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Firth, Walter
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WALTER
FIR T H
1 8 7 8
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Autobiography
I was born of poor parents at Birstall, Yorkshire, England, on August 8th, 1878.
My father was
a coal miner in the "West Riding", a certain section
of the county.
He worked in the mines for forty-six
years, until he went almost blind, starting in the
mines at the age of nine
years~
I was the second in a family of ten, three of
whom died in infancy.
~s
I att.ended the "Board School"
a child, later being transferred to a Roman
Catholic Parochial School because of the distance to
the former from my home.
While the latter was under
Catholic supervision, protestant students were permit~ed
by paying a small fee of a few cents a week.
I left school after completing the "Fifth Standard",
which was regarded as the equivalent of the tenth
grade.
My father having started so young in the
mines, and our family being fairly large, my father
was anxious to get me started to help support the
family.
I accordingly went down the mine at twelve
years of age.
I worked in the mine until I was
2
twenty-nine years of age.
Due to the overwork in
the strenuous life of a miner, my health was
impaired and I finally left the mines.
I went to a
place called "Whitby" on the north east coast of
Yorkshire, where I worked as an insurance agent in
the Prudential Company, for about nine months.
During this time I served as a "Local Preacher"
in the Wesleyan Methodist Church, preaching for
years prior to coming to this country.
seve~
I walked to
the mines two and a half miles each day and walked
another mile and a half underground, before reaching
my work.
Then on Sunday walked or rode my bicycle
in the country for as much as six miles each way
and preached twice very often, receiving nothing for
it of courB"e.
It is said that "five out of seven
pulpits" were supplied by local preachers at that
time.
I continued to preach in the "Whitby Circuit"
until the Reverend Robert Stephenson, a friend of
mine in the home tow·n with whom I had gone preaching,
came over here and wrote me telling of the rare
opportunities for young men to enter the ministry.
After several such invit&tions and at the advice of
many of my friends who were fully convinced that I
was called to the ministry, I yielded and came,
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arriving here on Decoration Day in May 1908.
supplied Gagetovm until the Fall, serving two
es which had been left unsupplied through that
I
church ~
y~ar.
In the Fall I was appointed to Elkton, where I
served two years and a half, leaving there for
Garrett Biblical Institute, which I attended from
1911 until I was graduated in 1914.
I returned to
the Detroit Annual Conference in April of that yea r
to serve a new church in Avoca.
I went from there
to Caseville, then to Deckerville, from thence to
Brown City, later to Chelsea.
I was then appointed
to Calumet, being there five years, later going to
Ironwood, where I served another five yearse
From
there I went to Carsonville and am now at Epworth
Church, Saginaw, in my third year.
As to my Christian life.
~
the "Primitive Methodist Church".
a child I attended
At about ten
years of age I began to attend the "Parish Church"
(Episcopal), where I was confirmed at twelve years
of
~ge.
At sixteen years of age, at the invitation
of a friend while down in the mines, I began to
a ttend the Wesleyan Methodist Church, where I
remainedl until the call to the ministry.
As a boy
at my confirmation, I felt my life had been changed,
even though I had been regarded as a "good, moral
4
boy 11 •
Vfuen I went to the Wesleyan Church, I made a
real decision as a youth in an old fashioned Class
meeting, having a definite "experience" as I went
home that night.
Before I became a local preacher
I oft felt the impulse to stand in the street and
preach.
I was considered so faithful at the "means
of grace", Class meetings, young people's meetings
and other "Experience" meetings, and teaching a
Sunday school class twice every Sunday, even though
the church I attended was over a mile from my home,
and I had to walk it every time, after walking about
forty-eight miles to and from the mines, that my
friends began to approach me concerning the matter
of preaching.
I felt my utte-r inability at the
time, due largely to my limited education, and other
reasons.
I finally consented, however, to permit
my name to be presented to the "Quarterly Meeting",
consisting of a body of local preachers in charge of
the Circuit Minister.
Being accepted, I was then
placed on "Note", having to accompany one of the
older preachers and being required to conduct the
service and preach in his presence.
