New-York tribune., 1902-08-03
SvooaMoy. 8 oNa 9 SITS.
METHODIST PERSISTENCY
HOW THEY BUILT THEIR CHURCH-AN
ORATOR OF THE OLD SCHOOL

-,,+b.r,nton Long Island. Aug. (SpeciaD--lh
rho old DAYS when they built mouse OF "oFsnP
they took special pains to put most soho s'i -,
- 80, drr7 foundation. That accounts Ior
+ra fact that al one time in this place the hlleA
abused Methodists and the all po"er14 -.
tarians held their services next door 10 edOI -,
r is uncomfortable for any Ialrnh-iueu
.-,a, of to-day 10 look back upon those
- s vatnodisu1 and consider the rathei go
,,sticaI wav the followers OF Gavin useo ~ -
onnosing anything that tnrea'eheL - 80 7rare
o,onoIv The Catholics lived IN SPAN. - Etco
~ -, and hated inquisitionists; the HpieIo
the a"Iui an. En-1ans. they were the men VINO
p -. -, catholics but were not soou o
o,,vb N be fullfedged PFo'es''' -.t,-s
+-.artsno ruled Long Island Tor HaNS rsb,,
s.,ar irs settlement, and ne VINO w. - s1d
-, .d a hard time Of it lhe -
teriah Ha- we're practically one Ine meet
- -, mas the church: here worship Vi -
"e :, -,,screants assemblies and eiections
,a,s II was the centre or COVER -. 1850 and
hoIs NJ faith Accordingly the pest
.as+ skfII were put IN its constEuet -
s'ea'e@ - bov-ever the congregation ana Tow"
bS Gu rrirb were practically the sdine-o 90
r-sw the old meeting house INC 80 ss++Iad.
:, h,,i1ding another was oroush1 uP - ...,,-s
u oI.Sa -,,s+ be built When this ne" stl
ano'iei it1 inst on the other side OF the roao
W W 80 old one great problem conlroh'eu l
t,-sb,,rerians What was TO De Done W. 49, - -
h,,-cb7 Various suggestions were uia g. -
-, L,ds offered but none OF them were sh'iS
eiai .1.o,lx- most startling proposition was
-. befo-a the congregation A certain Schooii.a
Ter Of the village said he WouIa guy L AZ -
his Methodist brethren Now II mus - =
- mat Methodisrr1 had gained footnoto IN TINS
- - Caivtnisuu The schoolmaster ana .
few others had been begIiled into 'ne new g. c.
and had amid great scorn ana soHIe SO
ton formed themselves into little clurc"- -
,orora they had managed 70 conduct lheI Se'
=, t,-a+a houses But their numbers grew and
+bar wished TO hold place in the puohc seneni@
% sratrs So the offer for the old. aoanooned
Presbyterian building -
The CONSERVATION caused oy thls o'iu 0 ~
scarcely be imagined
The whole village looked askance al sueh Iooisn
members OF the community and niaiiitaIneo W. W.
great energy that il would De olsgrace 10 -HeI.
cb,,rch II the noisy Methodists got possession o.
+ba building So the first offer from another party
that came their was accepted The bargain
was closed and the purchaser began 10 consldeI
what TO do with his new possession he hhe" i
would be of no use to him where 1t stood and al
o,cs bavan the business of moving II TO more
desirable location. He had a task before him The
church had been built TO stay where II was put
TYrnbers eighteen inches in thickness walls and
ceilings OF solid timber foot thick. crossbearns by
the hundred window castings deep prisons
the whole thing solid and as heavy as the
veritable house built upon rock But the ousl-
ness Of moving IL to another site was oesun A
little at first few feet the first few days. rod
+ha arst yxeak or two another rod-and the job
was given up. The house surely could not be
moved where 1t had been planned TO move It with
out enormous expense. The purchaser was highly
diseusted with his bargain The old church had
hsco,,a A. offence to his eyes II this time
that the Methodists found their opportunity They
promised to take the building just as II was Inc
original purchaser struck bargain at once ana
cleared out. The Methodists merely moved the
church into a correct position and let IL stand
where they had found it-in somebody's bean patch.
II has been said.
So with their church after all. they now began
TO hold their meetings a larger scale: and their
min RreSDYterI6nS
during the quiet hours of service upon Sunday
evening
All this happened back in the early '+os The
Methodists remained in the building they had so
cleverIy got hold of until about years ago,
when they built Il larger and more modern house
Of worshP After Eeann 6 Idle M fPF fgS S2s tune aP tb h
place and converted into a gymnasium and read
ing room for the young men OF southampton, Pi H., =,
a man who knew and helped the abolitionists dur
s at 'i White heat If the old man to-day happens
10 become intensely interested In some subject the
Are OF bygone days returns his eyes nasn ms @ nsts
clench. and he denounces or praises; e as ne fase
direct descendant OF a family which came here in
1870 to help found Southampton. which fousnt @ aha
or justihcation in compromise OF any sort @ 70 see
the old Horarlan Po''IeFb Ifbrary lawn upon drowsy
August morning there may be little indlcaIion o5 5
traces of his many good fights of long ago But
give him o en e and worthy Of
sion perhaps and II VIII not oe i9s agsin and me
grand array OF facts and arguments presented with
great force and clearness ~, -, 49,
Mr. Deacon, for such Is the name we II give Lne
old gentleman, must now be welI along IN ms seV-
snttss He is Of medium height. stopping little
His build denotes strength even YET. MS Iace Is
we'll covered with bushy, white Deard ana mus
tacbe which is stained with tobacco: MS eyes
peer out and fasten upon one through ciose ItungS
steal rimmed nsectacles There is certain hearth
ness about his welcome to visitors TO the library
that indicates a sound digeston ana satasr q con-
Quest or disregard of the scholarly naoit OF COM
parson of He meets one n .ooIsu tf 1, aa 4it
seems to expect as simple an Interpretation OF nIe
as his own II he any VANITY II must De IN
the glory of those early days when ne VINO adNo-
Gated the freedom of slaves was a marked man IN
many a community -. r,,L4u. -.
IT makes little difference what the suoJect tnat
started the cnnvarsatfou may have been 1t may
be the North Pole or the Statue or Liberty But
tr won't ha that long: with tne ak1U OF