REV. WILLIAM BROCK WELLONS.

EV. WILLIAM BROCK WELLONS, D. D., son of Hartwell and Mary W. Wellons, was born in Sussex county, Virginia, November 9,1821, and died in Suffolk, Virginia, February 16, 1877. He was converted when thirteen years of age; at eighteen he was a school teacher, leader of prayer meetings, and an exhorter; and at twenty-four he was a preacher which he continued to be till his death. His father was doubtless named for the Rev. Mr. Hartwell, a minister of the Church of England, [254] who labored in that section in 1740. Whether related to the Hartwell family, we know not. But no doubt the Wellons family belonged to the Church of England in the early days, and the Rev. Mr. Hartwell, for whom his father was named, was in charge of the parish.

      Rev. Wm. B. Wellons was married to Mrs. Sarah L. Beasley of Newbern, North Carolina, on April 12, 1850, Rev. Wm. H. Boykin performing the ceremony. After the marriage, he and his bride left for Suffolk, Virginia, where they made their home. To this day they are remembered and well spoken of.

      In 1845, he was received as a member of the Eastern Virginia Conference held at Cypress chapel, in Nansemond county. This year he preached at Union in Southampton county, and was in a meeting with Rev. Wm. A. Jones at Antioch, in Isle of Wight county. In 1846, Sunday, November 29th, Rev. Win. B. Wellons was ordained to the ministry of the Christian Church, at the extra session of the Conference at Cypress chapel, by the presbytery consisting of Revs. Mills Barrett, Robert Rawls, and Wm. A. Jones. The charge was delivered by Rev. Mills Barrett.

      He attended the organization of the Southern Christian Association at Good Hope, in Granville county, North Carolina, which was held the second week in May, 1847. It had been appointed to meet for organization in December the previous year, but sickness of those who had projected the meeting (of whom he was one) caused it to be postponed. The object of this Association was to unite the Church in the general enterprises of the Church such as publications, missions, education.

      At the Conference at Providence in Norfolk county, Virginia, he was elected itinerant for the year 1848. During the year 1847, he had organized the church at Bethlehem, in Nansemond county. The church at Berkley, Virginia, was organized this year also. He attended [255] the North Carolina Conference at Raleigh, in 1848, before which he preached. He met here Rev. I. N. Walter, Rev. D. W. Kerr, and Rev. Littlejohn Utley, who also preached during the sitting of the Conference. From here he went to the Eastern Virginia Conference, which met at Holy Neck church, in Nansemond county, on the 3rd of November. He preached the introductory sermon from Psalm 133:1. He organized the church at Newbern, in 1849, which for a time was connected with the Eastern Virginia Conference. As pastor of this church, he was succeeded by Rev. Wm. H. Boykin. And in 1851, the report of the church to Conference at Damascus shows the membership to be 230. In 1849, he attended the second session of the Southern Christian Association, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

      In 1850, he made a visit to the Christian Convention held at Marion, New York, before which he preached, October 5th, at night. He returned home by way of the Niagara Falls. In New York City, he preached at the Suffolk Street Christian church, October 10th; in Philadelphia he preached at the Christian church. At the Conference at Damascus, in Gates county, North Carolina, he was secretary for the Conference. He was also a regular contributor to the Church paper, which owing to the death of the Editor Elder D. W. Kerr, had been moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1852, the new chapel at Antioch in Isle of Wight county, Virginia, was dedicated, Rev. W. B. Wellons, the pastor, preaching the sermon. He also delivered the introductory address before Conference at Providence in Norfolk county. At this time he had a Female School conducted at his home, himself as principal. In 1853, at the Conference at Cypress chapel, he advocated the establishing of a Female Seminary, and a subscription was soon taken amounting to $2000. This institution was established as Holy Neck [256] Female Seminary, and was located within two miles of Holy Neck church.

      In 1854, he attended the American Christian Convention at Cincinnati, from which body he withdrew on account of the slavery question. The result was reported at the Conferences. In 1853, he was a messenger from the Eastern Virginia Conference to the North Carolina and Virginia Conference, which met at Mt. Pleasant, in Randolph county, and at O'Kelly's chapel, in Wake county, in 1854. At this Conference the North Carolina Conference, and the North Carolina and Virginia Conference, having agreed to unite, met as one body. This occasion was cemented by the unveiling of a monument to the memory of the Rev. James O'Kelly. Rev. W. B. Wellons took part in the ceremonies and offered the prayer on that occasion. In 1855, the Conference was held at Union in Southampton county. He attended the North Carolina and Virginia Conference at Hanks' chapel in Chatham county, North Carolina, in 1866, and assisted in the ordination of Revs. Jas. W. Wellons and Wm. M. Craven. There was conducted a camp-meeting in connection with the Conference, and he preached. From this Conference the delegates left for the Southern Christian Convention, which was organized at Union chapel in Alamance county. Rev. W. B. Wellons was elected president of the Convention. In 1858, the first regular session of the Southern Christian Convention was held at Cypress chapel, and the publishing interests were turned over by the Southern Christian Association to the Convention. Rev. W. B. Wellons had now been editor of the Christian Sun since its removal to Suffolk from Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1855.