The report
being satisfactory, I was placed on trial for one
year, during which time I was required to take the
ne.ceeeary examination concerning Methodist doctrines.
5
The examination being successful, I was then given
appointments during the quarter.
In addition to
this I had constant invitations to preach in other
churches of different denominations, which required
my preaching most of the Sundays of the year.
In modesty we may add that our ministry has
been considered succesaful throughout over a third
of a century, .whi ch has included serving two of our
largest and best churches:, Calumet and Ironwood, at
each of which we could have stayed six years had we
so desired .
We were permitted to use the radio in
our pulp! t at Calumet for three years and in Ironwood for five years.
By this means we reached
hundreds of people who listened with eagerness,
according to reports, and we received constant
testimonies concerning the inspiration and helpfulness of our services.
The church we are serving now is considered
difficult and has had a chequered history and was
about to be closed a few years ago, until the late
Reverend Julian
s.
West requested to be sent here and
brought it back to new life.
We have been given
credit for adding much to its success and are told
it is better financially "than for twenty-five years:
We have recently added many necessary improvements
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in the church parlors and elsewhere, which is creating new interest.
As to items of more personal interest.
After
a period of about eighteen months, my young lady,
Lena Pierson Brigham of "Goathland" near Whitby,
Yorkshire, as pre-arranged, followed me to this
country, coming on the Lusitania.
I met her at the
boat in New York and we were married the same day,
August 15, 1909, oy the assistant pastor of a large
Methodist Church in Brooklyn.
As my co-laborer in
the ministry my wife has been very highly esteemed
in every charge we have served.
Her sociable,
genial, sunny disposition has endeared her to the
hearts of her host of friends without one known
single exception.
Six children have biessed our home, four girls
and two boys.
But to our keen regret, four of
these left us after but a few
· hou~.s.
Two girls
still remain, however, and they have been a joy to
our home through the years.
The older of the two,
our daughter Ethyle, has attained scholastic honors
which came to her at Cornell College, Iowa, where
she received the Phi Beta Kappa.
She has been
teaching English in Flint for about six years, being
now at the Whittier Junior High.
The younger one
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our daughter Grace, has held a good position in the
offices of Beec her Peck and Lewi&.
She was married,
howeve r, t wo years ago to Glen Everson, also an
emp.J.oye of t he above company.
Just over four months
ago they pr esented us with our first grandchild, a
fine baby boy.
In closing, as to our incidental personal
interests in our ministry, we may be
add that
w~
permit~ed
to
have always been musically inclined.
Unfortunately my early home training did not permit
any opportunity to develop our talent.
small
savin~
But by our
I was able to buy a small organ, upon
which I learned to play, later graduating to the
piano.
I have, therefore, been able to play
hundreds of times for my o\vn services.
And in
these recent years: I have turned somewhat to art in
a humble way, using it by means of chalk sketches in
our church school, where it has been received with
much interest and inspiration.
We believe this
form of "Visual Education" is very essential in this
new day and we heartily commend it.
Signed, Walter Firth
Da ted March 25, 1942.
.
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BIOGRAPHICAL a~K FOR T~.
mutn ·'.ftil~-d -·-in;.please
Na.me in f'uil:
r eturn
DETROIT
~OKFE~~CE HISTORI~AL
t~ -~i~Imliuber,~2a4; -~~a~~ ~iver ~~
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Detroit 1 f,!ichig a-n
Jf/ALrt=R .. Fi RTH
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Persona!
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MRS. ~ALTER F IRTH, wife of Rev l
Walte_r Firth, ret !r ed m:mb~r of thel
D_etroit Conf erence, d ied in Hurley Hospita l Flint , on Tuesday. March 13
Funeral services wer e held March
f y:om the Rei ~l e Funera l Hom ~ . The
~1rths . have. made their r.ome in F l:nt J
smce his retirement in 19441r1AR 2 2 '51,_ f1.:t!J
Hi
Mrs. Walter Firth
ENA P E I RSON BRIGHAM was
born in Goathland~ in the northern
pa rt of Yorkshire, England, on January
3, 1882. She came t o the United States .
in 1909, where her pros pective husband,
Walter Firth, had pr eceded her the
previous year . She arrived on August
13 and they were immediately married
by Rev. George Silloway, assist ant pa stor , of the First Methodist Church,
Br ooklyn, a nd went at once to E lkton,
Michigan, wher e Mr. Firth had been
pastor for a yea r.
