liiiil 
 
 Ilii 
 
CL Bk. 
 
 THE ETHEL CARR PEACOCK 
 MEMORIAL COLLECTION 
 
 Matris amori monumentum 
 
 TRINITY COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 
 DURHAM. N. C. 
 1903 
 
 Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Dred Peacock 
 
MEMORIAL 
 
 OF 
 
 ev. R.. H. 
 
 (V 
 
 GREENSBORO : 
 Thomas Brothers, Book and Job Printers. 
 1891. 
 
Funeral of f^ev. U- H- Wills. 
 
 Services were held at the late residence of the deceased, on 
 Saturday, November 7th, at 11 o'clock a. m., and were par- 
 ticipated in by Rev. S. H. Hilliard, pastor of West Market 
 Street M. E. Church, South, and Rev's J. R. Ball, W. F. Ken- 
 nett and J. L. Michaux, of the Methodist Protestant Church. 
 
 Rev. J. R. Ball read the 90th Psalm. 
 
 The music, ''Abide With Me," was s^veetly and touchingly 
 rendered by select voices under the direction of Mr. C. H. ' 
 Ireland, accompanied by Mrs. C. H. Ireland on the piano, in. 
 strict and beautiful harmony. 
 
 Rev. S. H. Hilliard offered prayer and Rev. J. L. Michaux. 
 delivered the Memorial Address, which was followed by the 
 second hymn, "I would not live alway." I 
 
 Then the remains, in charge of Messrs. C. H. Ireland, J. S. | 
 Hunter, R. G. Glenn, Richard H. Brooks, J. A. Odell and 
 Prof. J. Allen Holt, the pall bearers, were borne to Green Hill 
 Cemetery for interment, where the concluding services were 
 performed by Rev's J. R. Ball and W. F. Kennett. 
 
MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 
 
 Rev. Richard H. Wills, eldest son of Rev. Wm. H. Wills, 
 D. D., and his wife Anna Whitaker, was born in Tarboro, N. 
 C, on the 10th day of October, 1836, and at the time of his 
 death, at 3.15 p. m., November 5th, 1891, was aged 55 years, 
 3 weeks and 4 days. 
 
 The field of pastoral work on which he closed up the record 
 of his ministerial labor was Haw River Circuit, which he 
 , was serving for the second year. He left home for the last 
 ' time on Saturday, October 24th, and drove to Midway Church, 
 in Rockingham county, a distance of 16 miles. He was by 
 no means well when he left home, yet, notwithstanding this 
 fact, such was the ardor of his zeal in his chosen work that 
 he preached three times on the Sabbath and three times each 
 on the two following days. The only explanation of this 
 seeming imprudence and disregard of consequences to him- 
 self is found in the words of St. Paul touching his own labors: 
 "Striving according to His working, which worketh in me 
 mightily." And in this from the evangelical Prophet: "For 
 Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake 
 I will not rest until the righteousness thereof go forth as 
 brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.'' 
 
 HE RETURNS HOME. 
 
 Suspending his labors at Midway on Tuesday night, Wed- 
 nesday morning found him unable to leave his bed, but on 
 Friday, accompanied by friends, he rode home sitting up in 
 his own buggy, making the distance by 2 o'clock, p. m. Dis- 
 \ ease had set in, with strong symptoms of pneumonia, and 
 J Dr. Charles M. Glenn was called, who at once apprehended 
 
4 
 
 the great peril the patient was in. The symptoms soon de- 
 veloped pneumonia, and the patient gradually grew worse. 
 Dr. Glenn called to his aid Dr. E. R. Michaux, and the com- 
 bined skill and united efforts of the two were earnestly given, 
 but without avail. 
 
 PATIENT SUBMISSION. 
 
 Neither on his arrival at home nor at any time afterwards 
 did the deceased utter a word that could be construed into a 
 murmur, but on the contrary, his heart was full of gratitude 
 and praise to God, whom he had so faithfully and zealously 
 served, evidencing a submission and patience in suffering 
 equal to the faithfulness with which he had performed the 
 active duties of his ministr}^, ready for life or death, as the 
 Master might choose. 
 
 IN THE BOSOM OF HIS FAMILY. J 
 
 His wife and their five children — all sons — together with th^ 
 several other relatives who comprised his household, were 
 with him in his closing hours. 
 
 His eldest son, Prof Geo. S. Wills, one of the faculty of Oak 
 Ridge Institute, and his fourth son, Richard, a student at the 
 Institute, came down on a visit to their beloved parent upon 
 being advised of the serious nature of his illness, and their 
 coming was to him a source of much gratification. William, the 
 second son, was at Wilson teaching school, and he also came- 
 when he had ascertained that his father was critically ill. 
 While yet unaware of William's arrival, the father, getting a 
 glimpse of his form in the room, inquired who it was. Being 
 told that it was William, he saluted the son affectionately, ask- 
 ing wherefore he had come, and when William replied, "I came 
 to see you and be with you," the father replied with his accus- 
 tomed tenderness, "This is a concentration of affection that 
 makes me feel quite lifted up." At one time while suffering 
 intensely he said, "My sufferings are infinitely less than those 
 which Jesus bore for me." 
 
5 
 
 THE HOUR OF RELEASE. 
 
 On Thursday, at about 2:35, p. m., it became evident that 
 he was dying. Dr. Michaux, who happened to be then at his 
 home near by, was called and went immediately to the sick 
 room, but respiration itself came feebly and ceased altogether 
 at 3:15. Gently, quietly, noiselessly, peacefully as the fading 
 of a summer cloud, God's devoted servant quitted the frail 
 tenement of clay to be clothed upon with the house which is 
 from heaven. 
 
