A. BIRTH AND ANCESTRY

1. Birth
2. Parentage

B. TRAINING

1. Early Schooling
2. Study of Law

C. RELIGIOUS TRAINING

1. The Sunday School
2. Conversion

D. LATER SCHOOLING

1. Lima Seminary
2. Wesleyan University

A man in his late sixties, presiding over the General Conference of the denomination he had helped to organize, called his fellow Superintendent to the chair, and took the floor in defense of a resolution which had to do with the ordination of women. After admitting his own physical inability at that time to do justice to the subject, and almost despairingly stating, "I have lost heart and lost strength," he went on to argue that men had been brought up to regard women as inferior, and were not willing that the same rights should be given to them. Very many had been brought up under English influences and German influences, and they were powerful in opposing liberal opinions on this subject. He added:

My ancestors were Welsh. I was born with a love of freedom. My earliest recollection of my great-grandfather was as a Revolutionary soldier, and as far as I know I have always stood on the side of the oppressed at any risk. [1]

1. Birth

This man, who had then been General Superintendent of his church for thirty years, and who was still endeavoring to carry a conviction which had been his for a lifetime, was born in the year 1823 on a farm "in the uplands of Cattaraugus County, among the hills of western New York, rich in well timbered farms." [2] This was the region of the Genesee country which had been explored and pioneered with such tremendous energy by Charles Williamson. As late as 1792, Mr. Williamson stated, "There is not a road within one hundred miles of the Genesee Country, that will admit of any sort of conveyance than on horseback, or a sled when the ground is covered with snow." [3] Into this rapidly developing country was born, to lowly parents, a child to whom was given the name, Benjamin Titus Roberts.

2. Parentage

His mother, Mrs. Sally Ellis Roberts, was born on Grand Island in Lake Champlain in 1803. When she was two years of age, her parents moved to Smyrna, Chenango County. Ten years later they went to a farm near Forestville where, while living in a log house, she was married to Titus Roberts. [4] Her long life of over ninety-two years took her through the life work of her son, and made her a mourner at his funeral. The Gowanda Leader recorded at her death:

Between her cradle and her grave is written the progress and greatness of the nineteenth century. Her life deserves more than a passing note. A woman of strong religious convictions, of deep and abiding piety, and rugged character she stamped her impress on her family, church and society; and at her own hearthstone grew up a boy who was to be the father of a new denomination in the sisterhood of churches. [5]

In 1827, Titus and Sally Roberts went to Gowanda, and in 1855 moved into the old homestead which became a familiar spot to all the preachers who traveled the Gowanda and Collins circuit. [6] Firmness and sincerity were marked characteristics of each. Despite her advanced years, the spirit of independence, which also characterized her son, was so strong in her that she absolutely refused to have anyone care for her except when she was sick. The religious zeal of his mother doubtless left its impress on the boy, Benjamin. The home was one where fervent prayer ascended to God around the family altar. [7] Titus Roberts was one of the first settlers in Chataqua County. He moved there from Madison County in the state of New York. At that time the wilderness was scarcely broken. From Buffalo, which was then a village of less than a dozen houses, their only road was the beach of the lake They had to go to mill to Black Rock by boat. He was converted while engaged in the mercantile business, in a meeting held by evangelists who had been raised up under the labors of Charles G. Finney. A few years after his conversion, Titus Roberts sold out his business, joined the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and preached for one year. But his business, having come back into his hands again, he left the Conference, and from that time till near the close of his life, he labored as a Local Preacher. [8]

1. Early Schooling.

The schooling of young Benjamin Titus was about the only interesting aspect of his boyhood. Like most children of the farm in that early period, his days were spent amid scenes of toil, and lacking in many of the benefits that come to those by way of wealth. The raggedness of his constitution in after years was due in no small degree to this early conditioning.

By the flickering light of a candle, or the bright blaze of the fireplace, he studied such books as were taught in the district schools. He engaged in spelling matches which were held frequently in that day, and went from school to school to spell down other competitors. He studied algebra before he saw anyone who understood the science, and began the study of Latin without a teacher. [9]

Schooling and school teaching went hand in hand in his young manhood. By the time he was sixteen, he taught school, often having pupils older in years than himself. Little is known of this period except as it carried over into his later years in his love of precision of speech and in the clarity of his ideas.

2. Study of Law

His study of law was entered upon during the period of his early school teaching. He traveled to Little Falls New York in April of 1842 to be apprenticed to Mr. H. Link There he often watched the Mohawk River rush down though the romantic gorge on its way to the historic Hudson In May 1844 he returned home and continued his law studies with Mr. C. Howe There he remained until an epochal spiritual experience turned him aside from entrance to the bar, for which he would have been ready shortly.

During this period, he began to champion the temperance cause. He early became a speaker at temperance meetings. [10] One of his first speeches as a law student was an abolition speech; that too at a time when the word abolition was a term of severe reproach. a verbal stigma, and in many communities a precursor of physical persecution.

