The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1902-11-13
REV. J. D. HUFFMAN. D. D.
Resigns the Passionate OF the Hender.
son Baptist Church-FormaI Action
Taken by the Congregation Last
Week

Taken by the Congregation Las,
Week.
After serving the Henderson Bap
fist church as its pastor for the pas,
six years Rev. J. d. Hufham, d. D.
has resigned. At congregational
meeting held On Wednesday night O
last week the resignation was &C
cepted. Dr. Hufham will continue te
| preach as heretofore until another
| pastor is secured.
There will be general regret that
DIR. Hufham is to quit the regular
work OF the ministry And this the
GOLD LEAF takes it his resignation
implies although his plans for the
future are not fully matured as yet
| His health has not been very good fol
some time and he has felt that his
strength was not at all times equal
to the demands made upon him as
the under shepherd of large flock.
In this connection the following
brief sketch of DR.. Hufham's life and
labors will be read with interest. the
data for which we are indebted to
Mr.. Il. NJ. Pittman:
DR.. Hufham was born in Duplin
county, n. c., May 26, 1894, and is
therefore in the Goth year of his age.
He was the son of Rev. G. W. Hui
ham, a Baptist preacher of consider
| able culture and wide usefulness.
Educated at Wake Forest College he
was ordained to the ministry May
%, 1856, in the college chapel. He
entered upon his first passionate at
Bear Marsh church, Duplin county,
in 1856. This was the Oldest church
i'll the Association reaching back OF
1863. Under his ministry it became
the strongest church in the Associa-
ton. The Association itself which
had been doing no missionary work
entered actively upon missionary
work and in 1860 had $4,000 in the
treasury and II missionaries in the
field.
In 1864 at the solicitation of his
brethren he took charge OF the BibH-
cal Recorder, which he carried sue
cessfully through the war, it being
the only Baptist paper in the South
which did not suspend publication
during that period. 1t only sus-
pended at the close of the war when
postal communication was inter-
rupted, and was quickly resumed
quiet.
In 1865 he united with DR.. N. B.
Cobb in starting the Daily Record, a
breezy political sheet started primar-
lily to test the possibility of running
a Southern paper at that time. 1t
was successful. More than one effort
was made to suppress it as treason
able. In a short while DR.. Hufham
retired from this to revive the Re
cOr7er In 1867 he sold the paper
and re-entered the passionate at Saw
yer's Creek, Camden county.
In 1870 DR.. Hufham became Core
spending Secretary of the Baptist
State Convention and re-organized
the State mission work of that body,
and laid the foundations of the emf
nently successful work now being ac-
cOmplished.
In 1874 he went to Raleigh and Or
ganized on Swain street what is now
known as the Tabernacle Baptist
church, with ) men and 5 women,
have developed it into one of the
greatest agencies in the State.
In 1877 he gave a short time to
agency for Wake Forest College and
raised $11 900 on it's endowment.
Early in 1878 he entered upon the
great passionate of his ministry at
Scotland Neck. During ID years he
led that church from mere handful
into a large membership and an eff
cheney not surpassed in the State.
There he lost his wife who had been
a great help and comfort through
all the years OF his hard labor.
DR.. Hufham then went to TarbOrO
to save the church from the loss Of
it's house Of worship, on the death OF
O. C. Farrar. In three years he
| cleared off the debt of $4,000, and
then went to Shelby for three years
from which place he came to Hender
| son six years ago.
From Scotland Neck DR.. Hufhan
did a great work in developing The
missionary enterprise of the Tai
River Association by which it grew
from a small and inefficient Associa
ton into the greatest body probably
in the State During the same time
he was a leader in establishing thu
Baptist Orphanage at Thomasville
and assured it's success when Others
had almost despaired, by securing
two 81, contributions which mad
success certain.
DR.. Hufham is a gifted and brlllian
writer and with the pen he ha
wrought as we'll, if not SO prolific, a
with the tongue. He wrote Life G
J. l.. Pritchard-a book of great in
terest and merit now rare-andis tn
author of many pamphlets OF grea
value His latest important work
The Baptists in North Carolina, ha
| not been published in book form an
is only to be found in the numbers c
the Baptist Historical papers, {
which he was one of the editors.
The GOLD LEAF would be please
to see DR.. Hufham devote his remain
ing days to literary work, preachin
only when and where he felt the il
clination to do so. He possesses
remarkable fund of information mas
tered and digested which he owes
/ to himself and to the State to pr
serve in tangible form. He is an ii
tense North Carolinian, deeply verse
in the history of the State and
church history; in fact he is probabl
without a superior i'll these depar
ments. A man of great scholarship
wonderful memory and extensive il
, formation he is gifted and gracef'
, writer no less than a powerful an
eloquent preacher.
PRESS COMMENTS.
II DR.. Hufham's resignation is thu
referred to by some of our exchange