 It pleased our Heavenly Father to grant to our Brother 
 what seemed a calm, quiet, painless breathing out of life, as 
 if the weary eyelids had been closed under the touch of a 
 gentle hand unseen. There was no struggle, no contortion, 
 no groan, no sigh; no beseeching look for human aid, no 
 glance that betokened the loneliness of the passage across the 
 shadowy vale. The same expression of quiet, patient satis- 
 faction, which he wore in health, and which continued with 
 him in his last sickness, dwelt upon his features in the closing 
 hour, and went with him to his dreamless resting place. 
 
 THE COMPLETE VICTORY. 
 
 But there is at least a plausible reason which may be as- 
 signed for the calm and undisturbed quiet of our brother from 
 the first to the last of his sickness, and the absence of any 
 mental contlict during his entire illness. The reason seems to 
 be this: Very early in his religious course he had submitted 
 his heart fully to God, had surrendered all his powers to His 
 service, and had gained a complete victory over sin and the 
 great Tempter, so that in the dying hour "the Wicked One 
 touched him not." In this he was a partaker with his Divine 
 Master who, having overcome the Tempter in the wilderness, 
 could say of him as He felt the chill of his approach on the 
 night of the betrayal, "The prince of this w^orld cometh and 
 hath nothing in me." Thanks be unto God whogiveth to His 
 servants so complete and glorious a victory in the parting 
 hour. 
 
6 
 
 HIS ENLISTMENT. ] 
 
 Rev. R. H. Wills enlisted early in the service of the Master, ■ 
 being converted at the age of sixteen. The date of his license i 
 to preach is not at hand, nor yet the date of his first pulpit ' 
 effort, but his first sermon was preached at Bethesda Church, ■ 
 near his father's home, in Halifax county — it is believed — in | 
 1855, in his 19th year. ^ 
 
 From this time on until the autumn of 1858 he filled the : 
 position of local preacher, aiding zealously and effectively in I 
 all the protracted and revival meetings within his reach. ^ 
 
 POSITIONS FILLED. -■ 
 
 I 
 
 He joined Conference at the session oi 1858, was assigned \ 
 to Tar River Circuit, and at Red Oak Church, Nash county, j 
 December 12, 1858, preached his first sermon as an itinerant 
 from Luke ix: 23. He w^as returned to Tar River from the ' 
 Conference of 1859, and at the Conference of 1860 was or- ] 
 dained deacon. From here he was assigned to Albemarle j. 
 circuit, continuing thereon the second year, and the year i 
 1863 he spent in rest at home. The years '64 and '65 he rode > 
 Haw River circuit. i 
 
 On January 20th, 1864, he was married in Bethesda church ^ 
 to Ann Louisa Norman, daughter of the late Joseph S. Norman, ■] 
 of Washington county, Rev. W. H. Wills performing the ^ 
 ceremony. The year '66 he travelled Roanoke circuit ; '67, 
 '68, '69, '70, Albemarle circuit; '71, '72, Halifax. In the: 
 years '73, '74 and '75 he was President of the Conference. 
 The years '76 and '77 he spent on Davidson circuit; '78 and 
 '79 Winston station ; '80 Tar River ; '81 and '82 Greensboro 
 circuit. During '83 he acted as stationed Executive of the , 
 District and pastor of Winston mission ; '84 and '85 as trav- j 
 elling President ; '86 on Mocksville circuit ; '87 and '88 Greens- ' 
 boro; '89, President, and '90 and '91, Haw River circuit, his 
 last work. Thus it is seen that he spent 32 years in active 
 work. He w^as also a member of the General Conference of 
 
1866, of the General Convention of 1877, and of the General 
 Conferences of '84 and '88, besides serving as a member of the 
 Joint Commission of the Methodist and Methodist Protestant 
 bodies at Pittsburg, Pa., in 1876. 
 
 . THE MAN AND HIS WORK. 
 
 Up to this point in this memorial the writer has lound no 
 difficulty, but to describe the man and his work — who can do 
 that? No one, except in a very imperfect manner; yet an 
 attempt is made to present some of the more prominent traits 
 of his character, the first of which is his love and obedience 
 to his parents, which, if space permitted, might be strikingly 
 illustrated. Our deceased brother maintained to the last the 
 most pronounced aflfeciion for his parents, and a short while 
 before his death announced his intention of visiting, in Jan- 
 uary next, the old homestead to see his aged and widowed 
 mother, remarking that his purpose was to visit her every 
 year. To-his honored lather, while the latter lived, the de- 
 ceased gave the utmost deference founded in filial love and 
 respect; and it is questionable whether any great character 
 can be formed without this element, which the apostle em- 
 phasises as 'the first commandment with promise." 
 
 But this obedience and love to his parents found its coun- 
 terpart, if not one of its sequences, in the tender afiection, the 
 mutual love and respect which adorned and beautified his 
 own home. 
 
 HIS LOVE FOR SOULS. 
 
 Next after this was his great love for souls. He loved his 
 fellow men because Christ died to redeem them. 
 
 He went about from place to place striving to win souls to 
 Christ, and willingly sacrificed himself for the love which he 
 bore to them. He yearned over men, and preached and 
 prayed and wept in his great zeal to rescue them from the do- 
 minion of darkness. But he manifested a special love for 
 
8 
 
 those who were of the household of faith, for his brethren in 
 Christ Jesus, and for all the disciples of the Master. 
 
 HIS UNSELFISHNESS. 
 