One clearly sees the influence of his law training in the fact that when, years later, he came up for church trial in his own chosen denomination, he kept his defense in his own hands. The adequate handling of that defense, as evidenced by the records left, [11] and the testimony of lawyers who attended the trial, [12] speak for the thoroughness of his law work during this period.

1. The Sunday School

It is necessary to retrace some steps to discover what led Mr. Roberts to turn aside from his plans for a life in the profession of law. In a running sketch of his life, given in the year 1865, he said:

I have nothing good to say of myself . . . My early associates, many of them, went to ruin. But God's Spirit from my earliest recollections strove with me and restrained me. I never drank wine but once, and that was at a New Year's call. Tobacco I never used, and profanity I abhorred. It was all of grace. [13]

The Sunday School was a factor in his own spiritual training. He continued:

A Presbyterian minister came to me one day when a boy and invited me to go to Sabbath School. I went. I committed many chapters of the Bible to memory. At one lesson 1 recited the whole of the Epistle of James. Years after, I studied law. Many of my later associates openly rejected the Bible, but my knowledge of its contents not only kept me from infidelity, but enabled me to expose and refute their sophistical objections. [14]

Sometime during this period, the Presbyterian minister of his home town of Gowanda desired to have him educated for the ministry of his church. The young man declined the generous proposal with the statement, "I cannot accept it as I have not been converted." Later this offer was renewed. His refusal was regarded by some as the reticence of modesty. [15] Without doubt, he owed a debt of gratitude to that man who showed such an unusual interest in him.

Another Presbyterian who exerted a lasting influence upon the young man was an older man of puritanical convictious, a business man of some means. He was a zealous antislavery promoter, and was exceedingly rigid in his observance of the Sabbath day, so much so that he ordered his teamsters never to drive on that day, even if they had to wait over within three miles of home. When reverses came and all was swept away, he began anew by purchasing a tract of wild land through which a railroad was afterwards built. He sold the tract in lots, and in the deed of every lot he sold, he inserted a clause prohibiting the sale of ardent spirits upon the premises. Mr. Roberts added, "For this old, puritanic, Godfearing, abiding piety we confess we have a great admiration." [16]

2. Conversion

It was not until Mr. Roberts returned from Little Falls, New York, in May, 1844, to continue his law studies with Mr. Howe that the climactic, spiritual committal of his life took place. The following account is in his own words:

At length it pleased God to answer the prayers of my friends in my behalf. He awakened me to a sense of my lost condition. The instrument was very humble, A pious, illiterate cooper, a very bad stammerer, gave in his testimony at the regular Sabbath afternoon prayer meeting. I was there by invitation of friends, and his testimony found way to my heart. There was no special religious interest but I felt that it was my duty to become a Christian. I commenced to pray. It was hard work, but God encouraged me to persevere. As the light of the Spirit shone, I gave up one thing after another, but I clung to my profession. For three weeks or more, I plead with the Lord to convert me, but to let me have my choice in the business I would follow. Many who had power with God prayed for me; but I had to yield. Christ demanded an unconditional surrender; I made it. The joys of pardon and peace flowed into my soul. My cup was full, my happiness was unspeakable. [17]

1. Lima Seminary

The conversion of Mr. Roberts in July, 1844, was followed by a decision to follow the ministry as a career, so he abruptly left off his studies of law, and went to Lima Seminary to prepare for college entrance. It was here he became acquainted with Loren Stiles in 1845, when they were both students at the Seminary, and through many years, they were devoted friends until death took Mr. Stiles. Mr. Roberts recounted of their close association that they had both intended to prosecute their studies farther than through the academic course, but feeling that the Seminary professors were formal, they feared to go on lest they should lose their first love and become cold and formal. They felt that "learning was good, but salvation was better." [18]

Two terms at Lima were sufficient to fit Mr. Roberts to enter college in the fall of 1845. It was during this preparatory period that he wrote to his sister, in a letter dated July 1, 1845:

O, that He would deign to work through so humble an instrument as myself, and by the means of this animated clay, open the eyes of infatuated, sinbenighted mortals. But the more I know of myself the more do I feel my incapacity for standing as a watchman on the walls of Zion. [19]

He wrote to his mother also:

O, mother, I long to know more of God, to enjoy more of his love shed abroad in my heart. Tell me how to crucify myself to the world and live wholly to God. Religion grows more lovely to me the more I know of it: and I hope and expect to live religion while I live, that when I die, I may meet all the saints of God around the throne. [20]

That he was applying himself with diligence is deduced from the above letter in which he stated, "We are all preparing here as hard as we can to get through this term and close up." [21]

