-
Title
-
Caster, James H.
-
extracted text
-
-
•
-
·-·· - · -
·-
·---
· - · · - . __ ..J. _
- · · · - · - · ---
Ezra Caste r born 26 Febru a ry 17 78 , son of John and Anna
(Calkins) DeCastorer.
Ezr a ma rri ed 28 September 1 800 Rhoda Whit ing
in Oswego County, New York.
Rhoda was t he daughter of John Whit ing
of Liverp ool , England.
Th e y moved to Concord, J ackson County,
Michigan in 1 839 with son J ame s Harvey Caster who was t o become an
itinerant minist er .
Ezra d i ed in Insham t own ship Dansville village
Ing ham County Michigan 23 February 1 858.
Rhoda died in the same
place 18 November 1 86 0.
Of Th eir 10 children two are mentioned here:
1.
James Harvey Caster born 4 September 1819 in Rose township,
Wayne co., New Yor~ , son of Ezra a nd Rhoda (Whi ting) Caster. J ames
ma rri ed 24 February 18 46 Amanda Perham in Calhoun co . , Michigan.
In
1 839 James moved with his parents to Concord, Jackson co., Michig an.
He studied for th e mission ary a nd in t he fall of 1855 he was united
with the Michigan Conference on tr ial .
He was Ordained Deacon of the
Methodist Church in Pon tiac in September 1 859 .
He served nearly
thirty-two years to the fastor a te.
He died 1 7 May 1 89 1 at Gaines,
Genesee co., Michigan.
Amanda born 3 May 1825 in Pennsylvania died
at Wolverine township, Michigan 3 1 January 19 07. Both are buried in
the Gaines cemetery next to the Methodist church.
Their Children:
1. Mar i am A Caster bo rn Michigan married Henry E Simonson 1 Januar y
1 866 .
2.
I da Caster
3.
Hattie Caster
4. Wellington Caster
5.
Myra L Caster born Michigan 2 July 1848; d 1 0 Jan 1 851 bur ~7right
celT'. Pa rma twp
6.
Unnam ed son born Michig an May 27 1 850 ; d 12 June 1850 bur Wright
c e rn Parma twp
7.
Lydia Caster born August 1 856 married Robert B. Smith
2.
Christophe r W Caster born 25 June 1 80 1 i n Hillsdale township,
Columbi a co., New York , son of Ezra and Rhoda (Whiting) Caster.
Christopher ma rri ed Mary (Poll y ) Hendricks dau of S i mo n Hendrix 27
June 1 82 1 Ga l e n township, Wayne co., ~ ew york .
In the fall of 1 849
they moved from New York to Fitchville township , Huron co ., Ohio
rem a ining there until Ju ne of 1 85 0 when th ey moved to Rose Township,
Oakl and co ., Michigan.
Christopher Died 6 June 1 889 Holly , Oakland
co., Michiga n a t the home of his daughter Ce linda Catherine Caster
Mott .
Mary Hendricks Caster born 28 Ju l y 1803 in ~ew York died 26
December 1 884 .
Both are buried Beebe cemetery Rose twp, Oakland co. ,
Mich i gan .
The most no te d a n d menti oned characterist i c of the Caster
fami l y i s that th ey were st a un ch Method i sts .
Of Their 10 children:
Elisha Ezra Ca s t er born 19 March 1 835 Ga l en Township Wayne co .,
New York, so n of Christopher a nd Mary (Polly) Hendricks .
Elisha
married 1st Ada li ne Whitbeck 28 February 1 86 0 and 2nd Harriet L
Wilbur 24 June 1 863.
Elish a became a Doctor of Divinity following in
t he footsteps of his uncl e J ames Ha r vey Caster. His connec tion with
the ~1 e thodist Episcopal church spans IT.ore than h a lf a ce n tury.
He
was wel l know in Michigan and several references were publ i shed in
"(
~.~ eff; !!t·.
A beautiful instance of .his Hdelity in this reupect i!! reported,·
.to have occurred just 'b efore his death. 'l'h e Lake ClwrlCJJ American in •·
• writing or him, l:!u.ys: "His lust personat religious work was II. COII\'Cr- .
sution. with the truiJL men on the tmin which luunche<l him into ':'.
, eternity, only about ten minutes before the futnl accident. Ilia Ius(
··' words were: ·: Boy.s, if tlie 1\Inster culls, I um ready to go nny mo-_·~
.·· tnent.~'' .. . .', · t • • , · . ,.· • •
•
•
•
• ~
· ~ '!'his good man's religious chnrnctcr found cxprcl:i!lion also ·i·n ·t:.
