Born: Moultrie County, Illinois, 1844.Died: 1929
Born: Moultrie County, Illinois, 1844.
Died: 1929
Mr. Waggoner's parents both died when he was a little child, so he grew to manhood in the home of Mr. A. H. Edwards, whose wife was his father's sister. Its ideals and influences were most helpful to the boy, and in 1859 he was baptized by Bushrod W. Henry and then decided to give his life to the ministry.
He taught schools and supplied pulpits, thus working his way through college, graduating from Eureka in 1872. Thereafter, he was pastor in Illinois at Harristown, Shelbyville, Eureka for two terms--added making eleven years--Princeton, Canton and Lanark. He served as field secretary of Eureka College for five years, inducing not a few students to come to the school, and turned toward its support about $80,000.
Mr. Waggoner is a superior type of Christian minister. He has never made any claims to "smartness," but he is an unassuming, sincere and faithful preacher of the gospel. His spiritual vision is wide, compassing all the interests of the kingdom of God. He is patient, gentle, sincere and truer than steel to the Christian truth and personal duty. Willingly and cheerfully he goes out of his way to do any one a favor or kindness. Mrs. Susie M. Minges, who has served well as a missionary in Cuba, is his daughter. William H. and Harvey G. Waggoner, both consecrated ministers, are his sons.
When Mr. Waggoner was a young man, he was "working the roads" one day in Moultrie County. At that time, Evangelist S. M. Connor was conducting a series of meetings with the Whitley Creek Church. Becoming quite ill, and hence unable to preach one evening, one of the leading members of the congregation handed Mr. Waggoner fifty cents, saying to him: "Go home and get ready to preach to-night." This was his first financial compensation for preaching.