2. Wesleyan University

(a) Middletown, Connecticut. Soon after returning home from Lima Seminary, he was accompanied by his father and sister as far as New York on his way to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. He took the steamboat up Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River to the scene of his further preparation for his calling. Middletown made a most favorable impression upon the young man. In a letter to his sister, he wrote that Middletown was "certainly without exception" the pleasantest place he had known. It lay on the west bank of the Connecticut River, some thirty miles from its mouth, and sixteen miles below Hartford. He explained that the land from the river ascended back with a "gradual and even rise." Some of the streets ran parallel with the river, and were intersected by others crossing them at right angles, thus forming some "beautiful squares." He was impressed that the houses were all good, many of them elegant and costly. He had not seen a "poor dwelling" in the town, and almost every house was surrounded by a large and well cultivated garden, containing some choice fruit trees; and many "situations had a fine, large yard in front filled with ornamental trees and shrubs," all of which gave the city an appearance of "elegance and comfort." [22]

This university city where he was to remain until his graduation in 1848 was the business center of a rich agricultural area. It was an old town, settled in 1650 by colonists from Hartford and Wethersfield, first incorporated in 1651 under its Indian name of Mattabeseck. In 1653 it had been renamed Middletown because of its position midway between Hartford and Wethersfield. This was the era of prosperity. During the latter half of the eighteenth century, it was one of the most prosperous towns in the state, and at the time of our study was a thriving industrial, commercial, and educational community.

To give a picture of youth's reactions to its surroundings, a letter from Hannah R. Potter to Miss Ellen Stowe, who was destined later to become the wife of B. T. Roberts, is recorded. Said Miss Potter:

From my window, I have a little miniature view of the Connecticut which seems to roll on silently among the hills and meadows; as if fearful to disturb the slumbers of our peaceful inhabitants. A pale, gray magic vale is spread over the enchanting scene, and the light clouds of heaven seem to be reflected on it as in a mirror in the distance. A few light silvery flakes, unmoved by a breath of air, overspread the canopy of heaven.[23]

No doubt Mr. Roberts shared the beauty of the river with faculty and students in that day. Miss Potter described a picnic of "all the faculty and their families and several students" rowing the river singing, keeping time with the oars, and exploring the shore. Banners, carried with the titles, "We are Roaming," "Life in the Woods," "Much ado about Nothing," and on the provision boat, "Non Nobisnate" (Not made for ourselves), portrayed some of the spirit of the institution on a gala day.[24]

(b) The University Buildings. The appearance of the institution that graced the town, Wesleyan University, presented, in Mr.. Roberts' thinking, a complete contrast to the pleasant homes of the community. He was looking at the buildings of the American Literacy, Scientific. and Military Institute which the founders of Wesleyan University had accepted on condition that they raise an endowment of forty thousand dollars, and before the newer buildings had been erected to grace the campus. South College, built in 1824, was acquired by Wesleyan at the time of its incorporation in 1831. For many years this building served as a recitation hall, chapel. and dormitory. Another place which was doubtless familiar to Mr. Roberts was the College Cemetery. located between Foss House and the Observatory, where President and Mrs. Wilbur Fisk and President and Mrs. Stephen Olin were buried subsequently.

In a letter to his sister. Mr. Roberts affirmed that as much as lie loved learning for itself, and greatly as he desired to become versed in human lore, nothing but "clear conviction of duty," brought to his mind by "Providential interferences in opening the way," could ever induce him to spend three years within those "gloomy" walls. For, in the "quaint true words" of his friend Morrow to his friends at home, "The houses here are aristocratic the college looks more like a prison than an institution of learning."[25] But he philosophized that he ought to feel "at home" when pursuing the path conscience and the Spirit of God pointed out for him to walk in.[26]

(c) Faculty Problems. The problems of the faculty members of Wesleyan University were not different from the human problems of our own day. The wife of Professor Harvey Lane, writing to her mother the year after Mr. Roberts was graduated, said that Professor Smith's salary had been cut down to one thousand dollars and that he thought he should be obliged to close their house in order to live on his income. He had complained "bitterly" and she thought he might leave the institution when a "better offer" presented itself. He had always had a salary of eleven hundred and fifty dollars previously. "But this is private," she confided.[27]

(d) Stephen Olin, President. There is a brighter side to the picture, however, when attention is directed to the outstanding character then at Wesleyan, Dr. Stephen Olin, whose great intellect was matched by his understanding sympathy for youth. Dr. Fisk, founder of the University, had been allowed a European trip to restore his health, and to buy books and apparatus. He was accompanied by Professor Harvey B. Lane, the cousin whose home was frequently visited by Ellen L. Stowe. Dr. Fisk was known for his ability to choose invariably the right man for professorships. When his health failed and he saw that another would have to take over the institutional burdens, he had named Dr. Stephen Olin as his successor. Dr. Olin did not assume his duties, however, until 1842, after spending some time in foreign travel. At the time Mr. Roberts entered Wesleyan University, Dr. Olin was a man in the height of his career as minister and college president. Doubtless the influence of Dr. Olin was great in shaping the views of Mr. Roberts on a gospel for the poor. Mr. Roberts quoted Dr. Olin as saying:

