Out of the Briars / An Autobiography and Sketch of the Twenty-ninth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers

by A. H. Newton

I cannot refrain from speaking frequently of the great injustice done the Colored man in the South at this time. Prejudice was rife. It showed its hydra-head in every possible way and was a serpent with a venomed sting. I remember an incident which illustrates how fearful this prejudice was. I saw a White man bring his horse up to a public watering place, and about the same time a Colored man drove his horse up to the same trough. He said to the Colored man, “A Nigger’s horse can’t drink with my horse,” and ordered him away. Immediately a mob gathered and beat the man to death for this “crime.” I preached the funeral of the poor fellow, but was not allowed to refer to the circumstances, or I suppose there would have been another funeral in a day or so. My report at the end of this year was a reasonably good one, the number who had joined the church was about one hundred and ten and for all purposes we raised about $2,518.00. I was indeed very well satisfied with the work of the year.

The next Conference met in Chattanooga. This conference was presided over by Bishop Brown, assisted by Bishop Ward. The various reports showed the church to be in a growing and prosperous condition. The Conference report showed 9527 members of the A. M. E. Church in this Conference, 1122 probationers, 210 local preachers, 120 exhorters, 114 churches, valued at $106,101.00. This was a good showing so soon after the war. At this Conference I was appointed to a charge in Chattanooga, Tenn., with Elder R. French Harley as my presiding elder. We had a fearful flood during this year in Chattanooga. There was great suffering and loss of property. I did not do well in this charge, however I completed, the church and added 86 to the membership of the Church. I found that it was necessary to turn two men out of the church, for their misconduct. They gained the confidence and bias of the presiding elder, and he moved me from this place. Thus it is that a man must suffer for the right that he does, while many go unpunished for the evil doings. But that should afford no reason for not always doing the right. We, as ministers of the Gospel, must take our stand for the uprightness of character and the righteousness of conduct, without any consideration of the price which this stand will cost us. Bishop Brown transferred me to the Arkansas Conference, which met at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. At this conference I was ordained Elder by Bishop Brown and sent to the Bethel A. M. E. Church at Little Rock, Arkansas.

I found in this city the prejudice against the Colored people rife and that they had to contend against very great odds on every hand. But in spite of this, many of the Colored people were in a flourishing condition. There were men prominent in the ministry who had gone out from this place, such as Revs. H. H. Pettigrew, Reuben Johnson, A. A. Williams, J. F. A. Sission, J. T. Jennifer, Andrew J. Chambers, and others. The Hon. Judge Gibbs, William Rector, and Elias Rector who was fulfilling a prominent place in the post office were leading business men. The church here was built by Brother J. T. Jennifer, D.D. My daughter Ada was with me at this time, my son William Alexander, having remained in Tennessee. There were many noble workers in this church, viz: Joseph Stone, Jerome Lewis, Nelson Warren, Sam White, Willie Oliver, and others whose names are too numerous to mention.

My wife, Olivia Newton having died in 1868, and being a widower, while here I became acquainted with a young lady, Miss Lulu L. Campbell, secretary of the Sunday School. I found her to be a noble Christian woman and felt that the Lord had brought us into contact for a great purpose. After having considered the matter and having consulted my daughter and finding that she approved, we were married June 1, 1876.

After paying off a little more of the debt on the church and adding about ninety souls to the membership of the church, I finished my first year’s work. The Conference met the following year at the Bethel Church, Little Rock. At this Conference I was transferred by Bishop Ward to the Louisiana Conference and was to have been stationed at the St. James Church, New Orleans, but owing to some miscarriage in the appointments, I was given the station at Algiers, La. There as in other places, I was not long in arranging and drilling my forces for active work. We succeeded in repairing the church, but were greatly hindered by the ragings of smallpox and yellow fever in this section. I remember a fearful example of the work of the K. K. K. in this section. A woman had been taken by this devilish clan and they had cut off her breasts. She showed her bosom to a few and they had done their work well, for her bosom was as flat as a man’s. These were some of the outrages that were continually committed on the Colored people. It is sometimes wondered at, that the Colored people are so slow to place confidence in the White Race, that they too, have a deep seated prejudice which now and then crops out in some vile offense against the White Race, if our White friends only understood that these fearful atrocities committed then and even now, against my people, are not easily forgotten, they would the better understand. Human nature is the same and it will require a great deal of the grace of God to smother out all the horrible memories that have passed from individual hearts into the heart of the Race to which I belong. But the time will doubtless come and then we will see a different state of affairs.