      In 1857, he was a messenger from the Eastern Virginia Conference to the North Carolina and Virginia Conference at Bethlehem, in Alamance county, North Carolina. In 1859, he also attended the North Carolina and [257] Virginia Conference. He wrote a "Reply to the Rev. John Paris," which was published in 1860, and in October, he organized the Suffolk Christian church, composed of twenty-two members. The church building was completed and consecrated on the second Sabbath in March, 1861.

      In 1862, the Civil War was pressing hard upon Suffolk, and on October 29th, he moved to Petersburg, Virginia, from which place the Christian Sun was published; but in a short time the Church paper was suspended, and he became editor of the "Army and Navy Messenger." His father died in 1863, at his home in Sussex county. During the latter part of the war he served as chaplain in the Southern army. When the war was over, he faced about and was a valiant soldier in the army of the Lord.

      In 1865, the Eastern Virginia Conference met at Holy Neck, and he was appointed chairman of the Conference committee. At this Conference he was assigned to Suffolk, Bethlehem, Berea, Cypress chapel, and Antioch, and to attend the quarterly meetings at Damascus, Providence, Jerusalem and Liberty. He was also elected a delegate to the Southern Christian Convention to assemble at Mt. Auburn, North Carolina, in May, 1866. He was secretary of the Conference. There had not been a meeting of this Conference since 1861, on account of the Civil War. He added this remark: "Brethren, sisters, one and all, let us take courage and start anew in our labors. The misfortunes and afflictions which we have experienced are not too great to be substantially overcome, if we persevere and trust in the Lord to lead and direct us. Let us do our duty fully and trust Him, and all will be well in the end." In 1866 he was elected president of the General (Southern) Convention, which met at Mt. Auburn in Granville county, North Carolina. At this Convention the work of re-organizing the [258] Convention, Conferences, and defining the powers of each and the duties of churches, was more clearly outlined by the adoption of a form of government. The basis was laid at the Convention in 1856. But in addition to improving the form of government, the principles of the Church were reduced to writing, and likewise a directory for worship. In October at the North Carolina and Virginia Conference at O'Kelly's chapel he delivered an address upon "The wants of the Denomination and the acts of the last meeting of the General Convention of the Christian Church," recommending the Declaration of Principles, Improved Form of Government, and Directory for Religious Worship adopted by that body.

      The General Convention met at Mt. Auburn in 1867 the object of which was to complete the work begun at the session the previous year. The republication of the "Christian Sun" was begun near the beginning of this year. It was also decided to publish a hymn book for the denomination, and that W. B. Wellons continue the publication of the church paper. But it was not till after the North Carolina and Virginia Conference at Salem chapel in Forsyth county, North Carolina, that the means for publishing the Hymn Book were guaranteed. It was compiled by Rev. W. B. Wellons, and published by him in 1870. The General Convention met in Suffolk, Virginia, in 1870; the opening address was delivered by the President, Rev. W. B. Wellons. In his address, he says,

      "To bring order out of confusion, beauty out of deformity, symmetry out of irregularity, system out of derangement, was the aim of those lovers of our Church who met in council at Mt. Auburn in the spring of 1866.

      "Previous to that time, when asked for our doctrinal views, we pointed to the Bible as our creed. When misrepresented by opponents, and sentiments and doctrines were charged upon us which we never held or taught, we had no efficient means of refuting the slander. [259] Consequently, in most every place designing persons either classed us with Unitarians, Disciples or Campbellites, when the truth was everywhere known among us that we never sympathized with, or held the views of either the one or the other of these parties. We never denied the truth of the Divinity of Christ our Head, or practiced water baptism for the remission of sins. And yet these things had been everywhere charged against us, and we had been set down by church historians [?], with sects holding these heretical views, and the door of prosperity, expansion and denominational usefulness had been long closed against us, and for long years we had seemed content to remain under a cloud, and to be denied sympathy and fellowship with those denominations around us whose orthodoxy had never been questioned."