Sometimes we hear men prate about 'preaching that may do for common people, while it is good for nothing for the refined and educated!' This is a damning heresy. It is a ruinous delusion. All breathe the same air. All are of one blood. All die. There is precisely one Gospel for all; and that is the Gospel that the poor have preached to them. The poor are the favored ones. They are not called up. The great are called down. They may dress, and feed, and ride, and live in ways of their own choosing; but as to getting to heaven, there is only God's way, the way of the poor.[28]

It is small wonder that such a man as described by John E. Robie in the Buffalo Christian Advocate, should greatly influence the students. He maintained that Dr. Olin was the most powerful preacher he had ever heard, and he made the assertion without a reservation. Mr. Olin did not "affect the orator," his manner had peculiarities which were "against the laws of art." He "gesticulated badly, defying all rules." His utterances were often "exceedingly defective," especially when he was "powerfully excited." Such, however, was the "massive magnitude of his ideas, the majesty of his language, the comprehensiveness of his logic, sweeping in mighty curves around the whole field of his subject, and concentrating at its very core," and such the earnestness of his spirit, rising often to sublimity, that one was "overwhelmed, if not appalled, at the example of intellectual and moral mightiness which he presented."[29] Mr. Robie asserted that his "very failures" were usually great sermons, being remarkable for their thorough thought and sound logic, even when they lacked his "usual vivid feeling."[30]

(e) Revival under Redfield. Perhaps the outstanding spiritual experience of Roberts during his Middletown years was the revival held there by John Wesley Redfield, M.D., who became one of the outstanding evangelistic leaders in the "west." Among the personal papers of Mr. Roberts is to be found the license which made Dr. Redfield a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mr. Roberts gave his impressions of the revivalist. He said he had first heard Dr. Redfield preach while attending school in the city of Middletown, Connecticut, where his preaching created a "profound sensation." He wrote of Redfield's "unearthly, overpowering eloquence," and "moving appeals" which disarmed criticism, and prepared the way for the reception of the searching messages he presented. For a time, those at the school doubted which way the scale would turn. Dr. Olin heard of the commotion, and being unwilling to take the representation of any, arose from a sick bed, and went to hear for himself. Mr. Roberts said that Olin with his "majestic intellect," and deep experience in the things of God "could not easily be imposed upon," and a "candid hearing" satisfied him both of the "sincerity and the soundness of the preacher." "This, brethren, is Methodism, and you must stand by it," he had asserted, and, Roberts commented, "His word was law." The faculty, the official members, and the church then received and endorsed the work. Mr. Roberts said that he had never before witnessed such results as followed. Professors of the college, men of outwardly blameless lives, saw that they were not "right with God," frankly confessed it, and "laying aside their official dignity," went forward for prayers. The city and adjoining country were moved, and for some eight or ten weeks, the altar was "crowded with penitents," from fifty to a hundred going forward at a time. Dr. Olin seconded the effort in the University, and went beyond his strength in exhorting the students and praying for them. Mr. Roberts added that nearly all the young men in the college were "converted" and of the converts, a large number became ministers of the gospel.[31] It is recorded that three hundred were converted at the church while the work went forward at the college. Joseph Goodwin Terrill said that President Olin took a lively interest in the work, and though in ill health, he undertook to give a ten minute talk to the students in a large recitation room one day, but the "minutes swelled into hours; and the speech was afterward published as one of his great intellectual efforts."[32] A letter written to Ellen Lois Stowe by a student during that period, may perhaps recount that very experience spoken of by Mr. Terrill. She said:

I have just returned from a prayer meeting at College. It is the annual concert of prayer for colleges. The room (you know the one for prayer meetings) was crowded full and after the meeting had just commenced, Dr. Olin came in and after one or two prayers he arose and addressed the students. Oh, Ellen, here is where I must fail to give you any idea of the power, the mighty power in his speech. The whole College seemed moved . . . . After speaking of the object for which they had convened, the great importance of educated men being pious men, he addressed himself particularly to those who had made up their minds to seek religion. Oh! what power!! Why, Ellen, tears streamed from all eyes and convulsive Sobs of joy were heard from all sides. [33]

As a result of this revival, there were nearly four hundred conversions, and twenty-six of the students became ministers of the gospel. Here it was that William Kendall, a classmate of Roberts both at Lima and at Middletown, entered into a more deeply consecrated life. Dr. Daniel Steele, also a classmate, might have been inspired for the life and work of writing on the deeper themes of Christian life and experience. The influence upon Mr. Roberts can be traced more fully in the positions he afterwards took which harmonized with the preaching he heard during his Middletown years. That Mr. Roberts did identify himself as a seeker at the altar for prayers may be deduced from the letter to Ellen Stowe quoted above, which reads:

There have been, I should think, between twenty and thirty conversions here, not many of your acquaintance. I suppose, however, of the students Roberts and Brigham you may remember.. They have both come out decidedly for the Lord. They both, I believe, thought to have experienced religion before. . . . . [34]

The impressions on the mind of Mr. Roberts concerning the effectiveness of Dr. Redfield led him to select Dr. Redfield as evangelist for revival meetings, after he became a minister, and to entertain him in his home.