 The great mainspring of this love for men is to be found 
 in his greater love to Christ, whom he loved with an ardor 
 most intense, and as a result of which he became as unselfish 
 as it would be possible for a mortal to become. I speak consci- 
 entiously and deliberately when I say that Richard H. Wills 
 was the most unselfish person I ever met; and in this respect 
 I have no hope of meeting his equal. I reach the conclusioi;i 
 of the unselfishness of our beloved Brother from having ob- 
 served him closely for over thirty years, and repeatedly in 
 connection with matters where, if selfishness had existed, it 
 could not but have been discovered. I make special note of 
 unselfishness for two reasons, one of vvhich is that it is so rare- 
 ly found with any near approach to perfection, even among 
 christian men, and the other is that it is preeminently Christ- 
 like. 
 
 And possibly there is no one trait of character among men 
 which presents so serious an obstruction to the progress of 
 Oospel truth as absolute selfishness. Our deceased brother 
 not only avoided this great evil, but clothed himself with its 
 opposite, and exhibited it in all his dealings among men. 
 
 A LARGE hearted ACT. 
 
 An exceedingly generous act on the part of our Brother, an 
 act which does not often find a parallel in a world all too 
 prone to be selfish, claims a place in this brief tribute to this 
 eminently Christlike servant of Jesus. 
 
 His immediate predecessor on one of the circuits, had, for 
 some reason, failed to receive, by a considerable sum, the 
 amount of the salary promised him, and for the lack of it was 
 financially embarrassed. When the facts became known to 
 Bro. Wills he at once set about to have the wrong done to his 
 
9 
 
 brother righted, and at a comparatively early day, through 
 his disinterested interference, had collected and paid over the 
 principal part of the sum due, if not all of it, although he had 
 reason to believe that it might entail upon himself a consider- 
 able loss on his own salary, which was small at best. This is 
 only another instance in which our beloved brother showed 
 how little the common infirmity of self seeking had place in 
 his hieart, and how he could lose sight of himself in the en- 
 deavor to advance the interest of another. And in this, as in 
 many other prominent traits of his character, he was but 
 acting in harmony with his divine Master whose image shone 
 so conspicuously and so steadily in his life. 
 
 A CONSPICUOUS TRAIT. 
 
 But one of the most conspicuous traits in the character of 
 our Brother, in relation to affairs purely practical, was his 
 faithfulness in discharging, at the proper time and in the best 
 manner possible, all and every one of the various obligations 
 which, by disciplinary requirement or conference resolution 
 had been devolved upon him. The simple flict that it bore 
 the impress of competent authority secured his obedience at 
 once, and his loyal heart had no further question, and for this 
 reason our Brother was found faithful to every interest of the 
 church, whether local or general, and he sought with the ut- 
 most^ithfulness the highest success of all. And who of 
 those who survive him can ever forget what he was in these 
 things? Or who, again, will not duly magnify the faithful- 
 ness which so strikingly distinguished himf* 
 
 PRAYERS AND INTBRCESSIONS. 
 
 As a man of prayer we could not exaggerate the constancy 
 and persevering earnestness with which he everywhere had 
 recourse to the Throne of Grace, by reason of which he was 
 always in the Spirit, always ready to every good word and 
 work. He prayed without ceasing. Much of his praying 
 
10 
 
 was of the intercessory kind in behalf of his fellow men, and 
 one of the first thoughts that struck me when his great heart 
 of love ceased to beat, was that now one of our most constant 
 intercessors has been removed, and I was forcibly reminded 
 of the words which God spoke to Joshua when Moses, the 
 intercessor for Israel, died : "Moses, my servant, is dead;" and 
 I trembled to think of the removal of one who was for us all 
 the most faithful of human intercessors. 
 
 INTERCEDES FOR HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 It is related of him that during the years in which he 
 served as the executive of the Conference he set apart a cer- 
 tain hour each day when he withdrew to some secluded spot, 
 and there presented in earnest intercessory prayer, and indi- 
 vidually, the name of every ministerial brother filling the 
 various fields of labor, invoking upon them and upon their 
 charges the grace that would fit them for success. 
 
 Surely, in our great sense of loss in the removal of our be- 
 loved brother we should take into the account what he was 
 to the church by reason of his constant, earnest and persistent 
 intercessions' before the throne of God. But none of us can 
 know how much we are indebted to those intercessions for 
 grace and mercy from heaven until the affairs of time shall 
 be wound up. 
 
 THOROUGHLY CONSECRATED. ^ 
 
 His devotion to duty was complete and never failing. He 
 was one of the most conscientious of men in all the afi^airs of 
 life, taking the word of God as the rule of his conduct, and 
 making the word his daily study, and imploring the hght of 
 the Holy Spirit to aid in the understanding of its mysteries. 
 
 One of the characteristics which distinctly marked him 
 was his deep and unaffected humility, which arose, no doubt, 
 from his clear views of the Divine Majesty and of man's im- 
 measurable inferiority. 
 
 Richard H. Wills was a thoroughly consecrated man, and 
 
11 
 
 in the highest sense of that term, and this consecration was 
 manifested upon his first appearance as a preacher, involving 
 his heart, his head, his hands ; his soul, body and spirit; all 
 he was, all he had, without exception and without reservation, 
 for time and for eternity. 
 
 The thorough consecration of our beloved brother to the 
 service of the Lord prepares us to expect that he would not 
 fall behind in the grace of giving of his earthly substance to 
 the support of the gospel ; nor did he fail in this, but was a 
 pattern of liberality. At an early period in his ministerial 
 course it appeared to him as a duty that he should devote the 
 tenth of his entire income to benevolent purposes, and this 
 he observed as one of the fixed rules of life, although it is 
 believed that he went beyond this in his contributions to the 
 various needs of the church. He first gave himself and then 
 he gave all he had, to God. 
 