      "Before this, our very history had become unknown to the reading public. Our denominational organ had passed out of the minds of the present generation. Most men seem to suppose that we were the offshoots of some of the numerous sects that have arisen in a more Northern clime. It seems to have been forgotten that the original founders of the Christian Denomination were seceders from the Methodist Episcopal Church, and that the reason of our separation was the form of government adopted by the Methodists in America, and not on account of any difference in doctrinal views. In that great division of the church of Christ, which occurred in the days of Athanasius and Arius, has culminated in our day into Trinitarians and Unitarians, it will be seen by tracing our organization back to its starting point, that we are properly classed with the Trinitarian division of the Christian family, and cannot be justly numbered with the Unitarian division."

      At the Conference at Spring Hill church in Sussex county, he was chairman of the committee on education. He delivered the introductory address before [260] Conference in which he says: "The Christian organization, of which this Conference forms a part, has a peculiar work to do. Our fathers set out with the idea that Christ is the only Head and Law-giver of the church, that the name which fully expresses the relation of his people to Him is the only proper name for his followers; that the revelation of God to the world is the only proper rule of faith and practice; that a Christian life and character is the only legitimate test of Christian and church fellowship; and that in doctrine not considered essential to the salvation of the soul, the liberty of conscience and the right of private judgment should be extended to all.

      "With these views they opened their hearts and the doors of the church to all who accept Christ Jesus in his Divine character as the Saviour and Redeemer of the world and trust in the merits of his atoning blood for salvation.

      "This has been the foundation upon which we have stood from the commencement of our existence until the present. We are not, therefore, the mere builders up of a sect or party. We stand upon the great evangelical platform laid in the formation of the Episcopal or Church of England, and the Methodist Episcopal Church, from which organization we sprang." At this Conference was renewed the subject of establishing a high school at Suffolk; Rev. Mr. Wellons was chairman of the committee on education. On motion of Mr. Wellons, Rev. John N. Manning was appointed soliciting agent. Work proceeded and "An Act to Incorporate the Suffolk Collegiate Institute" was passed March 4, 1872. The first session was opened on the 8th of January, 1872.

      In 1871, he attended the Conference at Berkley, was secretary, and as chairman made the report of the committee on education. He also served on the ordaining presbytery which ordained the Rev. J. T. Whitley. He attended the meeting of the North Carolina and Virginia [261] Conference at Mt. Zion, in Orange county, as fraternal messenger from the Eastern Virginia Conference. He was also president of the Sunday School Convention of the Eastern Virginia Conference, and was appointed by his Conference to superintend the organization of the colored Conference in Virginia.

      In 1872, he had the pastoral charge of the churches at Suffolk, Cypress chapel, Berea (Nansemond), and Antioch, and established a church at Oakland. He was editor of the Christian Sun and agent for the Suffolk Collegiate Institute; he preached regularly every Sabbath through the year, and held five protracted meetings and assisted in another--141 conversions and about the same number added to the churches. He says, "Have attended 40 funerals and married 17 couples; have preached, on an average, three times a week through the year. This has been, in some respects, the most trying year of my life, but God has brought me safely through all the trials and persecutions of enemies--has enabled me to do more work than in any one year of my life. I came to Conference broken down physically but with love unabated for my brethren and the cause which I have cherished from my childhood."

      In 1873, the Eastern Virginia Conference met at Cypress chapel, and he was chosen a fraternal messenger to the North Carolina and Virginia Conference, which met at New Providence near Graham, North Carolina. He was likewise elected a delegate to the General Convention which met at the same place in 1874. At his Conference, he reported that he had charge of the church at Suffolk, where he preached twice every Sabbath and held prayer meeting every Tuesday evening. That he had dedicated a new church in the Valley of Virginia, and that he attended the World's Evangelical Alliance in New York. That he had edited the church paper and was agent for the Suffolk Collegiate Institute, [262] --preached 101 sermons, performed the service at 60 funerals, and married 26 couples.

