Pentecostal Possibilities or "The Story of My Life"
by Milton Lorenzo (M. L.) Haney
CHAPTER 18
The Work at Canton
In the fall of 1849 we were sent to Canton, Ills., with Rev. John Morey for a Presiding Elder. Like many others of his day, he had been deprived of the culture of the schools, but was a man of strong personality and an able preacher. He spoke with exceeding rapidity, and sometimes very loud. He was making a speech on the Conference floor in Chicago, when Uncle John Sinclair arose, saying: "Bishop, I arise to request that Bro. Morey lower his voice; he is speaking so loud we cannot hear him!" He was a strong doctrinal preacher, and not infrequently convinced skeptics of the truth of the Christian Scriptures. His active and useful life was closed in California.
We had just set up housekeeping in Canton when intelligence came that my brother Freeborn had died with cholera. On his first Sabbath in Aurora he had preached twice. He preached on Sabbath night, and went to glory in holy triumph Monday night. He was four years and seven months older than myself, and very dear to me. It seemed mysterious that one so young, so useful, should thus be hurried away; but many have met him since who were brought to Christ by his ministry.
Our little, old frame church had served the people from the beginning, but had outlived its day. Canton was then largely without sidewalks, and the mud the people would wade through at times to reach that church as incredible. As as often the custom of Methodists in early times, the church was located a little out of town where somebody had donated a lot! But many were hungry for the gospel in those days and they came. For many years a rowdy class of young men had been disturbers of the peace. They had tried their hand on the Baptists, but Mr. Maple, a Baptist merchant, had violently pitched some of their number down the church steps which to them was a painful experience. So they all had concluded to disturb the Methodists. I had not failed by acts of kindness to secure order in any other place, and said I could do it here. So I sought a personal acquaintance with the parties and for two months had brought the best resources of love to bear. They made frequent promises, but as often broke them. One Sabbath night, during a preliminary song and prayer service, I came in and found them performing variously. They were grouped together and I sat down among them, suggesting that I expected nice behavior at their hands, etc., etc. They assured me of first-class conduct, and thanked them kindly and went forward to the pulpit.
Preparatory to preaching I knelt down for private prayer, when I distinctly heard the renewal of their jollification. The time was nearing for our revival meeting, and I determined, as a preparation for service, I would close that up at once. So before dismissing the audience, in a kindly way I said my relation to some of our young people reminded me of the story in the spelling book of an old man who found a young sauce box on an apple tree, and with kind words and entreaties tried to get him to come down. These failing, he blustered round and pulled up some turf and grass roots and tossed them at him, which made him more defiant. These all failing, he now resorted to stones, and the sauce box was brought to time. So, having tried every kindly resort to secure order in this church, I should now test the virtue of stones. I proposed being deliberate about it, but should begin in the morning and persevere day after day till the end was reached. So I gave six days to them, sending a constable for one at a time, till I had made the grand rounds. I requested the Justice not to place fines unnecessarily high now, but there was not a case of failure, and each one paid his fine. From that to the end of my ministry in Canton there never was the slightest trouble. More than that, nearly all of those boys were converted that winter!
It is a crime against God, and society, for Christian people to allow disorderly conduct in Divine service. Especially is it a sin against the disorderly parties themselves, and the longer it is allowed the more certain the final doom of such parties.
We had a gracious revival meeting not long after this which greatly increased our numbers and strength, and the following summer we burned the brick for a new and large church, which served that society for forty years.