Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-04-23
wn1rr1ELD.s HOUSE OF NERO,
Bethesda Past and Present-An interest
ing Historical Sketch.

waITFIELD'S HOUSE OF MERCY.
Bethesda Past and Present-An Interest
ing Historical sketch
Aside from the commonwealth ol
Georgia. no institution now existing
antedates the Bethesda Orphan House. |
One hundred and forty-three years ago the |
first band Of orphans were gathered |
together on that sacred spot by its illus
trious founder. George Whitfield.
According TO Mr.. Whitfield's evidence,
the idea Of the orphan House was con-
ceived by General Oglethorpe and himself.
The latter arrived in Savannah May ),
1873. then a settlement in the wilderness,
and the first object that attracted his at
tentiOn was the condition of tire children,
especially the orphans. and seeing the ne
cessity OF Immediately providing for them,
he used the money collected IN Eng
land for other charitable purposes,
hired a house and servants ana
placed such children under proper care
Having thus secured a temporary place
for his orphans, he set earnestly 10 WORK
To carry out the plan Of Gen. OglethOrpe
and himself and establish an orphan
house. recrOssed the Atlantic and was
cordially received by the trustees OF the
COLONY. who offered him a salary to labor in
Savannah. but he declined. and asked IN
stead the grant Of tract OF land on
which TO erect his Orphan House. The trus-
tees at once complied with his request
and donated 10 him the five hundred acres
ofland. the property still known as BE
thesda" In less than Il year he collected
over a thousand pounds. ON his return to
Savannah he received from the Council Of
Georgia the title To the land, and after
arranging his affairs he made tour OF
the other colonies and succeeded so well
i'm his efforts that on the 18th of March,
I-4O. was laid the first brick of the Orphan
House. named by him Bethesda
..house of mercy" In 1741 we learn that
1.-THE house contained siXty-elght children;
the whole family numbering eighty-four
persons. besides eighteen laborers en-
plOyed on the premises"
Leaving Bethesda in a ilOurishing con-
ditiOn. Whitfield returned to England and
spent two years-11 A. 49-as chaplain to
Lady Huntingdon. who afterwards be-
came the Jealous patron and supporter
of Bethesda. He labOred in England to
make Bethesda Il college where all the
advantages of a liberal education could
be enjoyed. In 1914 we find
him again at Bethesda, ana
from that time untll ms 9ealh'
which occurred at NewburypOrt, Mass,
September 30. l710, whence he had gone
to recuperate his health, we find him la90r-
ing i'm behalf of his house of mercy. After
Whitteld's death, his friend, the Countess
Of Huntingdon. to whom he bequeathed
Bethesda. sent over her own hOusekeeper
To take charge OF the domestic affairs OF the
institution. About this time the Countess
established a mission to the Cherokee . N
dians. and Bethesda was made the head
quarters for the missionaries. The war
Of the revolution came on and the work at
Bethesda languished. At its close, how
ever. Lady Huntingdon, despite the de-
struction of the buildings by fire and the
ravages of war. re-established the
institution and extended to 1t her
Jealous support until her death,
which event took place in 1871 at the adj
yanced age of 81. At her death the State
of Georgia reclaimed the estate and
placed Bethesda under the control of
trustees. who did nothing until 1901,
when they made an appropriation towards
repairing and completing the north wing
Of bethesda College," and estab-
Iished regulations for the school.
The place was again in a
prosperous condition, possessing every
facility to make ii rank with the
leading institutions of learning IN the
country These bright prospects, how
ever. were not destined to last. A fire in
lS0J destroyed one of the wings and so in
Wred the other parts of the building as to
render it beyond repair; the Outbuild-
inys had previously been seriously
damaged 10y the great hurricane
Of 1904. The trustees were
unable to rebuild and under an act of the
legislature the property was sold in 1909,
and the funds divided between several
charitable institutions of Savannah, the
| Mon Society. a cOtempOrane0us charl-
table institution. founded i'm 1850, and haY-
fr,.r al. of ffsnlQn aud
destitute boys, being one of the number.
This society continued Whittield's
work. Bethesda, around which clustered
the brightest pages i'm GeOr@ia's history,
and in whose behalf George Whitfield had
trayersed two continents, passed away
into history.
..BetheSda'- gate is still.
No cries its p0rcheS fiji
For forty-five years Bethesda's gates
were closed. The orphan, however, was
still cared for. but not within its portals.
Whitfield's spirit still lowered over the
sacred place In 1854 the Union So
cIety purchased the Bethesda tract,
and at once erected suitable buildings
thereon. and removed the orphans under
its charge to the 0rnhan House. Whit
neId-S prayer was answered; t'Sct thy
Almighty fiat To it, O, Gracious Father,
and for Thine own names sake, convince
us more and more that Thou wilt never
fOrsake those who put their trust IN
Thee"
The new Bethesda has also had its sue
cesses and reverses, but its doors have
never been closed to the orphan or desti-
tute boy. This year its sphere of
usefulness is enlarged and it will be able
to care for more than have ever yet been
sheltered " ithin its gates. Let its ami
versarv tomorrow he remembered by our
people.
sneak Thief RObbery-A Congress Street
$1,000 L..