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February 24, 1909. TH
in Benton and Washington counties. Mr.
Richards, however, did not live long
enough to prosecute his labors.
This church was founded on the ninth
day of November, 1873, by a committee
of Arkansas Presbytery, (for Washbourne
Presbytery had not then been formed)
consisting of Rev. W. A. Sample, of Fort
Worth; Rev. D. C. Hoggs, who had succeeded
Mr. Richards as pastor of the
Bentonville church, and Ruling Elder A.
W. Dinsmore, of the Bentonville church.
The church began its existence with six
teen members and one ruling elder.
In June of 1874 Dr. Davies, then, however,
plain Mr. Davies, visited the field
and signified his willingness to accept the
call in case the way was opened tor
him to leave the work in which he was
engaged in the eastern part of the state.
In a way, he says, very wonderful and
instructive to him, that way was opened
up for him, and he undertook his duties
here without any doubt that he was acting
in obedience to the call of God.
The self-sacrificing spirit that has marked
the entire life of this "Prophet !n
Israel" is shown by his giving up a good
salary amid pleasant and congenial associations
at Cotton Plant to come to
this struggling little church at Fnyettoville,
where he received a salary of just
half the amount he had been getting.
As the pastor said in his twenty-fifth
anniversary sermon of the early members,
"Most of them were raw recruits,
just gathered into the church from the
world, with no nrevioiis Prpshvtorinn
training, with but meager knowledge of
the doctrines, order, and usages of the
nature of the service in which they had
enlisted, or of the duties expected of
them as Christians." As proof of this,
there was not for more than a year after
Dr. Davies began his pastorate a man
among them who would pray tu public;
and at the little prayer meetings held at
the homes of the various members, the
pastor had to do all the praying. But
from their noble self-denial and successful
achievements later, we are justified
in inferring that they had earnest hearts
if not ready tongues.
Need I mention that these early members
were poor? Why, the one old elder
was so poor that the pastor had '.o help
support him, instead of his helping to
support the pastor. But the pastor eot
enthusiastic over the "tithing system" fof
paying church obligations and preached
such a strong sermon upon it as to convince
this poverty-stricken old elder, and
he determined- to practice it. He now
began to get work all the time, where
before he had only got odd jobs, and in
a year or two was paying $40 a year
on the pastor's salary; and finally got
well enough off to buy him a little farm.
"Poor, but honest," the proverb runs,
but the latter does not always follow.
>fo sentences of mine can thrill with
emotion like his as he recalls those
struggling davs
"The question of building began to be
discussod by the churoh very soon after
its organization. But nothing was done
until the following spring, the spring of
1874. At that time an attempt was made
to raise something for this object by
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means of a festival, given by the ladies
of ihe church, and a considerable amount
was realized. At an informal meeting of
aume ui iiiw icivuing memoers or the
church, during the visit of the writer
to the church in June, 1874, the first subscription
was started, and quite a respectable
sum was pledged.
, "Early in 1875 a second subscription
was started. But it progressed very
slowly. The winter of 1874-5 followed
the great drought of 1874, which was
the most general, severe and disastrous,
that has ever been experienced in the
state. There was no rain of any consequence
from April until August. The
crops, with the exception of wheat, almost
everywhere over the state, were
hii enure raiiure, and multitudes that
winter, had they not been feed by thosa
who had wheat and corn left over from
the preceding year, would have suffered
for the necessaries of life. This, of
course, made times very hard, and led
most of our people to think that it was
not only useless, but worse than useless
to attempt at such a time to raise
money for building a church. But a few
were in favor of making a beginning,
and getting what we could, and adding
to the amount afterwards, as we were
able and the way was open. The foundation
was laid In January, 1876, and
the bouse was completed, paid for, and
dedicated to the service of God in Feb
ruary, 1877.
"The money was collected and paid
to the mechanics from week to week,
as the work went on. And from the
day that the house was begun until it
was completed, not a bill was ever presented
to the building committee which
was nut promptly paid. The entire cost
of the work, including the lot, was
$1,750. Of this amount, $200 was received
from the Assembly's Church
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Erection Fund, and about $120 from
other outside sources. The whole of
the- remainder was raised in Fayetteville."
Such devotion as these early members
displayed did not arise of its own
accord, but owed much to the spirit of '
their leader. With this beginning, Dr.
Davies led thern on to lives of usefulness
and influence. Steadilv thn num.
bers increased and the church prospered,
and this congregation with Dr. Davies
at its head could always be relied upon
to stand for pure and undefiled religion.
More than 300 names were added to
the church roll during the first pastorate.
After a service continuing from
December, 1874, to December, 1901, Dr.
Davies voluntarily resigned. This is a
record of a long pastorate and itself
speaks eloquently for the character of
the man. He is, as we know him, a
man of unusual intellectual endowment,
loving, kind, gentle, compassionate, spiritually
minded, lovable; yet where can
you find a man of stronger convictions
than he? He did not hesitate to discipline
his members, even to expulsion,
wnen it was necessary, and he has
stamped his very character upon this
church. Two of the finest geniuses English
literature has produced, have described
the consecrated pastor of which
Dr. Davies is the embodiment. Of all
the Canterbury Pilgrims Chaucer gives
the crown to "the poor parson of the
town." and stims up his sympathetic
treatment of him as follows:
"Of Cristes loove and his Apostles twelve
He taught, but first "Re folwed it himselve."
And Goldsmith has immortalized such a
life as this in the village preacher of
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V..V, 4/VOCIICU V UlUge.
In August, 1902, Rev. J. F. Lawson