 As one of the consequences of this thorough consecration 
 he carried with him the savour of Christ wherever he went — 
 a meek, loving, earnest, tireless toiler for the salvation of men. 
 
 HIS CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 
 
 Probably no one could exceed him in that high and essen- 
 tial quality of conscientiousness, which marked his actions 
 in every relation of life, extending to great and small things 
 alike, and which no considerations of self interest could per- 
 vert or extinguish. As an illustration of this point one inci- 
 dent is introduced. It is related by one of the assessors for 
 the city of Greensboro. "Rev. Mr. Wills," said the assessor, 
 "was an exception among the large number of persons who 
 came to give in their taxables. He was just and exact in 
 every particular, but when it came to the matter of notes, he 
 did not merely report the face amount of the notes, as every 
 one else did, but carefully and accurately calculated the interest 
 up to the day, and added the interest to the amount of the 
 notes." And this was to him but the everyday working of a 
 conscience which was part and parcel of himself. 
 
12 
 
 AS A PEACEMAKER. 
 
 But it deserves to be said of our dear brother that he ex- 
 erted a fine influence everywhere as a peace-maker, not only 
 in a direct, but also, on occasion, in an indirect way. One of 
 his ministerial brethren who feels most acutely the loss which 
 has fallen upon the church and upon individuals as well, 
 gives this testimony : "Most sensibly shall I feel the loss of 
 him in our Annual Conference, where his influence upon me 
 was so wholesome and so potent. It is my failing to be ex- 
 citable and hasty in speech, and to utter things which should 
 be left unsaid. He was always calm, always cool, always 
 self-possessed, and when he saw that I was about to act rashly 
 he would come to me and hold me in restraint. How sadly 
 now shall I miss his influence at such times." 
 
 HOW HE LOVED AND FOLLOW^ED THE MASTER. 
 
 And, dearly beloved, such things are but the true belong- 
 ings of one who had imbibed so deeply of the spirit of 
 his divine Master, and who bore about with him every- 
 where in more than a merely metaphorical way, "the marks 
 of the Lord Jesus," and "the mind that was in Christ." 
 His spiritual adornments were such as will be worn in the 
 great marriage supper of the Lamb, whither he has gone. 
 
 In tracing the habitual closeness with which he imitated the 
 great Exemplar of mankind, one is reminded of the saying of 
 one of the more distinguished pilgrims in the immortal 
 Allegory: 
 
 "I have loved to hear my Lord spoken of; and, wherever I 
 have seen the print of his shoe in the earth, there I have 
 coveted to set my foot too. His name has been to me as a 
 civet-box; yea, sweeter than all perfumes. His voice to me 
 has been most sweet; and his countenance I have more de- 
 sired than they that have most desired the light of the sun. 
 
 • • He has held me, and I have kept me from mine 
 iniquities; yea, my steps hath he strengthened in the way." 
 
13 
 
 THE STRAIGHT EDGE 
 
 It may seem extravagant, but I think it is not, when I ex- 
 press the conviction that if the straight edge of the moral law, 
 Moses and the prophets, Jesus and his apostles, were laid 
 along side the life of our dearly loved and lamented brother, 
 the disparity would be as slight as in a similar test applied to 
 any human character — not of modern times, but of any time. 
 
 While as a preacher he was full, clear, evangelical, faithful, 
 effective, declaring all the counsel of God, and enforcing the 
 observance of every duty, leaving out nothing within the 
 scope of christian obedience, he abounded in the related ex- 
 ercises of prayer and praise, and emphasised with wonderful 
 zeal and spirit the devotional services of God's sanctuary. 
 
 The most precious memories which many have treasured up 
 of our dear brother are, no doubt, in connection with the ser- 
 vices of praise and prayer which he led with so much spirit. 
 
 THEY WILL REMEMBER. 
 
 And his brethren of the Annual Conference, who will see 
 his face no more among them, while they remember how val- 
 uable he was to the deliberations of the body, how watchful, 
 how attentive, how genial, how impartial, how intent on find- 
 ing the best means for the accomplishment of the greatest 
 good, will not forget how prompt he was to be present at the 
 devotional exercises of the morning session, no matter how 
 far were his lodgings from the seat of the Conference, nor how 
 difficult the way over which he had to come. What an ex- 
 ample for others, who in like instances have been careless and 
 wanting. These are some of the very many things by which 
 our brother will be long remembered, and which should ad- 
 monish us for good. 
 
 SEALS AND CROWNS- 
 
 The preaching of Bro. Wills, faithful and full of evangelical 
 truth as it was, and thoroughly imbued with the spirit of 
 
14 
 
 consecration and re-inforced with the power of all prayer and 
 -supplication in the Spirit, would naturally be instrumental in 
 bringing many souls into the kingdom ; and there were many 
 seals to his ministry which shall deck his crown with never- 
 fading stars in the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. In the abundance of his labors he was scarcely 
 equaled by any man of his time, and if we take into the ac- 
 count the comparative frailty of his physical organism and 
 the thoroughness with which he did his work, his achieve- 
 ment is a marvel. 
 
 INSCRUTABLE PROVIDENCE. 
 
 The Providence by which the Methodist Protestant Church 
 is at this time bereaved of a ministerial brother whose place 
 cannot in all things be filled, is inscrutable to us ; but it is the 
 Lord's work, and to Him we must submit. To Him it may 
 have appeared that our brother had finished the work of his 
 life. He had made full proof of his ministry. He had fully 
 set his house in order, in that higher sense of which Abraham 
 was a conspicuous example, " commanding his children and 
 his household after him, that the}^ should keep the way of the 
 Lord," thus rounding out his life as completely as if he had 
 filled his four-score years. 
 