(f) Essays. The attitudes of Mr. Roberts toward school life and activity are revealed by the essays and addresses of this period. In his essay on "Beauty" there is revealed something of his extreme individualism. He wrote:

By the beautiful I mean that quality of an object which is capable, when the mind is in its ordinary state, of exciting in it this sensation. Anything that excites in me this sensation of beauty is beautiful to me, though it be unable to produce the same feeling in any, other individual. Whether it does excite in me this sensation or not, I alone can determine.[35]

He took to himself the same dictum of a right to decide in the realm of religion.

An essay on "Self Reliance" throws some light on his nature and disposition. He wrote:

We should study to know our own capabilities. The history of the achievements of prowess and genius is chiefly useful as it informs us of what we are capable of accomplishing.[36]

Then, after referring to some others as Plato, Cicero, Paul, and Luther, he rather boldly, in the spirit of Supreme self confidence known to college youth, asserted.

Had we lived in their day we might have wrought the work which they achieved Living in an age of greater demands, if we but open our hearts to the inspiration which may be granted to us, not less than to any who have gone before, and availing ourselves of the better instrumentalities fitted to our use, we may like them set in motion influences which shall be felt long after the bell of eternity has mournfully wrung the knell of the departure of earth.[37]

He further expressed his belief that "correct principles can and will prevail when properly advocated, even in spite of public opinion," and that

The powers of everyone properly improved and employed are adequate to the surmounting of every obstacle that can be presented in the pathway of duty . . . . if we with strong hearts rise above all doubt, and trust in ourselves and in the power that always sustains the good and true.[38]

That unswerving purpose, however interpreted, which characterized his after life, might have found its source in his ideal of action, expressed in the more flowery style of his youth:

Unmoved by the trumpet voice of popular applause that often lures to swift destruction, undaunted by the loud asseverations of an infatuated people rushing with mad impetuosity to the brink of ruin, his is neither attracted nor driven from the orbit in which a higher than earthly potentate has commanded him to move. As soon the shining spheres should quit their course and fly in wild confusion through the boundless realms of infinite space, as he forsake the path his conscience and his God made for him to tread.[39]

Not only with faith in the path of duty but in the power of self discipline to accomplish its ends, he averred:

This character admired by men, applauded by angels, and approved by God is in the power of each of us to cultivate, . . . . Not without an effort can we thus rise, not without a desperate struggle can we break the charm around us thrown by the short lived pleasures of sensual enjoyment.[40]

A letter dated June 27, 1846, added a note of realism to the words above:

Surrounded as J am by temptations of the most seducing kind, and taking into view my own natural weakness, I am led to wonder at that grace which has thus kept me from falling.[41]

He was learning the valuable lesson that the designs of God are in the path of application. On May 21, 1847, he wrote his sister, "Study and toil are again the order of the day. But I do not know that I dread it much."[42]

Nor is there evidence lacking that in these early days there was the normal spirit of enjoyment. From a paper entitled, "A Ramble to the Housatonic," one may follow him on foot through a forest "naked and leafless from the winter blast" with nature's songsters giving "inspiring notes." He stood moralizing, seeing the river as the symbol of a man, overcoming all difficulties; "like the majestic river, impelled by the divinity within him, he moves calmly on." Or he saw the river as a sign of progress reminding him that "we should ever be pressing after some higher excellence." Then clambering up a moss-covered rock he looked down at the "torrent roaring below," the hills around him seeming "to vie with one another in grotesque singularity." His ramble took him into a woolen factory where he saw the difference between the hand loom of yesterday and the speed on the looms of the day. Before he was through he discovered that a little girl of eleven or twelve years of age was "attending two or three of the carding machines." "She was of elegant form, fine shaped features, with beautiful eyes, and the most intelligent expressive countenance I ever beheld on a young girl of her age," Mr. Roberts noted. He found by interrogation that she had worked there for two years, and was surprised and almost indignant when he learned that she was the daughter of the owner of the mill, and was kept there through the sordid avariciousness of the father. Hence, even this excursion of pleasure ended in a conclusion that applied to industry, "This is much against our factories. Children are put into them at an age when they ought to be in school."[43]

This little trip reflected his love of nature in those early years. To his sister he enthused over the scene of his activities:

I have spent vacation here, reading, sailing, etc., enjoying it much. I wish you were here by my side this morning, that you might look out from my window on the most delightful prospect you ever beheld. I have looked at it a thousand times, and it seems more beautiful than ever. The trees are finely leaved out, the meadows and the fields are clothed in their brightest green, the curving river rolls gently and gracefully along, bearing on its bosom, and plainly in sight, several sun reflecting sails, the birds are gaily chanting their most cheerful lays, and lilacs and lilies and pinks are filling the air with the most grateful fragrance.[44]

Admitting that the latter part of his vacation had been lonely, since he knew many of his school chums were in New York on country excursions, and failing, perhaps, to have received that longexpected letter from his sister whom he dearly loved, he sat down and penned this little poem to her:

Have cares upon you come so fast

Since you have come together

That you can find no time to write

To a poor lonely brother?

