The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-06-23
BISHOP SIMPSON.
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE,
From n College Tutor a. u nishop--Nn
Autobiography K.plcto with Good
Dceis-Lraying Name That
WIN Live,

o'clock this morning NJ MS lhlu NOME
No, l.ggi Arch .strcct. Ills system had
gradually been giving away 10 the
, strain OF work aud the wear of years
N, the first week of June he grow worse
than he had been before FOR many
weeks. aud from that timo ON he sank
nearer and nearer death. The members
Of his Qmily were with him when he
The I,ross gives the following sketch
Of the bishops career: The namo OF
simpson, was magnetic word IN every
Methodist a aS%S. a 'S"oP Years. ,pr over
prominent churchman for full
half n century, he gained
and held the esteem and admiration III
hi's entire churchi won ininc III America
ms its recognized chief, and became
known tho world over as u representa-
tive American and y powerful leader In
the Protestant schools of theology.
ON his fathers side Bishop simpson
traced his ancestry back Ia Scotch and
Irish families. His mother came of an
old family of French aud English blood,
which early implanted itself upon
American soil. James simpson, his
father, came to Bal timorcc. from Ireland
in l7.1. Sarah Tinglcy, his
mother, lived with her father, Jeremiah
Tinglcy, In New Jersey, and soon after
the opening of the century moved to
CadiZ, Ohio. where she met young james
Simpson. They were soon married, ana
on June II, ISL, Matthew was born. \
year later his father died in Pittsburg,
whittier the family had moved. The
Young widow took her son back To Ohio,
aud there the education of the future
bishop was begun.
ms EDUCATION.
In Cadiz Academy and In Madison Col
lego, Pennsylvania he read Latin, Crock,
Hebrew, and the modern languages, and
Disciplined his intellectual faculties with
constant reviewing of the mathematical
sciences. The first recognition of his
youthful toll was an appointment as col
lego tutor. which he held until he gave
up college work and returned 10 Ohio.
There he studied medicine, and had just
entered upon its practice when ms
friends persuaded him TO abandon secu-
lar labor and prepare himself for the
Christian ministry. He yielded Ia their
inducements, and in the summer of
lSg3-ust five wears after he began his
COLLEGIATE education--hc was received
into the Pittsburg conference, mt once
placed on the circuit in which he had
lived and in 1854 was given Il charge In
Pittsburg, which he surrendered ut the
end of two years To accept Il position IN
Monongahcia city. Here he remained
until 1897. He was then only ~ years
old, but honors were already seeking
his acceptance. First came the vice
presidency of Allegheny College, with
its chair of natural sciences, followed in
1889 with the presidency of Indiana
Asbury University, which position he
held until ls4S. The presidents chair
and life trustoeship in Woodward Col
iegc in Cincinnati, were offered to him,
but declined.
MS ELEVATION no THE BiSHoPRIc.
When the year 1874 came the Methodist
"A, Ia
was arraycd against the South. Tho
question of the actual separation was
discussed i'm the General Conference,
held that year in Boston. The young
minister was there and won his first
laurels rs strong thinker and an able
speaker in the memorable debate, tho
final outcome of which was the division
sectional branches.
In lSiS he became editor OF the West
ern Christian Advocate. This place he
held for four years. Then came his
great stop OF progress. The presidency
OF the Northwestern University at
position in Dickinson College, Penn
sylvnnia, had been urged upon him,
but he declined both. A higher re-
ward was i'm store for him-the honora-
BILE place of bishop. There were then
only three in active service-Waugh,
Morris and James. These, and Others
appointed since then, Bishop Simpson
outlived, and at the time of his death he
was the oldest Episcopal servant of the
Methodist church, both in years of life
and wears of service. The thirty-two
years of his bishopric were filled with
events big with interest to himself and
to his church. First came the Irish con-
ference of the churches ut Cork in 1877,
and the British conference in the same
year ut Liverpool. To these and the
Sessions of the Evangelical Alliance at
Berlin, Bishop Simpson was the accred-
tied representative of the Methodists in
America. In 1858 he returned to the
United States, having passed through
Europe, Asia and Egypt.
A great question was then agitating
Methodists throughout the country
"Should tho church establish theological
schools and have an highly educated
ministry" Bishop Simpson believed in
higher education for the preachers of the
gospel, and labored earnestly to secure
the adoption of such Il policy. To the
weight of his arguments in favor of this
step he added the strength of his own ac-
ceptance of the presidency of Garrett Bib
lical Institute, ut Evanston, Illinois, and
there continued the advocacy of the new
scheme. The church mt large was brought
to side with his views, and theological
institutions were ut once recognized as n
Methodist church.
THE FRIEND OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Bishop Simpson was an intimate
friend of President Lincoln and Secre-
tary Stanton, and all through the civil
war was in their close confidence. one
of the first To suggest the emancipation
of the slaves, he was constantly at the
side of the War President as the greatest
private citizen in the Northern states.
After the death of Mr.. Lincoln, Secretary
Stanton urged him TO 20 South and
study the condition of the negro, with
the purpose of founding freedman's
bureau, but Bishop Simpson declined,
come first" President Grant offered
him commission to San Domingo, but
this he refused for the same reason.
Bishop Simpson appeared before the
public, not as church officer alone, but
also as an author and orator, and n noble
citizen, having ut heart the welfare of
his country. He edited the encyclopedia
of Methodism," the great book of the
Methodist church. Other works were
"a Hundred Years of Methodism" and
"Lectures on Preaching" and various
fugitive pamphlets.
His ability as an orator was always
felt. Whether IL was i'm the simple SER
mon on the Sabbath or in the great ef-
fort of grand and noteworthy public
occasion, his tall form, clear cut features,
with shaven face and intellectual brow,
commanded attention before word
was uttered. His voice was power
supreme i'm itself-clear and musical,
soft, yet powerful; he always
made himself heard, and was
always heard with pleasure. He
spoke upon many memorable events.
Immediately after the capture of Fort
Sumter he preached i'm the wigwam In
Chicago upon the troubles OF the Nation
their cause and their settlement. In
1863 he spoke on "The Future of Our
Connfryv before the Christian Commits