The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-05-13
M E N /, w 0 M E N
 A ND T H Il N G 5


 the largest delegated religious body in the world.
 F Of course I feel perfectly at home in a religious gathering in which l have been a minister for a quarter of cen tury, having held several pastorates' and for IT years owned and edited the Alabama Baptist, the organ of the Baptists of Alabama.
 
 But in spite of the numbers of Sap lists in America and particularly in the south, it Is strange how little IS known of their real beliefs and church government. Only recently an Asso- ciated Press dispatch from Washing ton told of how President Harding had dug the first shoveful of dirt at the laying of the foundation of the Roger William Memorial church in honor of Roger Williams, the founder of the Baptist church"
 Now. there "aint no sich thing" as the Baptist church" to begin with, and if there was Roger Williams was not it's founder. Not only is this the case, but there are many even in these United States who do not even look to him as the first to implant the Baptist principle on American soil, giving credit to John Clarke, but I'll not go into this disputed historical phase of the matter.
 
 LT f1.o arf a to speak of Roger Williams, the man in the public eye and the one who Is being signally honored by the Baptists of the whole country, but peculiarly so by those of the north in the per petuation of his really remarkable career by building a great church edifice as a monument to his sterling character at the nations capital. It's strange thing that both the place and the time of his birth is in dispute. There is a discrepancy of the time of his birth among the historians, varying at least six years. Some placing it as early as 1899, while oth- CTS assign it as late as 1907. It cannot be- settled from his own writings as he referred only once or twice to his age and that in such an indefinite way as to be worthless in settling the ques- ton.
 His birthplace has also been the oc casion of much debate among his tiographers. I have seen 1t stated in some works of merit that he was born in Wales but according to the best information I have been able to obtain, 1 lean to the account which states that he first saw the light in London town. Williams is, no doubt a Welsh name, but that would not keep one bearing such a title from being born in England.
 accept the London version as in my opinion it has been established be- yond civil by an ancient court record that James Williams, merchant tailor living in the parish of ''St Sepulchres" without Newgate, Lon don, was the father of Roger. and that he was born under the family roof tree in England and not in Wales. We know of four children. the oldest toy, Sidrach, became a merchant of Turkey. Katherine married John Davies, and Robert. like Rogers, be- came like himself colonist in America.
 
 But If we do not know the date of the birth of Roger. and some may doubt the place of it. we are also in the dark as to his personal appearance. We have not the faintest idea what he looked like, whether he was tall or short, stout or thin, dark or light had blue eyes or brown. No true DOT trait of him as ever been discovered and artists in oil and sculptors in marble have only handed down localized likenesses of him. It seems pity that we know so little about his early life. but one thing stands out clearly. and that is that Roger Williams, like many an- other boy, owed his start in life to a great man. It was fortunate, indeed that he came under the influence of Sir Edward Coke. the brilliant Eng fish lawyer. One of the thingJ, which endeared him to his patron, was his ability to take in shorthand. sermons and speeches in the star chamber for Sir Edward.
 He was educated under the patron age of Sir Edward Coke at the Char ter House, schcool famous for it's roll of distinguished students For ex- ample, on it are found the names of Addison, Steele, Grote, John Wesley and others. Strange, is it not that two boys turned out from it's walls played such a marked part in the religious life of America. A grea; story could be written around what they accomplished both In the religious and the political institutions of these United States
 Yet of Rogers real life as a school roy, his chums, his sports, his pranks, h.s holidays, we know very little. Thackeray, pupil of the same in- stitution, gave a tiny bit of informa- tion in lecture delivered at Provi- dence when he was touring America. saving that during his student days at Charter House he had found in beam of the old school the letters. "R. w." which Roger Williams cut there as boy.
 1t will be recalled by the lovers of William Makepeace Thackeray, and I am one of them, that whenever he had to educate his boy characters in his novels. he usually sent them to this venerable institution. This is the way ne pictures it in The Newcomes:'', Under the great archway of the hos pital he could look at the old Gothic building, and black -gowned pen sioner or two crawling over the quiet square or passing from one dark arch to another"
 But now for scene of the boy life: The boarding houses of the school were situated in the square, hard by h