Perhaps you think it matters not.

But I will sure tell Mother

That you have quite refused to write

To your e'er scribbling brother.

And in my anger I will give

My love all to another;

And then I guess you'll wish you had

Been prompt to write your brother.[45]

That threat of giving his affection to another was soon to be fulfilled and it was to another that he wrote:

I have thought of thee when the stars were hung

Beauteous on high,

When night had her sable shadows flung

Across the sky.[46]

But the story of his romance is left to another chapter since it began at the close of his university career.

The bent of his mind during his college days was reflected in the papers which he wrote. Poverty, he spoke of, as the worst offense. "In all the fearful catalogue of human crime, what other can be found equal in enormity to the crime of poverty?" The closing paragraph of that little brochure was an exhortation:

As then, you would avoid the deadly fang of the serpent, whose bite defiles and destroys, avoid poverty. It will disqualify thee for all honorable avocations, unfit thee for filling any post of importance or trust, stamp deep upon thee the insignia of thy dishonor and disgrace, attaint the blood of thy innocent offspring, and render them, like thyself, loathed and abhorred. Let it not therefore come nigh thee nor thy dwelling.[47]

This scathing irony is reflected in his later choices for the poor, and yet at the same time, this philosophy of life, not to be a child of poverty, he heeded by every possible businesslike means he could.

(g) Teaching School. It was during this school period, in 1846, that Mr. Roberts resumed his teaching career to help meet the expenses of his training at the university. At sixteen he had been a schoolmaster, so the experience was not altogether a new one. He wrote:

I intend to leave for my school district, about thirty-six miles from this place I have a good, orderly forward school. I have some studying algebra, geometry, Latin, a class reading Virgil, and expect a class in Greek next week. The people have found out that a student from Wesleyan University is teaching school here, and they are sending in from other districts. I have never taught a more pleasant school, or one easier to govern. I do not punish, and yet I do not hear a whisper from Monday morning to Saturday night. I have not been homesick yet, though this is a back, gloomy place.[48]

That his description of Connecticut school houses stemmed from his own observation is most probable. He described them as "wretched apologies" for school houses, located in some "triangular nook between three roads," exposed to the rudest blasts of winter's wind and to the scorching rays of the summer's sun, with external aspect reminding one of the "shaggy covering of the grisly bear," and internal arrangements to correspond to outside appearance, the seats and benches being usually "exquisite instruments of torture."[49] And although little was done for education, he protested that almost every school district had several "cider mills, distilleries and grog shops." The "highly respectable appearance" which many of the latter presented indicated to Mr. Roberts how much better they were patronized than seminaries of learning.[50]

The school Roberts taught, which began with about fifty-six pupils and increased to seventy as the winter months came on, was in much better condition than some. He wrote to his sister that when he went to the school house where he was to teach, he found that the walls had been whitewashed, and the floors and seats scoured about as white as the walls. It looked neater than he was accustomed to see district school houses look. He commented upon the uniform attendance, and what he had never seen in any school before, "almost every scholar is present at the opening of the school in the morning at nine o'clock.[51]

The dynamic and self-confident spirit of Mr. Roberts as a young man is evidenced by a letter written to his father from Wesleyan University in 1847, when he had failed to secure a position of teaching school at Lodi, New York, for which he had applied. Commenting upon it, he remarked that he could not say that he regretted it very much except on one account. "I should like an opportunity to show the good people of Lodi to their satisfaction that though young, I am not inexperienced." He believed he had seen "quite as much of human life in its varied phases" as usually fell to the lot of one of his age. And as for experience in teaching, he estimated he had taught on the average one season a year since he had been sixteen, and he had "reason to believe" that it had been to the "satisfaction of all." He concluded:

So you will pardon my egotism, I trust, when I say that I think your village has lost a fine opportunity of securing an excellent school! They do not know me yet at Lodi, but if I live, with the blessing of God, they shall hear from me in such a way that they shall not be ashamed to say, 'He was from our place.'[52]

(h) Religious Duties. Besides teaching in the secular schools, Mr. Roberts was engaged in instructing others in religious subjects, one such activity being a Negro class which he described as "a very interesting class at the African Church. My class consists of young ladies, some of them, I believe, devoted Christians." He felt interested in them, and was striving and praying to be the means of doing them good.[53] He expressed the opinion that he did not believe the northern freeman could be found who would not rejoice to see an effective blow dealt out to the roots of domestic slavery. "We are only waiting for the time to come when the blow may be struck and the deadly tree may fall."[54] Yet, he admitted:

They have too much of the slavery spirit even here among the descendants of the Puritans, to worship the Universal Father in the same temple with their sable brethren. They have, therefore, here in Connecticut not Negro slips, but Negro churches, Negro preachers, presiding elders and Conference.[55]

Mingled with his services to the black sisters were other and numerous ones. He taught a class of young ladles in the Methodist Church after morning service. Besides teaching these two classes on Sunday, he had charge of a school of seventy pupils, led class meeting one evening, prayer meeting another, and boarded around from place to place as he taught:[56] In his essay on ''Connecticut'' he commented:

And to make the boarding of the teacher as the chief expense connected with the school as light as possible, the woe-stricken teacher, like a parasite, is obliged to board round. Sometimes they improve upon this mode by letting him out to keep as they do their paupers, to the lowest bidder.[57]

Whether this cheaper boarding was his, one may but guess, but probably the demands of his physical and mental exertions guaranteed him sufficient food for adequate living.

