! moonlight sails ! sweet songs of the boatmen keeping time to the sweep of the oars ! —

" The music in my heart I bore Long after it was heard no more."

Sheldon was the country residence of the Fullers, some fifteen miles out of Beaufort, on the mainland. From the public road to the house, and all around it, was one of the noblest avenues of magnolias {M. grandijlora) in all that land of stately forest-trees. The overhanging and interlacing branches formed a perfect archwa}' ; and, when the trees were in bloom with the large white flowers, it was a triumphal arch. As j^ears added to their stateliness, they seemed to be the presiding genii of the place. As night came on, the}' were vocal with the wikt^ concert of owls that flocked there from the surrounding swamps. Around this central mansion were grouped the usual outworks and background of a plantation, — the cotton-houses and the houses of the colored people, with the alternate corn and cotton fields beyond. Some of the magnolias are still there, and the birds and streams still sing in concert ; but every thing else is changed, — the old mansion a ruin, and the romantic beauty of the spot vanished like the dear faces of the original family group.

The summer residence of the family in Beaufort was a fine mansion of tabby (a mixture of shells and small stones) on the south front of the town. The house stands on a commanding bluff, and the river stretches awa}~ in front, for miles and miles in an almost unbroken line, towards Port Ro}'al. An enclosure of choice plants, with a grand old S3'camore, intervened between the piazza and the front street ; while spacious out-buildings, and a garden that yielded delicious oranges, formed the premises in the rear. Such was the home of the happy circle gathered there in the long Southern summer, — a home where intelligence, piety, and music combined to produce a scene which to this day lives in the memories of the descendants of that family as Jerusalem looms up to the exiled Jew, or the dear fatherland dwells in the heart of the Swiss or German emigrant.

But the charm and glory of that home was the religious character of this family.

Mr. Thomas Fuller, the father, has left a manuscript of his experience ; and a remarkable document it is. In these days of loose and eas}' professions it is more valuable than some old exhumed classic. It begins, where all conversions begin, in distress for sin, — distress, in this case, deep and long-continued, but succeeded by a peace corresponding to the previous depression. If Edwards had seen it in his day, he would have set it down as the most remarkable of all his " remarkable conversions." It is too full to be copied here, but so valuable, that we will copy a portion of it as a fitting prelude and introduction to the life of the son : —

" It was in the winter of 1802 and the spring and summer of 1803, a memorable year ; which I hope I may never forget to reflect upon with gratitude and joy, as it was big with events that took place with me and in me, that have induced me to commit the same to writing, that those who may read hereafter, when I have no longer a tongue to speak, may reflect upon their importance."

He had been for years a communicant in the Episcopal Church, a fair and reputable professor, but, as he soon found, without any knowledge of true religion. Judge Clay, at the head of the bar in Savannah, had recently been converted, and on his baptism by Dr. Holcombe, and induction soon after into the ministry, had begun a very zealous and useful career. He was soon called as the successor of Dr. Stillman to Boston. Soon after his conversion, he came to Beaufort to spend the summer with his family.

" I took the first opportunity " (writes Mr. Fuller) "to visit him. The more I conversed with him, the more I found, on my part, ignorance and pride. I mentioned the effect on my mind in reading the evangelists, particularly the passages that related to the crucifixion. Mr. Clay observed that these impressions were favorable to my state ; that they were the operations of the Spirit of God, and an evidence of the love of G-od to me ; and that the Scriptures had declared, as to those whom he once loved, that he would ' love them to the end.' If there was ever a time when a quotation of Scripture came with selfevidence of its truth to any one, this observation came to me. Why any manifestations of the kind, — the tenderness with which my mind was exercised towards him; the full recollection of the extraordinary event which had taken place respecting my son, who was restored to health from the jaws of death, — and, after these and many other mercies, leave me to perish! If he had done these things for me, it was of his own mercy and love, and he would love me to the end."

But the ' ' horror of a great darkness ' ' was to come over him.

