The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-11-18
ADDRESS BY DR.. sKINENR.
'Recollecsions Of Early Baptist His
tory in Raleigh"


DIR. Gwatney was followed by Rev.
Or. Thos. e. Skinner, who came here in
the SOS as pastor Of the First Baptist
church in the city DR.. SINNERS sub
ject was very appropriately "Recollec-
tons Of Early Baptist History in Raj
eigh" and most interesting were these
recollections.
Though limited in time, he covered the
ground assigned him very completely,
and in that quaint humorous way for
which DR.. Skinner is noted and with
which he has 50 often charmed and de-
lighted the Baptist people of the State.
Nothing could have been more pleasing,
more altogether delightful than his ad
dress last night. 1t was rich in
reminscence and interesting in detail
Necessarily it dealt principally with
the First church, of which DIR. Skinner
was so long pastor, and which has been
The mother church of all the other
churches in the city. He began back in
1854, telling how he passed through
North Carolina and by accident stopped
ut Raleigh. How he was called as pas
tor of the only Baptist church then
hero.
THE church at that time was wor-
shipping on the corner of Wilmington
and Morgan streets n-what shall |
cali it? 4 hole in the ground? Wen,
that's about what it was. Well, as |
say they extended me call and |
agreed to accept if they'd come out of
that hole. They said they'd do it. and
they kept their word, though ] tell you
we had Il pretty tough time doing it.
But finally we did get out of the hole
and sold it to the Catholics for $1,000,
and that's the best thing we ever did
with it.
when | took charge of the church /
was young sprout just from the
seminary with no sort of experience in
church management, and / TELL you /
had tough time of it. The church had
about 100 members, of which fully half
We're eelored. And in fact one of the
best and most influential members we
had was Q negro blacksmith named Jim
Atkins. He had as much grace as any
white naan I've ever seen. I've never
heard such singing Besides he had
great influence with his master, DIR.
Cook, very wicked man, who owned
the lot we afterwards bought for the
new church and ON which it now stands. ;"
DIR. Skinner went into the details of
the purchase of the lot, the struggles Of
the congregation to erect u building and
how the task was finally completed. In
doing this he made interesting illusions
10 many OF the old citizens of Raleigh.
The first contribution made to the
new church, he said was by an Episeo-
palian. MIR. Boylan, father of Mr.. VIM.
x,+h, 1ioI la
originally bought for the church was just
one acre square and it was the plan to
put the church in its centre. This
plan, however, had to be abandoned for
lack of funds, and all of it except the
corner now occupied by the church was
sold off to assist in the erection of the
building There were at that time only
about three members of the church that
owned any considerable property.
'"The most important thing in build
ing IA church in city is to get the best
and most centrally located piece Of
ground to be obtained, then put in your
building the very best brick and motar
Just one hundred yards from the spot
where we are tonight stood the first
BAPTIST church ever erected in Raleigh.
I've seen it. 1t looked more like a two
story dwelling than like church. Sister
Briggs, who died about year ago, was
It's sexton. She rang the bell that call
cd the men to worship and lit the candles
that gave them light"
The speaker then told of the meeting
of the first Baptist convention in Raj
eigh. 1t was held at the State Capitol
in Commons Hall. AT it $44,00 was
raised for Wake Forest College, then
struggling and about to chose its doors
And on the night of the same day
&1S,150 WAS given. by the members of
the convention, for the new church
AT once" continued Dr.. Skinner
Baptist stock began to rise in Raleigh
Everybody got over on the Baptist side"
In concluding his discourse DR. Skin
ner told of the great seven weeks re-
yival, held at the First Baptist church
just after the war, and in which there
were 222 conversions. He said this was
the greatest meeting that had ever been
held iii Raleigh.