(i) Mental Application. As to habits of study, Mr. Roberts believed that he should improve his time and talent to the glory of God. To his father he wrote:

College honors, I am afraid, have too much influence here. I have endeavored not to be swayed by them but I fear that they may have some effect on my mind. I would study because it is my duty to improve the faculties of mind which God has given me and to prepare myself for laboring in the cause of God and humanity.[58]

The serious turn of his mind in this respect is reflected in a letter to his sister in which he stated that he considered himself accountable to God for the manner in which he performed the various offices of the school room, and that "studying to do the best I can, I leave the room at night with a conscience void of offense toward God and man."[59] He followed by his own testimony, saying, "When my heart is often lifted up to God in secret prayer I meet with the greatest success studying. When I am happy in Christ my mind acts with vigor."[60] That his resolve of heart, given to his sister as the rule of his action while in the university, "I am resolved to make the interests of my soul of first importance, my bodily health second, and the improvement of my mind third,"[61] had much to do with his later life, is quite probable.

Roberts revealed in an epistle that he was not always serious. After writing quite humorously to his sister about a love affair, he reflected:

I hope the pleasantness in which I indulged in the former part of my letter will not induce you to think that I am becoming more trifling than formerly. At times I feel lively. But I don't think it wrong. On the contrary, I believe that my health formerly suffered much from melancholy. A correct adjustment of our feelings and deportment in this respect is no unimportant part of our Christian experience. To have a well regulated, well balanced mind is of great worth. To gain it is my ambition.[62]

It was in Middletown that he imbibed his philosophy of education which is now called the "disciplinary." "The grand object in studying is to discipline the mind, expand its faculties, and prepare it for grappling with and overcoming obstacles."[63] Being near an excellent library he strove to improve his advantages for reading also.[64]

(j) Graduation. The results of devotion to study became apparent. As school days drew near their close for Mr. Roberts, he received one of the five scholarships awarded by Wesleyan University, and was chosen to take part in the literary exercises which were then termed the "Junior Exhibition." These honors he shared with two others who were to be associated with him, and with Methodist history, down through the years.

The program read as follows:
Oration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Mission of the American Scholar."
William C. Kendall, Covington, N. Y.
Classical Oration
(modern) . . . . . . . . . "Genius of Saxon Literature."
Benjamin Titus Roberts, Lodi, N. Y.
Philosophical Oration
(mental) . . . . . . . . . . "The Moral, the Perfection of the Intellectual."
Daniel Steele, Windham Center, N. Y.[65]

Among the personal papers of Roberts is to be found a copy of his oration delivered at that time. Notice the central statement:

Still with these abatements (where Anglo Saxon literature has given itself to certain evils), the Anglo Saxon literature, in purity of expression, and devotion to the great interests of humanity, stands incomparably above that of any other age or nation. For this preeminency we are entirely indebted to the influence of our holy religion.[66]

The closing words of the oration are an endeavor to prove the truthfulness of the latter sentence. Words which seem more or less ordinary in the reading probably took flame in the more inspired setting of school days.

When he came to the closing days of his university career, one of the first college honors, the metaphysical oration, was assigned to him, and his scholastic attainments were sufficient to open to him the door of the learned society, Phi Beta Kappa. Of those last days at Middletown, he wrote to his father thus:

My Dear Father:

The long looked for period has at last nearly arrived. In a little more than five weeks graduation day will come, the first Wednesday in August, 1848. For four years most of our class have been anxiously waiting for that day. Our appointments for commencement have been given out. I have one of the first honors assigned to me, the metaphysical oration.[67]

Before leaving Middletown, Mr. Roberts was offered the presidency of Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, Pennsylvania. Consulting with Dr. Olin, the President of Wesleyan University, he received this comment, "There are more who are ready to teach than to preach,"[68] with the advice to hold to his calling. So highly did he regard Dr. Olin, and so strong was the urge to the ministry, that he joined the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church that fall, and entered upon the course he had chosen, the Methodist itinerancy.

[1] B. T, Roberts, Speech before General Conference of the Free Methodist Church Quoted in General Conference Daily, (October 16, 1890), p.107.

[2] B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, (North Chili, New York: The Earnest Christian Office, 1900), p. 1.

[3] Arthur C. Parker, Charles Williamson, Builder of the Genesee Country. Address before Rochester Historical Society, March 16, 1927.