T o this u nion wer e born six children,
fou r of whom died in infancy. Those
'Surviving are Mrs. F rederick J . Graves,
whose husband is a ssistant professor in
history, but at present is taking a dvanced st ud ies f or higher ' degr ees in L exington, Ky. A younger daughter , Mrs.
Glen E verson, resides in F lint. There
are also four grandchildren. Other
survi vors are an aged sister in Yorkshire, E ngla nd, Mr s. El izabeth Pringle;
two nieces and one nephe\V in England;
and a nephew in F lint , Cliffor d Pringle.
Being suddenly overtaken by a str oke,
she died March 13 at the age of 69. At
her previous request, t he last rit es wer e
held at the Reigle Funeral Home in
F lint, March 16, with the f ollowing
ministers in charge : Dr. Arthur D.
Klont z, Rev. Fred Matt hews, Rev. Eli
D. Richa rd and Rev. E aston Hazzard.
Mrs. F rances Moore of F lint sang " The
Lord's P rayer," a favorite of th e deceased. P allbea rers were Dr. Lloyd •
Nixon, Revs. F red Matthews, n . vight
Lawson, Easton Ha zzard, H arry Colenso
and J ames Deeg. Bur ial was in t he
Bristol Cemetery, Flint.
Mrs. F ir th was loved by a ll who knew
her because of her s unn y, cheerful disposition. She was a faithful companion
and co-par tner with her husband in t he
minist ry, t heir prematur e reth·ement being chief ly due to her im paired health
as a r esult. of overwor k in the ministry
she loved, and into wh ich she put the
best she had.
5 '51
L
m
MICIUGAN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE
RF.V. WALT ER
FI RTH.
retirer! .
member of the Detroit Conference lh·inna t 1533_ Linc~ln Ave., Fli nt , preached ·
about eig-ht times during the s ummer
conduc~ed one funeral and officiat ed al
a wed~ m g recent ly. Duri ng the s ummer
Mr. Firth helped his youn ger daughter
GI:ace Everson, a nd her husband t~
bUild a new ranch-type home . a cted a
"F'
, s a nds .
_lXI·t -man " . f or
his neighbor
fnends ; pam ted his own house f rom
top t o bottom and end t o en d. ancl
worked two gardens, his own at;d his
d_a ughter's. Says Mr. Firth , "Don't retire; change your occupation !"
NOV 22 '51
QUEEN WRITES
THANKS TO MICHIGAN
METHODIST PASTOR
T I SN'T often that the Queen of Eng-.
land wr ites a let t er t o a Michiga n
Methodist pastor . In f a ct the Adv ocate
does not recall that it ever h appened
before. It a ll bega n when Rev. Walter
Firth of Flint returned to E ngland la st
summer t o visit the locality where he
was bo rn in Yorkshire, a nd in another
t own where he spent his youth.
His biggest thrill came when he saw
Queen E lizabeth. She was only with in
a few feet of him which afforded more
tha n a better than average view. As
a result of this ex pe1·ience, and in ha rmony with E nglish litera ry tradition
it brought fort h a poem which wa~
printed in the November 27 issue of the
Advocctte. When he r eturned to the
United S_tat es he sent the queen a copy
and received the f ollowing r eply:
I
Buckingham P alace
2nd December, 1952
Dear Mr. Firth:
I a m commanded by The Queen
to tha nk you for your J...-ind t houg ht
in sending Her Majesty your beautif ul poem inspired by her visit to
Doncast er .
Yours sincerely ,
\:., __
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HEN RIETTE PAL MER,
L ady-in-Waiting
It hardly needs to be added that Mr .
Firth is very proud of t he Queen's reply
which has broug ht him almost as much
thrill as seeing her tha t day in Doncaster .
Firth, Walter