Born: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1874.
Died:
Mr. Talmage was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia, his birthplace; in the seminary at Pennington, New Jersey, and Dickinson College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was a minister in the M. E. Church, and after one year's service in Perry County, Pennsylvania, was sent by Bishop Kingsley to Missouri in 1866. This was because the ministers of the M. E. Church North were scarce in Missouri at that time, and many of those in the M. E. Church South were unable to take the "ironclad oath," thus leaving Methodist churches in Missouri in bad condition.
In July, 1867, Mr. Talmage left the M. E. Church and became a Christian only. Since then he has continued his ministry among the Disciples. He came to the pastorate of the Marine Church, in Madison County, Illinois, in 1872. His useful ministry in that and St. Clair County reached through several years. At times he was associated with John Ellis, the veteran preacher.
When conducting a meeting with the Fairview Church, Mr. Talmage baptized the converts in a near-by stream. Some mischievous boys of the neighborhood would come to the place and climb out on a limb of a tree near the pool and make remarks about the baptizings. Brethren were indignant and wished to have the boys arrested, but the preacher dissuaded them. The next day, during the ceremony, one venturesome boy got out on the extreme end of the limb and yelled out, as a candidate was baptized, "Dip him again!" At that moment the overhanging limb broke and the boy fell into the water and disappeared. Serious as was the occasion, the crowd laughed outright as the minister fished that mischievous boy out of the water. This incident ended all that trouble.
Among the converts at the Fairview Church were Jonas Tontz and wife. Mr. Tontz was a member of the State Legislature in 1872. Mr. Talmage left Illinois after a few years. He is now preaching at Roswell, New Mexico.