 But there is another thought which suggests itself, and 
 which may be worth considering, as an answer to the inquiry, 
 ''why was our brother, at such a time, when his presence 
 seemed so necessary to the interests of his family and the 
 church, with no one to fill his place, taken away from us?" 
 
 This is ofi'ered as a solution : Among the many exclamations 
 of loved ones concerning our bi'other when he had breathed 
 his last, was this : " O, he has gone to be with that Jesus he 
 loved so much ! How many times has he said that he had 
 such a yearning to see the face of Jesus." And who can say, 
 dear friends, but that Jesus accepted that longing desire as a 
 prayer, and when it had been repeated a great number of 
 times, at last, when our brother had grown weary in the bur- 
 
15 
 
 den and heat of the day, Jesus called hirn that he might come 
 up and see his face with joy. And who can say that this is 
 not true ? 
 
 GREETINGS IN HEAVEN. 
 
 The thought was expressed, a short time after the death of 
 the deceased, by one who was nearest to him of all others, 
 and who of all others best knew how ripe he was for that 
 world, and how tenderly he cherished the hope of meeting 
 loved ones there, that "by this time he has seen his fath- 
 er who went to heaven before him, and his brother and his 
 sister, and my father and my two brothers; by this time he 
 has seen and recognized all in the dear home to which he has 
 gone." O blessed anticipation which cheers the hearts of the 
 friends of Jesus, who, as parts of a family whose final home 
 is in the Jerusalem above, go one by one through the fiiding 
 years to find again and reclaim forever the loved and the lost. 
 And this, 0 ye seekers of that blessed Elysian, is what is 
 meant by the "Gathering Home." 
 
 IN CONCLUSION. 
 
 Conscious of the necessary imperfection of this sketch, by 
 reason of the narrowness of the space permitted and the dif- 
 ficulties which always attend the performance of a task so 
 many sided and so delicate, it only remains that we bid an 
 afiectionate adieu to our loving and beloved Brother, praying 
 heavenly blessings on those who most keenly feel his loss, 
 and expressing the desire that our end be like his, the begin- 
 ning of Life Eternal with the Redeemer and His Saints in the 
 Home Everlasting. Amen. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 [From Rev. T. J. Ogburn.] 
 
 Henderson, N. C, Nov. 20th, 1891. 
 
 I am not worthy or competent to write in this connection, of my 
 dear Brother, the .Rev. R. H. Wills. But as love may intrude where 
 even merit may not, I venture to lay this simple flower upon his grave 
 
 It will always be an inspiration to me to know that he w^as my 
 friend. I loved him more than I did any other man. Coming upon 
 my young life at its most impressible stage, gaining my full confidence, 
 opening his pulpit to me in my sixteenth year, encouraging my w^eak 
 efforts, kindly correcting some of my many faults and helping me over 
 the rough places, he gave impulse and direction to all my future 
 course and influenced me more than has any other human instrumen- 
 tality excepting my dear Christian mother. To me he w^as the ideal 
 Christian gentleman. His life was an exemplification of practical 
 Christianity. As to any immorality, he was above all suspicion. The 
 law of love was the rule of his life. Honesty, truth, purity, all the 
 Christian graces, shone out in all his conduct and conversation. True" 
 to every trust, faithful to his convictions, fearless in the defense of the; 
 right, a friend to all good, a foe to all evil, you "always knew where 
 to find him." "Steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work 
 of the Lord," his constancy and consistency were such that those who 
 knew him best loved him most. The crowning glory of his character; 
 was his intense, abiding and all-inspiring love for Christ. Christ was 
 all in all to him. He loved to preach Christ and did preach Him in- 
 every sermon. How radiant his face and how thrilling his voice ag. 
 he would preach Christ I He loved to hear Christ preached. I think- 
 he was the best hearer I ever had. He talked of Christ, day and' 
 night; always and every where he wanted to talk about Him. His high- 
 est, his only ambition was to be like Jesus. His heart's con^ant yearn- 
 ing was to be consecrated, sanctified, ivholly devoted to Christ. Without I 
 professing sanctification he lived and was the most devoted Christian * 
 I think I ever knew. Often he would catch a glimpse of the coming '| 
 glory, and then with rapturous shouts he would praise the Lord. Now * 
 he is "forever with the Lord." He behold^s His face in rigeteousness 
 and is satisfied. Earth is poorer for his absence. Heaven is richer for 
 his presence. We miss him here, but hope to greet him there, "some-, 
 sweet day." May grace sustain and comfort his bereaved loved ones 
 and us w^ho mourn with them. And may his mantle fall on the Con- 
 ference so painfully aflSicted in his death. 
 
17 
 
 [From Rev. W. F. KennetL] 
 
 Kernersville, N, C, Nov. 16th, 1891. 
 Rev. R. H. Wills, as I saw him, was one of the most perfect chris- 
 tian characters I have ever known. I knew him first as my pastor, 
 and he was a faithful shepherd of the flock. When I joined Confer- 
 ence he was President. His official visits to my circuit, (Buncombe) 
 were an inspiration to the boy pastor. His words of counsel, his 
 manifest interest in my success, still linger in my mind and heart. 
 He was, to me, a father in Israel— a spiritual benefactor. I loved him as 
 I have loved but few men. I loved to honor him while he was yet 
 with us. I mourn his loss almost as I would that of my own father. 
 I thank God for his beautiful consecrated life. I pray God to help me 
 follow him as he follow^ed Christ. 
 
 I From Dr. Ferree."] 
 
 Worth VILLE. N. C, Nov. 20th, 1891. 
 
 I regard the late Rev. R. H. Wills as one of the very best men I ev- 
 er met, and I feel confident that his place in the North Carolina An- 
 nual Conference M. P. Church will be hard to fill. 
 
