The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-11-03
HISTORY OF RALEIGH
CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE
Some Side Lights on Early Met odism i'm Wilmington.
DR.. Helm, DR.. Pell, DR.. Gloss. DIR.
Hudson, DR.. James.

S1tir No.. 4 tef.- = uE Ut / ~ ts4N -
the granddaughter. was first published IN
IL 81. uion tIC pres OF the "Srtt.t
OF the Age. IN -. uary, 80. tie l,tv.
L T. Heflia, a. d. being = eoto. D1
Helm was ,.a:ior'd ~ Eic2iou street
cfurch, his eity. during tac wears 1919
AM 1850. Frcm Ralelgl. ne IVA, seat 10
Front Street chI-cn, Wilmington, ',nala-
ins there ,yyo years-FS5l ana ISL. Ma
miagton, untll the General Conference
il 1880, transferred that city a well as
all the territory south OF the Cape Tear
river, Ead belonged To tic South CarOllua
Conference, and been supplied with South
Carolina preachers, but in 1881 the North
Carolina Conference supplied Wilmington
and the other transferred territory. With
preachers. and Rev. r. T. Helm was the
first North Carolina preacher sent % VIII
nington. His reception was anything but
cordial; II fact, many of the membe
OF the church We're 50 incensed because
o. the transfer. they did not treat their
new preacher with common civihty.
They did not hesitate 10 let him see and
feel their dislike OF him on every coca
sion. Before he arrived, the parsonage
lad been almost entirely stripped Of u
furniture SO that for 4 while n ard his
family had to put up with many neon
N~Gnlences as well as indignitics. / hap
pened to be IN that city soon after DR..
Holm entered upon his first years Ia
bors, and was invited to dine with him.
At the dinner | noticed that be used his
pocket knife, and was told that the ladies
OF the church had taken almost every
thing out, even the knives and forks, ex-
cept such things as We're old and worn.
leaving only two knives and forks, two
cups and saucers, and such plates ana
dishes as l saw on the tables, most OF
which We're broken. But he was jolly
and remarked that it would be all right
before the year ended and that if l would
come again later on Re would insure tina
there would be plerty of knives and
forks and everything else. 1t took only
a few weeks for him to show the will
mington Methodists that North Carolina
had one preacher, at least, who was the
equal of those sent them from the South
Carolina Conference, and before the first
year had ended, some of them would no.
have given HELM for any of the preach
ers they used to have.
In 1856, as l have already stated, rs
began to edit the Raleigh Christian Ad
vocate and continued to do SO until 1862,
when he was succeeded by Rev. w. E.
Pell.
DR.. Helm was a vigorous writer and
made a good paper and this writer, hav-
ing become the publisher Of the Advo-
cate IN 1853, had the best of opportunI-
ties OF arriving at a proper estimate OF
his fine abilities. Added to this fact that
he WAS a good editor and an eloquent
preacher, he was a ready and strong de-
batter, as. was manifested in a three or
four days debate which took place at
Banks Chapel, in Granvile o07~tv. be-
tween him and Rev George 'uIpfoZ
upon the subject of baptism, some time
IN the ffties. Hundreds of people went,
day after day, to hear the debate, and
the verdict was that Het1in did not come
out OF the fight second best. DR.. Helm
was a native of Granville county, I
think, but his home, at the time he edited
the Advocate was III Franklin county,
about five miles west Of Frauklinton
During the war he moved to Texas and
became the president Of a female college,
l nave heard. Rev. VIM. Z. Pell was the
editor of the Advocate until the close OF
the war, when its publication was slis-
pended, and he began the publication OF
the Sentinel, a paper which boldly and
fearlcssly defended the Southern people.
in those day OF construction, when The
country was filled with carpet Daggers,
and the scalawag element, which had
1ll4Cu lin LII III us tI1 90 G.
dcserters, was holding high carnival. As
a political editor, DR.. Pell welded a
vigorous pen, and the rascals soon began
to fear him; for he was merclleSS IN his
denunciations of vilEainy, and bold II
defense of the rights OF an oppressed EeO
pic, who were being robbed of what the
war had left them. During the Leg1sla
ture of 1868, | kept a boarding house.
and, around my table l could hear from
boarders, some of whom had been de-
~serters or Union men, how deep-seated
was the hatred they bore against tho
Sentinel; but | could see from their ap
p%earances they felt their unftness anc
uEworthiness for the positions they hello
and that every word uttered by the Sen
tinel cut like a two-edged sword, taking
off the hide of rascality and at the same
, time probing the meanness and rotten
ness of that combination. which had beer
, formed of the worst elements which thu
dcmoralized condition OF the country
afforded.
In the year 1867, Rev. w. H. Cunning
GIN as the agent Of the Conference be
gan the publication of The Episcopa
Methodist" Of - the write
was the bus.-Css manager, and Dr.
H. t. Hudson, the pastor OF Edontol
: Street NJ. E. Church, the editor. The
unsettled condition of the country ant
the lack of mail facilities. added to the
losses sustained by fire, so crippled th'
enterprise as to threaten a suspension o
;, the paper; but DR.. Hudson, the editor
bought the material and the publication
OF the Methodist was continued by tn
writer until the Conference held a
: Statesville in the fall of 1868, when Rev
]. B. Bobbitt purchased it and afterwart
, changed its name to the Raleigh Chris
tan Advocate. In the course OF time OF
esteemed fellow citizen, r. T. Gray. Esq.
bought an interest IN and became as
} s~cciate editor of the Advocate but after
5 wards sold his interest therein that n
: might give his whole time to his lay
: practice.
I Leaving the Advocate history right here
: I 90 back to Wilmington to explain wha
may seem strange to the reader IN tn
r conduct of the Methodists OF that cit
toward DR.. Helm. 1t must be under
stood in the first place. that when tt.
North Carolina Conference was formed
the Virginia Conference retained all tina
North Carolina territory north OF IN
- - JIo1e+1, onnfnra1r