I remember another incident at this place. As I have said, the smallpox was raging. I was invited to conduct the funeral of a small boy who had died of this disease. When I went to the house and was seen by the mother, she rushed to me and threw her arms about me and wept. Of course she had been nursing the child. I was greatly annoyed by this foolish act which threatened the health of my own family, but as the good Lord willed, nothing came of it. After doing my best here, I decided that I would not stay longer. I consulted Bishop Ward and others. They told me that I was making a very unwise step, but I got a transfer and went to Bishop Brown in the North Carolina Conference. The Conference met November 14th. at the Gaston Chapel, Morgantown, N. C., presided over by Bishop Brown. The regular routine of business was taken up and the reports showed a growing condition of the church. Dr. H. M. Turner, manager of the Publication Department and J. H. W. Burley, financial secretary, appeared and made their reports. The number of members in the Conference as reported were, 5131; probationers 877; churches 58; support of pastors $4749.51. I was received into this Conference and appointed to the station, Raleigh, N. C.

I had instructions to go to Mr. Norfleet Dunson, but he was away and I was sent to Mr. Stewart Ellisons.

When I went to Raleigh, I had a very discouraging experience. I drove up to a Brother Ellisons’, rapped on the door. A lady came to the door. I told her that I was the preacher who had been sent to the St. Paul’s A. M. E. Church. She informed me that all her family had gone to the funeral, so I had my trunk brought upon the porch and sat down upon it. She had evidently expected me to come in when the trunk was safely on the porch. But I remained in the porch, being worn out and out of patience.

Presently she came out and invited me in. I told her that no one was at home but herself and that I would remain outside until the folks came home. She said, “Now I don’t want any foolishness around here, if you have been sent here to be pastor of our church, you come right in.” Well, that was hearty enough a reception, a positive command, of course I obeyed orders, I had learned this in the army. Soon the family returned. They were delighted to see me, built a fine fire, made ready a fine supper, and after a social time I was sent to a good bed. After I retired I felt very much ashamed of myself for the ugly feeling I had harbored and repented of my sins. It never pays to allow one’s bad feelings to get the better of their good feelings, for they always pay a big price for the victory. My official board was made up of John O’Kelley, Stewart Ellison, Norfleet Dunson, Seth Nowell, and Henry Hunter. They were a very fine set of men. We went to work in earnest, bought a lot and paid off a great many debts. There were over 230 accessions to the church, of whom I baptized about 150 by immersion. I received a salary of $1000.00 which was very large at that time in our Connection. They gave me $75.00 that I might bring my wife and daughter from Algiers, La. The Colored people at this place were very successful in business and of good reputation and character. The White people, that is those especially interested in us, were very kind indeed. A Mrs. Dorr, (white) was principal of the school for Colored children. She did a great deal for the uplifting of the Race. Mr. Tupper, (white) was the president of Shaw University, a Baptist school of the Colored people. My daughter, Ada, taught rhetoric, in the Shaw University.

I concluded my work at this place and was able to carry to the Conference fine reports. This was largely due to the fact that the church was very spiritual. It was on the Lord’s side on all those questions which affect the religion of a community. Sometimes a minister is looked upon as the cause of the failures of a church, in its work, as a rule he is blamed, but this is a mistake. The general cause is to be found in the church. A good church with a poor pastor will succeed, but a bad church with a good pastor is liable to fail. Christ could do no mighty works in a certain place because of their unbelief. There are many good preachers who are unable to do good work because of the unbelief of the people and the consequence of this unbelief. It acts as a kind of paralysis, and indeed it is, a paralysis of the church.