 [From J. M. Cutchin."] 
 
 Whitakers, N. C, Nov. 23rd, 1891. 
 Bro. Wills loved Tar River Circuit, on which he began his itinerant 
 life in 1858, and Tar River never thought more of a preacher than it 
 did of him. 
 
 As for myself, I will say, I believe he was the best man lever knew. 
 
 [From John C. Roberts.'] 
 
 Kernersville, N, C, Nov. 18, 1891. 
 More than thirty years ago I became acquainted with bro. Wills. 
 Though I was never under his immediate pastoral charge, yet I have 
 heard him preach often ; have been with him much at the fireside, 
 in bodies of deliberation, and on several long journeys. I have thus 
 had good opportunity to study and learn him in all his parts. I feel 
 warranted in saying I have never known among men a better charac- 
 ter than his. He was well equipped in mind, in heart, in energy and 
 deportment for his high calling. He was all things, innocent, to all 
 men. He was a faithful and conscientious exemplifier of the gospel 
 he so earnestly and ably preached. Be it said to his imperishable 
 
18 
 
 honor, that the sharp criticisms he had sometimes to endure resulted 
 only from the courage of his convictions: He could suffer — he could 
 not violate his conscience. 
 
 To the writer he seemed ripe, long ago, for a change to a higher life; 
 but, it may be presumed, God detained him here to complete a goodly- 
 heritage for his family and his church. Thank God for such a man — 
 for such a life! Death cannot sever him from us. There is a chain 
 that binds us to him — the chain of everlasting love — and this love the 
 Spirit's earnest of everlasting life. "He that believeth in me, though 
 he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth and believeth 
 in me shall never die." 
 
 RESOLUTIONS OF QUARTERLY CONFERENCE OF HAW RIVER CIRCUIT. 
 
 "Whereas, it has pleased Almighty God to remove from our midst 
 our much beloved brother. Rev. R. H. Wills. And 
 
 "Whereas, we acknowledge! the hand of God in all things, and that 
 He doeth all things for His glory and our eternal good — 
 
 Is/.- Resolved, That by his death our Church has lost a faithful and 
 consistent member and the Haw River Circuit a faithful minister, 
 and that we bow in humble submission to the Divine will, remember- 
 ing that he was a faithful preacher of the gospel. 
 
 2nd: Resolved, That we will ever cherish his memory, and trust that 
 his sad and untimely death will lead many to the cross, and be the 
 means of making us all purer and better. 
 
 3rcZ; Resolved, That we tender our heartfelt sympathy to the devoted! 
 widow and many relatives, and pray that this dispensation of God's ^ 
 providence may be sanctified to their good, and they may realize that, 
 he cannot return to them, but that they may go to him. 
 
 Ath: Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon the] 
 Journal of the Quarlerly Conference of Haw River Circuit; that a copy! 
 be sent to the Methodist Protestant, Daily Workman and Webster's Weekly A 
 with a request to be published, and that a copy be furnished the] 
 widow of the deceased. 
 
 J. F. Dixon, 
 
 "W. 0. SWAIM, 
 J. H. HUTCHERSON. 
 
 resolutions of HALIFAX CIRCUIT QUARTERLY CONFERENCE. 
 
 We, your committee, appointed by the quarterly conference of Hali- 
 fax Circuit, in session on this the 13th day of November, 1891, cheer- ' 
 fully comply with your request in offering this tribute to the memory / 
 
 I 
 
19 
 
 of Rev. R. H. Wills: our former pastor, companion, friend and faith- 
 ful minister in the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose 
 life so forcibly declared that his one desire was to know Christ and 
 him crucified, and through all the trials and conflicts of life could say 
 with the illustrious Paul, "But none of these things move me, neither 
 count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course 
 with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, 
 to testify the gospel of the grace of God." 
 
 Besolved, That our hearts are sad because we shall see his face no 
 more in the flesh. 
 
 That our church and the cause of Christ sustain a loss which can 
 only be supplied by the wisdom of Him who worketh all things ac- 
 cording to the counsel of his own will; and we pray Him that he will 
 raise up that help which shall more than fill the broken ranks. 
 
 Resolved, That we sorrow not as those who have no hope, being con- 
 fident that our loss is his eternal gain, and that he has gone to that 
 city which hath foundations ; where with others of our loved and 
 revered ones he is watching and waiting on the other shore for each 
 one of us and for all those to whom he so faithfully and lovingly de- 
 clared the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of his 
 recent sermons preached at Bethesda is now fresh in our memory, in 
 which he so forcibly and affectionately portrayed to us the truths in 
 the text ; "But he that endureth to the end shall be saved." His 
 life and death bear evident testimony to its truth. In this, his native 
 county, witnesses are not wanting among the rich and poor, white and 
 colored, to rise up call him blessed, and to testify to his consecrated 
 youth while at school and in his early ministry ; no more attentive, 
 affectionate and dutiful son, brother and companion could be found in 
 all the land. 
 
 Resolved, That his departure leaves the world poorer, enriches 
 heaven, and brightens our hopes and prospects for the better life. 
 
 We bow in submission to the will of Him who doeth all things well. 
 " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name 
 of the Lord." 
 
 Rev. W. T. Totten, 
 Hardy Pitts, 
 J. E. Hunter, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 Brinkleyville, N. C, Nov. 16, 189L 
 
20 
 
 IFrom Rev. D. A. Highfill.'] 
 