      The General Convention met at New Providence, before which he delivered the opening address, calling the attention of the Convention to the necessity of providing literature, better educational facilities, and to the planting of new churches in other fields. At this Convention a Christian Union Basis was adopted. This year 1874, he attended the Conference at Holy Neck, and was elected a fraternal messenger to the North Carolina and Virginia Conference and to the Deep River Conference in North Carolina. In his ministerial report, he says: "Have had charge of the church in Suffolk, and preached 94 times, held 58 prayer-meetings, 12 conference-meetings, had 2 revivals, with about 30 conversions. Dedicated two churches and assisted to dedicate a third, and have preached at several churches in the Conference. Preached 42 funeral sermons and married 15 couples. Attended one annual conference besides our own, and the General Convention Graham. Have edited the Christian Sun and published the Little Christian. Discharged the duties of President of the General Convention, President of the Sunday School Convention, and Agent of the Suffolk Collegiate Institute." He attended the North Carolina and Virginia Conference at Hanks' chapel as fraternal messenger from the Eastern Virginia Conference. And this year (1874) he was elected to the chair of Mental and Moral Philosophy in the Suffolk Collegiate Institute by the Board of Trustees, which place he held till his death. In 1875, the Conference was held at Berea (Nansemond), and he was elected its president. He was also elected a fraternal messenger to the North Carolina and Virginia Conference, which he attended at Pope's chapel in Franklin county, North Carolina. In 1876, the Eastern Virginia Conference met in Suffolk church, and the following [263] offered by Rev. J. N. Manning was unanimously adopted: "Resolved, That this Conference feels most sensibly and painfully the absence of Rev. W. B. Wellons, D. D., and we do hereby express our warmest and heartiest sympathy for our dear brother in his protracted sickness, and do pray to the Father of all mercy to have him continually in His holy keeping, and if consistent with His divine will to lengthen his life for the joy of the church, and the glory of His excellent name." At the next Conference, he having died in the meantime, were passed resolutions of respect to his memory.

      His labors were not confined to pulpit and pastoral work. He had a mind and a hand for many good works. A year before his death he was pastor of two churches, editor of the "Christian Sun," President of the Suffolk Collegiate Institute, President of the Southern General Christian Convention, President of the Eastern Virginia Conference, Secretary of the Supreme Council of the Friends of Temperance, Corresponding Secretary of the Union Christian churches of America, and in addition to all this there were many benevolent objects, public and private, that secured his attention. He was frequently called upon for conference, temperance, educational, and other addresses several of which have been published.

      The leading traits of his life are concisely given by one who knew him personally, under the following heads:

      I. AS A MAN.--Individuality marked his whole career; and nowhere more than in the practical duties of life. The readers of the "Sun" and the many thousands of friends and admirers he had abroad, knew him chiefly as an editor and minister of the gospel, but those who dwelt near him as a man, in the business and social relations of life, saw that same force of character there which you had seen in these other spheres. He was [264] industrious, energetic, a genius in laying practical plans, had foresight and grasp of mind that brought profit out of most unpromising circumstances, and achieved brilliant success where most men would have failed. He had that broad mind of power that could take hold of many things at the same time and turn them all to the help of one central purpose; and thus he sustained unity of work, though he introduced a multiplicity of means. This element in his life enabled him not only to obtain success for himself, but to aid many others, by giving them employment in a score of ways, and thus he became an engine of power in his town and actually led hundreds on the road to thrift. He was a man of force, of power. When he had laid his plans by thorough study, and then sounded his trumpet, the community moved.

      II. AS AN EDITOR.--His career as an editor was marked by a bold defence of honest thoughts in the mildest words. No man could have been truer to his convictions of truth, and none more respectful in opposing what others thought. That broad catholic spirit which so distinguished him throughout his whole widespread acquaintance, saturated his editorial life. He was quick to catch the drift of practical thought in all important questions, and sometimes went in advance and thus he was an editor of recognized ability and usefulness, not only in his own church, but in the country at large. He won a reputation for his church paper that helps it now. His power as an editor was seen in the success he attained in the midst of multiform engagements in business and clerical life. Had he given his undivided powers to this one department, no doubt he would have been the peer of any this country has produced. He could turn from helping some poor man into business, and take up the editorial pen and wield it with power. Those who read his paper from 1855 to 1877 feel the worth of Dr. [265] Wellons as an editor, in helping them to live for God.

      III. AS A PREACHER.--He was a magnet. He drew the hearts of his congregation as the loadstone draws iron filings to itself. He was, therefore, a revivalist. His very presence begat reverence and his mellow voice inspired the emotions with holy desires. God was in his heart and went out in his voice into other hearts. There was his power. It was in the pulpit where all these great qualities of mind to interpret circumstances, to bring order out of confusion, to lay and execute plans, to meet opposition with sweet firmness, to warn in sincerity, to rebuke in love, to persuade with zeal, blend into one power and grandeur that made his life supreme as a preacher of the gospel. Hundreds and thousands hung in breathless silence upon his words, and scores sometimes in a single meeting were converted to God. His powers as a man and as an editor seemed to be but rivers in his character, rolling on into the great ocean of his soul as a preacher of the crucified Christ.

[LCM 254-266]