Sixty Years of California Song | Page 5

who desired no religion
to interfere with their ungodliness. Many attempts had been made to
restore the building, but those who attempted it were stoned and driven
away. When father arrived the people of the congregation who
remained advised him not to do anything with the church, for he would
meet the same fate as his predecessors. But father was not daunted. He
visited the church and the sight of God's house in such a condition
made him more determined to do the work for which he had come.
After calling several members together he gave out the announcement
that he would open the church on the following Sabbath at all hazards.
He asked all of the faith to come to his home Saturday evening. About
fifty responded, and during the business meeting of the evening seven
elders were chosen. When all was satisfactorily adjusted, pastor and
people spent the hours in prayer until midnight.
Next morning the faithful people gathered and father, with the Bible in

hand, led them in procession until they arrived at the church. In the
distance could be seen a line of men, women and boys on both sides of
the steps. The elders tried to persuade father to give up the attempt and
go no further. He turned to them and said, "I came to conquer for the
Lord, and if you do not come with me I shall go alone." When the
rabble saw them coming, they began to shout, "Here they come. Here
come the saints." A boy approached--more bold than the rest--and as he
came father took him by the hand and said, "Good morning, my little
man. I am glad to see the young as well as the old to welcome me."
Then he spoke to the people and said, "You make me very happy, my
dear friends. I did not expect such a large congregation to meet me, a
stranger," and took each by the hand. In one hand they held sticks,
stones and staves. As he spoke kindly to them, they dropped their
missiles and extended their hands. His bravery had awed them and his
kindness and magnetism had won them. At last he gained the upper
step in front of the church and, like Paul, he cried, "Hear ye the word of
the Lord. For today shall peace and righteousness dwell among you.
Hear what the Lord God speaketh to you. I came not to make war upon
you, but bring you the message of peace. As this building is not in
condition to enter, I will give you the divine message from the door of
the temple." After a short sermon he told them his mission was to
rebuild the church, and he was going to ask them all to help. A short
prayer followed his remarks, and the benediction closed this
remarkable epoch in the history of the church. Before the year was past
the church had been restored. The membership increased, the Sabbath
school grew and the church nourished beyond the expectations of the
oldest members.
Two and a half years later we went to Mt. Carmel, a small town on the
Wabash river. Conditions were more favorable, yet it was not to be
stationary, for only two or three years. During that time I was born,
June 12, 1836. I made the eighth child--six girls and two boys. When I
was a little over three years old, father left Mt. Carmel to fill the
vacancy of the church in Jonesborough, Union county, Ill., in an
unsettled portion of the state, among good Christian people who had
begun to settle on farms and stock farms. Acres of grain and corn fields
stretched far and wide. Jonesborough was a very small town where

these people got their supplies in exchange for their produce. The
women wove their cloth and linen and spun their yarn and did the dairy
work, while the men cleared and planted and built log houses, barns
and cribs. We were heartily welcomed by these good, primitive people.
They had waited so long for a shepherd to lead them that many of the
congregation were in waiting and the elders and trustees were on hand
to see to the conveyance of the household goods, which were quickly
put in waiting wagons.
[Illustration: JEWEL WORN BY LADY BARBARA METZGER
Great-grandmother of Mrs. Blake-Alverson]
It was the Indian summer of the year. The foliage was bright and the air
crisp and cool. Although a child, the impression made upon me was
one that I have gone over in my mind many times, and I can see every
inch of the road, the kind people, the beautiful scenery, birds of bright
plumage, and rabbits darting across the road at the sound of our wheels.
It was late