 In a well written letter of tribute, from Rev. D. A. Highfill, dated 
 Nov. 12th, are found the following points of interest : " Rev. R. H. 
 Wills conducted a protracted meeting at Flat Rock in the year 1865, 
 in which at its close, it was reported that there had been no converts ; 
 but one, the writer of this tribute, was among the seekers, had passed 
 through a change during the meeting which turned the whole course 
 of his life. Under the change then and there wrought he entered the 
 gospel ministry, and has labored therein for twenty years, during 
 which time numbers have been converted and five or six young men 
 influenced to enter the ministry of the Methodist Protestant Church. 
 His public prayers seemed to be those of a person in close communion 
 with God. He was a close student of the Bible, and evidenced a 
 remarkable familiarity with its contents. He was a faithful preacher 
 of the gospel. His sermons were plain, pointed and practical, and 
 sometimes eloquent, but never sensational. He declared the whole 
 counsel of God, depending upon the Holy Spirit to bless the truth and 
 give it success. 
 
 " The Methodist Protestant Church in North Carolina has lost one 
 of her ablest ministers. I never heard him preach a poor sermon. 
 He always preached well. 
 
 "He unswervingly served the Church in every position that demand- 
 ed his labors — as president of the Conference, representative in the 
 General Conference, pastor of circuits, however weak and unpromis- 
 ing — in every position he performed cheerfully the labors assigned 
 him. I believe he loved the Methodist Protestant Church sincerely 
 and devotedly. 
 
 "In a word, he was a faithful, practical, earnest, conscientious, conse- 
 crated, devoted minister of God's word. 
 
 "O that his mantle may early fall upon some worthy young man 
 His work here is done. He will go in and out among us no more ! 
 How sad the thought ! How much we will miss him in our Conference 
 deliberations and work ! 
 
 "Farewell, dear brother. We hope to meet you again on the ever-: 
 green shore, where parting will be unknown forever. Amen." 
 
 {From Rev. S. W. Coe.] 
 
 RuTHSBURG, Md., November 25th, 1891. 
 1 have known our dear Brother Wills since my boyhood. I have' 
 seen him in every relation in life and have studied his character 
 from every point of view. I first heard him preach during his first 
 
21 
 
 tenn as'President. As a preacher he was able, always orthordox and 
 thoroughly reliable, and as a moral philosopher he perhaps had no 
 equal in the Conference. I had, years ago, set him down as one of the 
 noblest specimens of a Christian and a Christian Minister. He was a 
 man of prayer, and it may be said "he walked with God." ?Iis loy- 
 alty to the M. P. Church was never surpassed. 
 
 He was the embodiment of all that is true and noble in the highest 
 type of Christian manhood. He will be greatly missed ; may his man- 
 tle fall upon another. His death has brought sadness to our home. 
 One of God's noblemen has been called from toil and labor to his re- 
 ward. I am glad to be permitted to pay this tribute to the memory 
 of this true and tried man of God and my own personal friend for 
 many years. We expect to meet him again. 
 
 IFrom the Daily Workman.l 
 FUNERAL OF REV. R. H. WILLS. 
 
 Funeral services over the remains of the Rev. R. H. Wills, of the 
 Methodist Protesfant Church, who died on Thursday last, at 3:15 p. m., 
 were held this morning at 11 o'clock from his late residence on Keogh 
 street. 
 
 There was an appreciative representation present from the churches 
 of the city, and from Oak Ridge, Fairview, Moriah and Tabernacle. A 
 solemn and tearful interest was plainly manifest, and tokens of love, 
 sympathy and respect were abundant. 
 
 Rev. T. J. Ogburn, of Henderson, came up on the early morning 
 train to see the face of his beloved friend, but was obliged to return 
 East on the tirst train to meet his Sabbath appointment, so that he 
 could not be present at the funeral. 
 
MEMORIAL SERVICES 
 
 Held at Conference, Sunday, Dec. 6th, 1891. 
 
 Memorial services began at 2:30 o'clock p. m., Sunday, December 6, 
 1891. The choir sang hymn 189, "The Cleansing Fountain." Rev, W. 
 A. Bunch read 23rd Psalm. Choir sang hymn 472 with chorus, "Rock 
 of Ages Cleft for Me." Prayer by Rev. Benjamin Stout. The memorial 
 address prepared by Rev. J. L. Michaux was read by Bro. W. A. 
 Bunch. 
 
 Rev. W. C. Kennett said: "This death comes nearer my heart 
 than that of any other outside of my family. I first met Bro. Wills 
 thirty-one years ago ; since then the relationship between us has ever 
 been firm and close ; I loved him deeply and truly. On the day our 
 daughter died he had an appointment at our church. He came to our 
 home that day, preached her funeral, and remained with us two or 
 three days. He was rich in sympathy He spoke to me in the hour 
 of his bereavement, when his brother died, expressing his loss and 
 grief, but at length exclaiming: *If it takes afflictions to make me 
 better let them come.' He was at the side of my wife's death-bed 
 and offered prayer for us. He embraced me and said : 'Thank God 
 for a religion that saves in death, thus tenderly expressing his sym- 
 pathy in this sad hour." 
 
 Rev. G. E. Hunt said : "I am unworthy to speak of one so good, 
 so noble. I first met Bro. Wills thirty years ago. He was then one 
 of my best friends, and I feel that I have lost that friend. May we 
 in this hour of berevement consecrate ourselves anew to the Master." 
 
 Rev. C. A. Pickens said: " In the year of 1860 at the annual Con- 
 ference six or seven kneeled to receive the order of Deaconship. Bro . 
 Wills and myself were of that number. While there kneeling I per- 
 ceived that Bro. Wills wept, and doubtless he there re-consecrated 
 himself to God's service. I am the only one of that number left. It 
 makes me feel that I, too, must soon follow. I saw him a short while 
 before he died. We talked long together. Soon after this I received 
 a letter from my son saying : * Pa, how sad it is ; Bro. Wills is dead ; 
 we need him so much.' I dropped the letter, and with bowed head 
 asked God to prepare me to meet him in a better world." 
 