[4] B. H. Roberts. The Earnest Christian, (May, 1896), p. 158.

[5] Gowanda Leader, Gowanda, New York. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, The Earnest Christian, (May, 1896). p. 159.

[6] Ibid., p. 159.

[7] B. H. Roberts, The Earnest Christian, (March, 1881), p.99.

[8] B. T. Roberts, The Earnest Christian, (April, 1881), p.130

[9] B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, pp. 1,2.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Defense of Rev. B. T. Roberts, A.M. before the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. (From Notes and Testimony Taken at the Trial) by Samuel K. J. Chesbrough. (Buffalo: Clapp, Matthews and Company's Steam Printing House, 1858).

[12] Letter from Mrs. B. T. Roberts to Mr. and Mrs. Titus Roberts, November 1859. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, op. cit., p.182.

[13] B. T. Roberts, The Earnest Christian, (January, 1865), 5.

[14] Ibid.

[15] B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, pp. 2, 3.

[16] B. T. Roberts, The Earnest Christian, (October, 1866), p. 125.

[17] B. T. Roberts, The Earnest Christian, (January, 1865), p. 5.

[18] B. T. Roberts, The Earnest Christian, (July, 1868), p. 6.

[19] Letter from B. T. Roberts to sister, July 1, 1845. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.6.

[20] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his mother, undated. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.7.

[21] Ibid., p. 8.

[22] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, September 5,1845. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, pp. 10, 11.

[23] Letter from E. R. Potter, Middletown, Connecticut, to Ellen Stowe, New York. June 10,1844. Found among the personal letters of the Roberts family.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, September 5.1845. written from Middletown. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, pp. 10.11.

[26] Ibid., p.11

[27] Letter from Mrs. Harvey Lane to Lydia B. Lane, August 9, 1849. Found among the personal letters of the Roberts family.

[28] Dr. Stephen Olin. Quoted by B. T. Roberts, The Earnest christian, (March, 1864). 72.

[29] John E. Robie, Buffalo Christian Advocate, vol. LL, No. 15, (1852), 1.

[30] Ibid.

[31] B. T.. Roberts, The Earnest Christian, (February, 1564).

[32] J. G. Terrill. Life of Rev. John W. Redfield, M. D., (Chicago'. Free Methodist Publishing House. 1899), p.164.

[33] Letter from Ernie, Middletown, Connecticut, to Ellen Lois Stowe, New York, February 27, (undated as to year. but probably 1847 or 1848). Found among the personal letters of the Roberts family.

[34] Ibid.

[35] B. T. Roberts, Essay on "Beauty," found among personal papers

[36] 15. T. Robert,, Essay on "Self Reliance," found among personal papers.

[37] Ibid.

[38] Ibid.

[39] Ibid.

[40] Ibid.

[41] Letter from B. T. Roberts, written from Middletown, June 27, 1846. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.22.

[42] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, May 21, 1847. Quoted by B. H. Roberts. Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.25.

[43] B. T. Roberts, Essay on "A Ramble to the Housatonie," found among personal papers.

[44] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, May 21, 1847. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, pp. 25, 26.

[45] B. T. Roberts, Poem to his sister. Found among the personal papers of B. T. Roberts.

[46] B. T. Roberts, Poem found among personal papers.

[47] B. T. Roberts, Essay on "Poverty." Found among the personal papers of B. T. Roberts.

[48] Letter from B. T. Roberts, undated. quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, pp. 22, 23.

[49] B T. Roberts, Essay on "Connecticut," found among personal papers.

[50] Ibid.

[51] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister. November 23. 1845. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, pp. 13, 14,15.

[52] Letter from B. T. Roberts, written from Middletown, Connecticut, to his father, Titus Roberts, March 14,1847. Found among the personal letters of the Roberts family.

[53] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, January 20, 1848. Quoted by B. H. Roberts Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.17.

[54] B. T. Roberts. Essay on "Slavery" found among personal papers.

[55] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, January 20, 1846. quoted by B. H. Roberts. Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.17.

[56] Ibid., Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, pp. 17, 18.

[57] B. T. Roberts, Essay on "Connecticut," found among personal papers.

[58] Letter from B. T. Roberts. Middletown to his father, March 17, 1847. Found among the personal letters of the Roberts family.

[59] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, December 20, 1845. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.18.

[60] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, November 23, 1845. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.14.

[61] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, September 5, 1845. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.12.

[62] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, November 16,1848. Found among the personal letters of the Roberts family.

[63] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his sister, December 20,1845. Found among the personal letters of the Roberts family

[64] Letter from D. T. Roberts, written June 27, 1846. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.22.

[65] Printed Program of "The Junior Exhibition."

[66] Oration, "Genius of Saxon Literature," found among the personal papers of B. T. Roberts.

[67] Letter from B. T. Roberts to his father, June 24, 1848. Quoted by B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.27.

[68] B. H. Roberts, Benjamin Titus Roberts, p.29.