The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-12-10
The Reids---En1inent ~Ifiner0nfS
Through Three Generations.

rabulsry. 2 Those who have a fine
vocabulary but no hough ana T.
Those who have neither vocabulary
rcr thought This latter class, 81
ccurge did II not classify them with
! Cincinnatus. ought 10 be ploN1nR
Uncle Jimmie's' personal appearance
was venerable and his face sweet ana
loving. His white hair was a crown OF
glory and his white whiskers which
continued down under his chin made
him look as though he wore one OF the
wide embroidered caps worn by our
grandmcthers, and which were 20
beautiful 10 US IN our childhood.
DR.. Charles F. Deems avs Of the old
man: He was very polite In a most
innocent way. He never sought to
hurt but ALWAYS preferred TO sur
round all his operations with a cloud
Of diplomacy, which was very trans
parent to all outside, and which ex-
hibited his genuine kindheartedness'
and sometimes really assisted MS ma
tive without ever creating
doubts as TO his Illustrating
this he tells Of the caucus which was
held by the member Of the y. &. Con-
ference the night before the Salisbury
session. In 1850, the n. G. Confer
ence had secure the transfer of a part
Of the territory in this State held by
1 the s. :. Conference, but in 1851 steps
were being taken by the South Caro-
lima brethren TO destroy the effect OF
this action. our conference was TO be
III esided over by Bishop Andrews, a
former member Of the $. G. Confer
ence and he was feared. So this caucus
was called to guard against any lnJu-
riCus act by him. Feeling was intense
but the matter was one Of great deli
, cacy. Uncle Reid took the floor and
spoke at length. He described the sit
uation in language which seemed most
frank but which left the nearer IN
profound doubt how he himself re-
garded it. He closed by saying, Mr.
Chairman, I'll tell you just what kind
of a resolution | want passed" Now
thought l. says DR.. Deems, we shall
know just which side he is on. He
made an impressive rhetorical pause,
and looking around the ROOM, he
brought his eyes back to the chair
man and waving his index finger he
said slowly, i want a resolution that
shall be clear, fOrcible and to the
point, but perfectly non-committal.'
But we must not judge the old man
by his eccentricities alone. At the re-
quest of the family my father pre-
pared a memorial sermon to be
preached at conference, but a sudden
attack of sickness prevented him. The
sermon therefore was preached by DIR.
William Gloss and both from speaker
and subject, was without doubt a
memorable one. The names of Vii
liam Gloss and \. H D. Wilson are
DlS ~ III ESllic '%S
son 70 think that the latter wrote 1T.
1t is therefore my privilege to offer to
you in the language of my own father
the following summary of h life and
work of Rev. James Reid:
He gave nearly ffty-eight to the
active work Of the ministry, not the
/ pleasant work of stations but mostly
to circuits and districts, very large and
labOrious. In April, 1922, he was
happily married to Martha Edwards,
of Rockingham county, an amfable
young lady and a devoted Christian,
we'll adapted by character and edu-
cation and disposition to be the wife
of a self sacrificing Methodist preach
er. At that time there were few mar
ried travelling preachers in the Vir-
ginia Conference. In those days mar
ried preachers were not popular, and
those who married located, but James
Reid and his family LIVED on such pay
as was given him and endured all
manne of ~hardships and still the man
of Goo never faltered. He was an
able minister of the Gospel, preached
in the power and demonstration of the
Spirit, and was wise in winning souls
to Christ with wisdom from above.
while enduring the tolls and pri-
v~ations of the ministry, he also shared
it's honoIs. In 1882 he was elected and
! served as a delegate in the General
Conference which met that year in
i Philadelphia. and in matters of church
polity and direction he ranked with
such men as James Patterson, H. c.
Leigh, Brock and DOub. Brother
Reid was twice married. His first wife
and seven children passed away to the
spirit land before him; his second
wife was Mrs. Kelly, h survives
him.
He was a Warm-hearted, able sup
porter of all the great enterprises of
the church. With his small salary
he 4 q Ca1 tn Oivo his chil6ran good
education and he did much to promote
the cause OF education in our church
and. the State generally; he was not
only an active faithful trustee of our
colleges, but supported them in every
wa with eminent ability. He was
one of those clear-thinking prudent
working men who make their mark
upon the tines He was one of the
fathers in the n. {. Conference, pre-
eminently a man of ability and weight
among citizens and a M of God in
the church."
In many respects Numa Fletcher
Reid was the exact opposite of his
father. His early advantages were
better, and he continued throughout
life a student and thinker. He was
born in Rockingham county, July 3,
1925. AS his father was that year
upon the Iredell circuit, / judge that
he was born at the home of his moth
er's father, Rev. George r. Edwards,
- NAi1
Methodist preacher. His advance in
education was rapid. When only
thirteen years of age he entered
Emory and Henry College, then just
beginning it's useful career under the
presidency of DR.. f. E. Wiley. Here
his ability and industry won success
and favor. but for some reason he was
unable to complete his course. Re
naming all his life a student he won
from RandOlph-Macon the honorary
/ degree o. Master of Arts and from the
University of North Carolina the de-
gree of Doctor of Divinity.
At sixteen years of age he began
to teach. After two years in country
schools, he opened an academy at
! Wentworth. which he continued until
he entered the ministry. His success
as a teacher was treat A clelr mind,
a firm viii, q teaier'heart II sound
| judgment, and a Christian conscience
| gave him q control yer the minds and
/ hearts Of his pupils few possess. When
scarcely tWenty-one years old he mar
ried Miss Annie Z. Wright, the mother
of his children, and after her death
a year before his own death. he mar
ried her sister. Miss Sally Wright
During the first year of his teach