 Rev. C. L. Whitaker said : " I owe my being in the ministry to-day 
 more to the influence of Bro. Wills than to any thing else. Having 
 
23 
 
 lost my father when I was an infant he always seemed as a father 
 to me." 
 
 Rev. R. R. Hanner said : " I can not let this service pass without 
 expressing my love and affection for Bro. Wills. I first met him in 
 time of war. Fell in company with him on the train going to Con- 
 ference. At Salisbury a young man under the influence of alcohol 
 ■ came into the train and was swearing. Bro. Wills said : 'Young man, 
 have you not a mother ? for the sake of your mother and these minis- 
 tei-s do not take my Master's name in vain.' " 
 
 Rev. W. W. Amick said : " I distinctly remember the incident 
 related by Bro. Hanner, as I was one of the number present at the 
 time of its occurrence. Bro. Wills was a noble man. It is seldom 
 that my feelings are so wrought upon that I can not speak, but my 
 heart at this hour is too full for utterance." 
 
 Bro. Joseph Baswell said : " It was mv privilege when a mere lad 
 to know Bro. Wills. My mother was converted under his ministry, 
 as were a number of my friends." 
 
 Rev. F. T. Tagg said: "I have not been acquainted with Bro. 
 Wills as long as many of you in this Conference. I first met him eight 
 years ago at the General Conference at Baltimore. I almost instantly 
 recognized in him the elements of a high-toned Christian gentleman. 
 He possessed, in a remarkable degree, the elements of ' Suaviter in 
 modo and fortiter in re,' which went to make up Chesterfield's ideal 
 gentleman. He was a man of great suavity and gentleness of man- 
 ners, but equal firmness and decision of character. Consecrated to 
 God, loyal to the church, faithful to his duties, he stood almost with- 
 out a peer in his Conference. There is scarcely a man in this Confer- 
 ence who has missed him more than I. Between us there is an 
 unfinif^hed correspondence. The correspondence was of the most 
 friendly and delightful character, but by mutual agreement it was left 
 incomplete to be finished at this Conference. There is a weird and 
 beautiful song called " The Lost Chord." It represents a lady at the 
 instrument carelessly striking chords until suddenly she strikes a chord 
 80 strangely new and sweet, so different from anything she ever heard 
 before that she repeatedly attempts to produce it again, but without 
 success. The song closes with the interrogation, "Will that lost chord 
 be found in heaven ?" In coming here from the far South the inquiry 
 has frequently crossed my mind: Will we complete that interrupted 
 correspondence after awhile ; will the lost chord be found in heaven ? 
 It can not be found here. There is another thought that has interested 
 me. There is that in families which we call peculiarities. Physicians 
 call it family idiosyncrasies, scientists call it the eff'ect of heredity. It 
 is that by which peculiarities are transmitted from one generation to 
 
/ 
 
 24 
 
 another. This appears in a marked degree in the family of Bro. 
 Wills. The characteristics that made him a grand and noble charac- 
 ter were seen in his father and they re-appeared in his children, one 
 of whom is now studying for the ministry. What an incentive to 
 practice a pure and upright life when the elements of such a life 
 may be transmitted to on-coming generations. May the son be like 
 the father in probity, honor, fidelity to God and loyalty to the 
 church. It seems to me Bro. Wills has left a vacancy that will be 
 difficult to fill. The simplicity of his character, the sincerity of his 
 friendship, the unselfishness of all his motives, the fervency of his 
 spirit, the faithfulness of his life, will make a vacancy in this Confer- 
 ence that will long remam. Let us so live that we who are here may 
 join him in the upper kingdom, and all that love him d well with him 
 forever with the Lord." 
 
 Bro. Stout said : "It is a sorrowful thing to die. How our hearts 
 are filled with sorrow to look upon the form of a little child laid in 
 the coffin, its little hands folded over its lifeless breast the touch of its 
 cold marble brow gives us a pang of sorrow, and as we stand in the 
 valley and hear the sound of the clods as they fall together to hide the 
 dear form from us forever in this world our sorrow is great— but how 
 much greater our sorrow when one that has been endeared to us in 
 life of self-sacrifice and toil which embodied the noble traits of a pur 
 life lies cold in death before us. Dear breathren, I am grateful that 
 am permitted humbly to present one fiower to be placed in the tribut 
 of praise that shall encircle the memory of Rev. R. H. Wills forev 
 I met him first in the city of Baltimore in May, 1877. as a member 
 the convention of the M. P. Church. He was chosen assistant secrets 
 ry of tl.e convention. I admired his calmness and faithfulness in th 
 duties of his office. The last time I saw him was near mid-night (Sun 
 day) on the street in Winston, N. C. I heard him preach that nig 
 in the Centenary M. E. Church an earnest sermon from Romans xi 
 chap., 2d verse : 'And be not conformed to this world : but be ye tran 
 formed by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what 
 that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.' As we were abou 
 to part Bro. Wills in a tender manner expressed his deep interest i 
 the cause of Home Missions, and that brotherly sympathy for me i 
 all my journeys and labors that made me glad. We parted in th^ 
 darkness of the night to meet no more here below, but we will mee^: 
 him again— till then we will rejoice in the grace of God that wilh 
 bring us home to sorrow and die no more, amen." 
 
 Rev. W. A, Bunch said : " Bro. Wills in his last correspondenofr 
 with me was shown to me as never before." 
 The service closed with praver by Rev. F. T. Tagg. 
 
Date Due 
 
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 975.61 NS73 P v. 12 27024