The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-01-19
JAY COOKIES BIBLE CLASS
THE FTN4VCIRR HAS TAUGHT
IT FOR
HaIf Century-He is Now Eighty
Years Cd.

Jay Cooke, Of Philadelphia, has
taught for fifty years Bible class.
This is the oldest Bible class in Ameri-
/ ca. Its teacher takes in it the same
profound and joyous interest that he
| took in the financiering OF the Civil
War and in the building of the North
ern Pacific Railroad. 1t is not wonder
full, therefore, that it is success.
Mr.. Cox is now eighty years old. He
is about six feet in height and he
weighs It's pounds. His figure is erect,
his gait is elastic, his cheeks are full,
the healthy, unwrinkled skin covering
the firm flesh smoothly. His blue eyes
are alert and gay and clear. His voice
| is young, and his ready laugh is young
St. Paurs' Protestant Episcopal
church, where he conducts his Bible
class, is at Ogontz. one of Philadel-
phia's beautiful suburbs. where P. A.
B. Widener and William L. Elkins have
their great white houses-houses as
huge and as magnificent as cathedrals.
1t was established by Mr.. Cook more
than fifty years ago, when he bought
the land it comprises for $500 an acre,
and this land is now worth $4,000 an
acre. He named the place after an
Indian chief, Ogontz, who had carried
him on his shoulder and taught him
the lore Of hunting in his boyhood in
Ohio
Mr.. Cook narrated the history Of his
Sunday school class the other after
noon. He said:
IT lived in 1852 at The Cedars. house
that stood where Mr.. Elkins house
now stands. Next to me lived John W.
Thomas, a merchant. Mr.. Thomas and
his family, and / with my family, used
to get UP on Sunday before it was light
and we would drive in to Philadelphia
to St. Paurs church, on Third street,
below Walnut street, for there was no
church here in those days. We would
arrive In time for the Sunday school
service at 8 o'clock, and after Sunday
school we would attend the church SER
vice. Then we would get our luncheon
in the school room, and at 2:3O o'clock
we would attend the afternoon service
After this we would drive home, get
ting back at $3.50.
IN tell you, parenthetically, tWho one
of Mr.. Thomas sons was. He was
lad called George and he worked in his
| fathers mercantile house. l claimed
him from that house; l said I wanted
| him to come with me in the banking
! firm of Jay Cooke & Co. He was an
| industrious, moral, brilliant boy to
| train him in banking was a pleasure;
and It was not long before he became
one of my partners. Then, after my
retirement, he went with the house of
Drexel & Co.. and he is the head of
/ DrexeI & Co. to-day. To-day George
i c. Thomas is, after J. Pierpont Morgan,
/ the greatest banker in America. 1t
| pleases me to be able to say this truth
fully of him. 1t is a ffna5thing to have
seen this boy grow up. into so good and
so successful a man.
| Now, to return to my. Bible class.
started it because I perceived that
there was ag reat need of it. It had
| forty-five members in the beginning,
and the services were held in the par
| lor of my house. They were evening
services-they lasted from 1880 until 3
o'clock-and they made my Sunday
full day. and I still continued to get up
before daybreak and to attend at st.
Pauls the services there.
But I gave a great deal of attention
| to the Bible class, for all that, and it
! prospered well. 1t grew to be too big
for my paror Therefore I put a Sec
ond story on one of my out buildings,
and arranged there an admirable sun
day school room. Still the class con-
| tinued to grow.
I'm 1860 we established ST. Pauls
church at Agontz. We erected beside
the church a Sunday school building,
and the upper floor Of this building was
reserved for me. But my class kept on
increasing. It mounted to a member
ship of one hundred and fifty. It's
quarters became again uncomfortably
! crowded.
And therefore I built Parvin Hall.
This hall was named after the Rev
Robert j. Parvin, who was then our
rector. 1t seats three hundred persons
| and we use it for our entertainments
and for my Eible class The Bible class
services are at 2:30 o'clock each Sum
day afternoon. Do you know that some
of the members-HerbertR r. Hammond,
Samuel Fisher and others-have been
with the class from the beginning,
nearly fifty years ago? I give two at
ternoons or two evenings each week to
the preparati ton Of the lessons, and this
work is very pleasant to me. I always
learn much from It.
Mr.. Cooke lives with his daughter,
the wife of the banker Charles D. Bar
ney, in a huge hohse at OgontZ that he
gave to her His own fine house near
by he ceased to live in some time ago
because he did not wish to be alone.
This mansion Is now a seminary for
young girls. Mr.. Cookies conserVator-
les are on it's grounds, and in one room
here there stands always preached a
barrel of cider barred of apples and
a half dozen barrels Of walnuts, she'll
banks and hickory nuts. These are for
the entertainment of the young girls of
the seminary. On the grounds, too, is
an orchard that Mr.. Cooke planted so
that his young friends should have no
lack of fruit He has planted, indeed,
and seen grow to a stately size, more
than 5000 trees in Ogontz soil.
Mr.. Cooke is no longer in business.
When he was in business he had on his
! books an account called @. p. j." and
to this account, twice annually, one
tenth of the firms profits were credit
ed. 20. P. j." stood for "Old Patriarch
Jacob" the Biblical character who
origiginated the giving of tithes to God.