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Title
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Freeman, Robert D.
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RO B ER T
D U ANE
1 8 6 4
FREEMAN
1 9 2 8
- oRobert Duane Freeman was born April 22 , 1864,
I son
of Jeremiah B. Freeman, who was a carpenter but
I lived on a farm where his
j
Middl eville, Michigan.
son was born, near to
Robert's mother was Frances
I
! Gilson Freeman.
,,
When Robert Duane was a bout sixteen years of age
his father became an invalid and from that time
Robert Dwane had the care of his parents and of their
farm.
He worked early and late morning and night
and wa lked four miles to the Middleville high school
from which he was graduated.
He t hen taught rural schools for several years
and his last teaching was in the gr ammar school at
'j Middleville.
! ministry
While teaching and during his early
he studied languages under private tutors.
During the year 1891 the pastor on the Caledonia l
charge became ill and Mr. Freeman, having been licens l
ed to preach by the Caledonia Quarterly Conference,
was asked to fill out t he year as pastor of that
church.
Then he was asked to serve another year
and was a ppointed to supply t h e charge.
In 1893,
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he was sent to Irving, Barry county, and during this
(
year definitely decided to dedicate his life to the
mini&try .
He did not at the first plan to go into
the ministry but was very active in starting and
building up Sunday schools five or six miles from
Irving.
In 1894, he was admitted on trial in the Michigan Annual Conference and in 1895 was elected and
ordained Deacon by Bishop John F . Hurst at Albion.
While pastor at Irving he met Mildred
c.
Brown,
daughter of George R. Brown and his wife Adeline
Cranston Bro n, a distant relative of Bishop Earl
Cranston .
They were married
arch 24, 1896, by the
Revere nd George Brown, grandfather of the bride and
the man whose influence had much to do with Mr . Freeman entering the ministry .
August 30 , 1879 .
rs . Freeman was born
They began housekeeping in Irving
and became the parents of:
Francis Brown , born September 13, 1897;
Wilbur Roscoe, born at Bowne, Michigan,
January 17, 1900, married
Helen Catherine Cheverton, a
graduate of Lawrence College and
resides in Grand Ra pids, Michigan;
Mildred, born at Beaverton, Michigan, May 23,
1904, married Robert B. Gray and
resides i n Grand Rapids, Michigan;
3
Marjorie
I
born May 30, 1915, and resides
with her mother at 1520 Sherman street,
Grand Rapids, ichigan .
Ruth~
Mr . Freeman built churches at Whitneyville and
emodelle d two others on the Bowne circuit, reo p ened
the Sand Creek church on the Litchfi eld cir cuit and
left it t hriving .
Irving and Rutland .
building at
He also built churches at North
He erected the ne w church
uincy, raised the debt and left with all
bills paid and money in the treasury .
These achiev-
menta earned hi m the title, "The Building Parson. 11
He was elected Elder and ordained by Bishop
Charles H. Fowler in 1899 .
His appointments were:
Supplied Caledonia 1891 and 1892; Irving~ 1893;
Bowne, 1898; Beaverton, 1903; Litchfield, 1904;
uincy, 1908; Superintendent M. J. Clark
emorial Harne, Grand Rapids, 1913 .
While in charge of the Home his skill and
ability in building enterprises and business affairs
reached the zenith of their power and influence
resulting in the construction of two large additions
to the Home at a cost of
~ 90,000
for the first
addition completely pa id for and making it possible
to care for three times as many aged people as
before~
During this same time he brought about the re-construction of the Chapel Building, usin g the material
from the Clark Church, and the Superintendent's home
was built; also the home in which his family lives
which he constructed mostly from
,
4
material salvaged from wrecking the former residence
of
• J . Clark .
r. Freeman was especially adapted to caring
r.
~for
old people and took great delight in making the
sunset hours of the more than one hundred a ged under
his care peaceful, comfort a ble and beautiful .
I
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In the fall of 1927, he was taken ill , and died
I arch 11 ,
1928 .
The funer a l service was held in
Trinity Community church · arch 13, Dr . Robert E.
Brown in charge, being ;r . Freeman's pastor .
A
l ar ge group of his brother ministers sang, "Oh For A ·
Thousand Tongues To Sing," and "Blest Be The Tie That l
Binds Our Hearts In Christian Love . "
at
This was done
Ii
rs . Freeman's request because her husband had
always enjoyed the singing of the ministers at the
sessions of the Annual Conference .
Brief services were also held at the Clark Home
and at his own home, conducted by the District Superintendent, Dr . Floyd Leslie Blewfield , assisted by
Reverends John H. Bennett and Joseph B. Peatling .
Dr . Blewfield s aid in p art:
"I feel tha t no eulogy of t his departed brother
would be complete t hat did not start with the
word f a ithfulness . That qua lity worked its way
t h rough all his life .
Mhatever he did was well
done; that opens the secret of his career . He
ha d s mall p atience with any service that was
sc amped and slovenly . He himself obeyed, and he
wanted others to obey the Bible command: ' 11fhat- I
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soever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy
might . 1
"This s pirit of faithful loya lty entered his
domestic life as the wife and children will
testify . His successful and persistent endeavorto provide a home for his family after he was
gone, is only one proof of his loyalty in this
relationship . He leav es behind the beautiful
benediction of a faithful husband and father .
"When his f a ithfulness passed out into the large
field of human endeavor and Christian ministries
it took the form, as a lready indicated, of vast
serviceableness . His Clark Home family will
testify to that . Therefore, if the Saviour's
words be true, that greatness has its roots in
service, t he n I affirm unwaveringly t hat here
lies t he body of a great man .
"This is his past .
at of his present and
future? As a good minister of Jesus Christ he
has heard Him say: 'I go to prepare a place for
you. I will come a gain and receive you unto
myself . ' The promise of the Saviour has now
been fulfilled ! Blessed be the name of the
Lord ! u
u e call him not back to earth's weariness now,
For glories i mmortal encircle his brow .
From glory to glory, forever ascending,
His soul with the soul of the Infinite
blending . 1 ·
"Nobly his course is run , splendor is round it .
Bravely his fight is won, victory crowned it . '"
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Freeman, Robert D.