The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-03-10
GOVERNOR To SPEAK
rxPECTED TO DELIVER ADDRESS
TO UNION SOCIETY.
ITS 1851. ANNIVERSARY.
WILL BE OBSERVED ny BETHESDA
ON TUESDAY, APRIL rs.

Governor and Individual members
ore experimenting This with
Their Appeals-Other Interesting
Exercises - History of Bethesda
Told by Col. j. III. EstiIl, for Many
wears President of the Union So
ciety-Has Been, what Its Name
Indicates, "a House of Mercy"
The one hundred and fifty-first anniver-
sarv of the Union Society will be observ-
"a at Bethesda, on Tuesday, April g. The
effort is being made to induce Gov. Allen
n Gambler to deliver the anniversary ad-
dress and there is hope that he will
accept
The invitation to Gov. Gambler has been
extended him formally by the Board of
stewards of the society, and ne is being
further urged to accept by individuals
of the board and the society. In every
way it is hoped, and the effort will be
made. to make this anniversary of the
organization of the historic society of
more than usual interest.
The Union Society was organized in 1850,
IT'S original founders being Richard Mil
ledge, an Episcopalian, Peter Tondee. a
Catholic, and Benjamin sheftall, an Is
rselite From this conjunction of varying
religious beliefs the society derived it's
name.
The Orphan House at Bethesda has
history even longer than that of the So
ciety of which it is now the principal
charge. 1t was established in 1850 by Rev.
George Whitfield. The following account
of Bethesda was prepared by Col. ]. H.
Estlll, the president of the Union Socie-
ty, at the request of Mayor Myers, and
Will be published in the Mayors forthcom-
ing report for 1900. Necessarily it is brief
and incomplete in many particulars, but
it serves to convey a good idea of the
benefactions of the Institution and of the
services it has rendered the colony and
state Of Georgia during the past 100 years.
This venerable institution is situated on
an elevated plateau ten miles from Sa-
vannah, on a branch of Burnside river,
and about equi-distant from the suburban
settlements of Isle of Hope and Montgom-
cry.
It owns 500 acres of land, the original
amount granted by the trustees of the
Colony of Georgia in 1879, to Rev. George
Whitfield. The Bethesda Orphan Home is
replete with historical incidents. When
Mr.. Whitfield arrived in Savannah, in 1913,
he inquired into the state of the chill
dren," as he tells US, land found there
were many who might prove useful MEM
bers of the colony if there was proper
place for their maintenance and educa-
ton. Nothing can effect this but an or
phan house, which might easily be erect
ed if some of those who are rich in this
worlds good would contribute toward it,"
few weeks later Whitfield writes;
what / have most at heart is the build
ing of an orphan house, which 1 trust
will be effected at my return from Eng
land. In the meantime 1 am settling lit
tie schools in and about Savannah, that
the rising generation may be bred up in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord"
From this it will be seen that when Rob
ert Feelikes. the philanthropist to whom is
credited the institution of the Sunday
School, was only three years of age, the
founder of Bethesda had begun to give
Sabbath instructions to poor children, and
that he also carried on system OF pub
lie instruction over century before the
states made their first efforts In behalf
of free education.
In l740 Whitfield returned from Eng
land to Savannah with the grant of the
land for his orphan house. He writes:
about the month of March / began the
great house. having only about $50 pounds
in cash. called it Bethesda, because 1t
would be a house of mercy to many
souls"
1t was while soliciting contributions in
Philadelphia for his orphans, where he
collected large sums of money, that Ben
jamin Franklin, printer philanthropist
scientist and statesman, was one of Whit
fields congregation, and in his auto
biography he bears testimony of the heart
reaching eloquence of the great preacher.
Franklin writes: Mr.. Whitfield preached
up this charity (the orphan house,, and
made large collections; for his eloquence
had a wonderful power over the hearts
and purses of his hearers of which l, my
self was an instance 1 happened to at
tend one Of his sermons, in the course OF
which 1 perceived he intended to finish
with a collection, and 1 silently resolved
that he should get nothing from me.
had, in my pocket, a handful OF copper
money, three or four silver dollars, and
five pstoles in gold. AS he proceeded, l
began to soften, and concluded to give
the coppers Another stroke of his ora
tory determined me to give the sill
Yer; and he finished so admirably
that l emptied my pockets wholly into
the collectors dish-gold and all. At this
sermon, there was also one Of our club,
who, suspecting a collection might be In
tended, emptied his pockets before he
came from home. Toward the conclu-
sion of the discourse, however, he felt a
strong inclination to give and applied to
neighbor who stood near him, to lend
him money for the purpose. The request
was, fortunately, made to, perhaps, the
only man in the company who had the
hrmness not to be affected by the preach
err. His answer was, AT any other time,
friend Hopkinson, l would lend thee free
~, but not now, for thee seems to me
to be out of thy right senses
In Charleston and Boston, while on the
same mission, and throughout the coll
onies from Massachusetts to Georgia,
Whitfield attracted thousands who came
TO hear him preach the love Of God and
tell Of his orphans i'm Georgia
1t was thus that the foundation of the
Bethesda Orphan House was laid. II was
the work of a lifetime, and when Whit
ield passed away in ITO he bequeathed
bethesda and the care of its orphans TO
his co-worker. the gracious and generous
Countess Of Huntington.
The war Of the Revolution was disas-
ttous to Bethesda, though the records
snow THAI it was open during the trying
tunes of the years 1777-7s 1t was occu-
pea by the British troops later on In that
war. After the Revolution, Bethesda
passed into the hands of trustees appoint
"a by the state Of Georgia, who rebuilt
1he orphanage. This building, however,
SuHered the fate of its predecessor. and