"Let me never forget what that night disclosed to me; or rather let me say, ' May I never again experience what I did that night and part of the two succeeding nights ! ' I had been asleep, I suppose, about two hours, when I awoke in the most dreadful state. I cannot describe how I felt. Words cannot describe my distress and anguish of soul. If there is a state of woe unutterable, this was my feeling. That there must be such a state is beyond doubt, from what I experienced. I endeavored to get relief by tears; but the fountain of tears was dried up. At one time on my knees, with anguish of soul ; and then sitting on my bed, bewailing my dreadful state, and imploring for mercy. I thought of awaking my family; but it no sooner occurred to me than I dismissed it, as it was evident that no human power could afford any relief. . . .

"I arose, and had family worship. How different the feeling from that of the evening before! Then I had been satisfied with myself: now I felt viler than the vilest, and was glad to be left alone. I took up the Sermons of President Davis, more to divert my mind than with any expectation of relief. I had read but a few lines, when I felt a tenderness which induced me to lay down the book and betake myself to prayer. There was presented to my mind a view, which, if it had been real, could not have had a greater effect on my mind in causing me again and again to burst forth in gushes of tears, which could not be restrained, though entreated by my wife, who, hearing me, had come into the room. The view was of my Saviour's crucifixion. Truly the expression of the prophet Zechariah (xii. 10) was verified in my case ; for, having this view of Him who had been pierced for me, I mourned for him as one mourneth for his only son, and was in bitterness as one is in bitterness for his first-born. Though frequently entreated by my wife not to lament as I did, it availed nothing : no human power or persuasion could keep me from this new state of distress; for it was new indeed to me. Nor did I ever conceive that any human creature could be affected as I was. Indeed, no one who was never thus exercised can form any idea of a state in which the Spirit of God is manifesting to the soul the things concerning the Lord our Redeemer. . . .

"I slept that night, and awoke and found my Redeemer near. That morning (Aug. 1, 1803) I was in prayer alone, as was usual with me. After I arose from my knees, and had been seated about two minutes, there came to me such an excess of ecstatic joy and bliss, that, had it continued with me for half an hour, I should have died. A description is impossible. No soul can conceive of it who has not felt it. It is the 'joy unspeakable and full of glory' of which the apostle speaks. Along with it came a ' peace that passeth understanding.' I felt and knew I had all my sins pardoned, and peace with my blessed God, through the ever-to-be-adored Saviour. My soul now was all on the wing for death to take me away from the world. Having tasted that the Lord is gracious, I no longer desired to be absent from Him who had done such wonderful things for me, — had given me the earnest of his Spirit on this glorious day of my new birth, had made me an heir of eternal happiness, had given me the first-fruits of the Spirit. If these were but the first-fruits, what would the harvest be ? Truly the apostle says, 'Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;' for flesh and blood cannot exist under its joys." . . .

Then, after some equally marked exercises on the subject of baptism, he united with the Baptist Church.

" It seemed impossible that I should neglect it " [baptism] " without some great disaster happening to me. Sunday, Nov. 6, 1803, I was baptized in the river with . several negroes who had been received the afternoon before. This act has caiised some estrangement between my friends and myself. Nevertheless, I shall ever have cause to rejoice that the blessed Lord my God led me in this way, and plucked me as a brand from the burning. Let every one act as he has light. We would do well to attend to what our Lord on his baptism said to John: 'Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.' "...

Such is a condensed view of a very remarkable experience. It is more like the birth-pangs of the apostle of the Gentiles, the agony of Luther, and the strong convictions and glorious visions of John Bunj-an, than the ordinary experiences of Christians ; and it receives additional emphasis and value from the record of an extended and devoted life.

A company of children and servants in the country were once watching a boat just launched from the neighboring shore. With the strong pull of willing hands, and to the sound of some boat-song, it was starting for Beaufort. We remember the half wonder anrl sorrow with which it was whispered, "They are carrying Mr. Fuller to Beaufort." He was ill and dying. He soon passed away to that better land, for which, in the ardor of his first love, he had sighed and panted when "his soul was on the wing to be gone." "Do you not hear?" he said to the company around his bed. " What? " they asked ; for the sounds were inaudible to them. " The music," he answered. " Lift me up ; open the window ! " He was gone.