The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-04

bama upon it's young men. We enter
your doorway praying Gods blessing upon
your people" He then introduced AL
derman ]. r. Copeland, whose remarks
were humorous in great measure and the
outbursts of laughter were freqent and
enthusiastic. He said in part
In behalf of Birmingham, the city of all
cities most typical of the new south,
| have the pleasure and the honor of ex-
tending to you a true, hearty southern
welcome And | assure you It is not only
a pleasure to greet you for our city alone
but for each and every inhabitant of our
prosperous community.
We have had many notable gatherings
in this city, but ] recall no meeting OF
| more Importance than this of the gen.
eral conference of our noble, useful and
progressive church, which in. a little more
than hundred years has covered the
earth with its knowledge and glory as
the waters that cover the sea.
Only 81 Years Old.
| We have here quite young city, being
only thirty-four years old and while We
have not such an honor as has been the
lot of a city in our neighboring state
| Savannah, Ga, for there Is a stone in
| the corner of her custom house building
| on which is carved the statement that
upon that spot, in 1876, John Wesley, the
| founder of our grand Methodist church,
| preached his first sermon American
| soil; yet we have here in this young city
| this First Methodist church of Birming-
| ham, whose guests you are, which Is one
of the largest in southern Methodism. This
building, in which we take great PRIDE is
| our third house of worship, and you will
| find in this beautiful Jones Valley four
| teen of her children whose influence in
| this city has always been for its upbuild-
| ing.
Birmingham has attracted the eyes of
the world Go where you may, in any part
| of the United States, and you will find
that Birmingham is "a youth not to for
tune and to fame unknown" Nearly all
of our buildings, mines. mills, furnaces
and factories have been built when 1t was
hard to induce capital to come to this
beautiful southland. What did this mean
1t meant that We have have here many
men to be classed as Gods noblemen,
men who had confidence in our natural
lresources. men who had been raised, many
of them, by Methodist parents and brought
up In your Methodist Sunday schools.
| And many of them are good Methodists
themselves who learned early in life that
| simple religious teaching--but to my
mind the greatest of all religious pre-
cepts: do unto others as you would
have others do unto you
Methodist Influence for Good.
And while ours is a cosmopolitan city
l know of no one influence which has
done than yours for its good and upbuld-
ing.
May your stay with us be most pleasant
and profitable, both to yourselves and to
our own citizens. l will vouch for our
people doing all in their power to en-
terrain you, and make you feel at home
! while here.
May God in His wisdom guide you in all
| your deliberations, and may great good
come to our whole country as the result
of your deliberation
When you go back to your homes, il
your stay in Birmingham has convinced
you, as twenty-four years of living here
has convinced me; that Birmingham is a
good and pleasant place wherein to dwell,
tell your people about it, Tell them of
our youth. our growth. our great achieve
| ments and our greater prospects; and tell
them also of our great body of citizens
| who are Methodists, who never fail to
| watch and pray, who do unto others az
they would have others do unto them. and
| who by their works you shall know them;
| and the plea ure of your coming shall
| be ours.
Dobbs Is introduced.
When the Rev. Dobbs was introduced he
at once launched into carefully prepared
and exhaustive history of the North Ala
bama conference and of Methodism in JEFF
ferson county. He was given close at
tention throughout He said:
We are indebted in this section of Ala
| bama to the Tennessee conference for
| our first itlnerant Methodist preacher. Our
historian says: I'm April, 1878. the Rev.
Thomas Logan Douglass, presiding elder
| of the Nashville district Tennessee con-
e ThaxaA
Hearn from the Flint circuit. TO which
he had been assigned that year, and
| sent him forth to preach and organize
| societies in that part OF Alabama which
| had been taken from the Creek Indians.
| and by the treaty of equalization had been
coded to the United States.''
This heroic missionary crossed the Ten
nessee river at Dittos landing. Travelling
due south, he passed through part
| of the Cherokee nation, and later in
the afternoon of that day he reached the
| cabin of a white man where he spent
| the first night of his toilsome journey.
| AT this cabin home in the mountain
| Businesses he offered the first sacrifice
| of prayer and praise in the wilderness"
| In the light of early dawn he began his
| journey farther southwark. A distance of
fifteen miles brought him to the home
of Joseph Fl. Mead with whom he took
1
tinuing his journey southwark. a dis
lance of Ave miles brought him to a
| place known at that time as Bear Meat
Cabin which place now bears the name
| of Brownsville. Here he found few
white settlers. preached his first sermon,
| and made an appointment for the next
| month. With his face still towards the
| south he came to the vicinity where
! Birmingham is now situated. Here he
| met the Rev. DAVID Owen. local
| preacher who in 1877 had come from Ten
| nessee built house and established a
/ home one-half mile from the site of the
church In which we are now assembled.
| This residence was used as preaching
| place and house of worship. Here our
| missionary had regular appointment
| for preaching and place for his world
~ goods. which were few and simple.
and a home when he CHANGED to pass
that way.
Now .-nown as ScottsviIle.
Pressing farther southwark he contin-
ued his way to Hills Place, snow known