~ earnest und conaistent dcvotioi1 to nil clmrituble tutd philanthropic. .•
'cauaes. · Heart', nud head, and luuHI were nlikc· true to the welfare ~~
: ~~·l\nd geJ.?craL up, lifting·?( our fallen h umnni ty.. ~n t heir providontiul.'. ,:
..... order, as he regarded 1t, he sought lJy the legttunuto u~e of ull reli, .t', gious, 'social. und political agencies to compass the overthrow of ·.·.
·J ~lnyery and the rum power_. :
·
.
· ·
.· _:
•. · .• Aa a .prencher hi:! wns smcere, eamest, thoughLfnl and impressh·e . •
.:· In'.spirit, matter, and in wuuuer he impreRRetl you ns being" serious ,
. ' ) n u. aerious Cll':'8e." ·· "Ch riat und him 'cruciHod," mul "Christ in you
the hope of glory,". were thcmell from which he Hd<lum if over ·
Htrayed in his ordinury pulpit ministrationt!. ll iH thought!! !!Ulltotimea
· flowed · too rupi<lly for <liijt inct urticulntirm, but they wcru often
: cloUted in vury Kl'uccful poetic fum1H whidt '''t•ro quilt• originul, und
:· rendered them cxceedingly' ugt·ecnblo l<J t.lto ht•n•·er.
Not a few, n o douut-, have, during Ilia puulie miniHtry of more
th,un thirty yeura, been persuuucu b)• him to hecome rc<'onci lcd to
God, and will appear in the day of the Lord .JcRIII:I UH atur8 iu his
''.;-, crown of. rejoicing:; Many ,lo\dng, Chri~:~tinn 'f riends, Hcattered over _·
,,::, the several .fields of his earthlv .toil, made and by hiH rlopurturo, ar~,
. nevertlleleaa, _lookiug. joyfully forward to that delightfu l reunion
' ;whiph 'shnll be followed by no parting.
~aster.
.-.' H.ev. J ami:!B Hurvey Cuater· was b orn in t ho town o.f Hose, " ' uyne
_ County, State of New York, Sept. 4, HH8, and died at l1aines, Genesee
County, Michigan, 1\Iny 17, 181Jl.
..-· ' He came to 1\Iichigun with hi8 pnrent11 in the fall of 18:1\J, and
_settled at Concord. In 1846 h e wuR married to J\lisH Amanda l'er)~am, who, by reason ofr her gentle Christian churucter, haH endeared
.herself ' to hundro~8 of good people among whom it \\' Uil her fortune ·
:to live and labor. lle~itl es Mrs. Custer, a l:!Oil und fom· duughtcr!l Rur·•vive· OUt'' bro.ther, nil of whOlf! ure UIIU'I'ic~l and lending n religious
·J
• . -
'
·
·
·"' : The parents of ·the deceased were Ch ri8tians heforc he was born.
'·. Hence the morat'und religious atmosphere that s urrou1uled him 'in
~·}·his' infuncy;·childbQod 'and youth were of n h ealthful chamctcr. He
.
~
~
.
.
,.
••
ro
-~
• .....- - - ... ·, • .-,- -
'l'lliRTY-SIX'£1( SESSION, ·1891.
DETROIT. ·ANNUAL CoNFElmNoE,
·~ llie. ~ ' · '~~--
....
.,
69
never knew by experie'lce, und so nerer prncticed the youthful sins
or profanity, curu playing, dauci,u g und drinking, which have lc£t a
durk spot on so many lh·cs.
Before he wuH lifleen years okl ho lh·cd 11 practical religious lifo
nnd hut! the le!!timony that he pleased Uotl. While. yet It boy he felt
thnt u meas ure of the Gospel was committed to him, but being
pot!f!CI!t!cd of u dillhlcnt nature, nnd business interetJls nccumulnting
on hiH Juuulf!, he t~hrnnk from li!!MUilling its responsibiliticl:! until h o
wns thirty-lire yenrH of age. Many times hns the writer of thit~lJrief
biogmphy hcnrd him express r egrets t hat he had not the power to
ulot out the twen ty years o( his li[e in w,h ich he rcfUt;ctl to preach
the Gospel.
lliR lir!lt exhorter's lkense lJears llnte 1S51, nut! is signe<l by Hov.
l 8mtc llennetl. ln 1853, when Uev. R Sapp was his pastor, h e wns
made u. locn l preacher, ami in the fnll of 185;) united with t he i'lliclligun Conference on t i·inl, nntl was appointed to Commerce. ·
'l'ho confe rence being tlivitletl the following autumn, ho remuinetl
on tho J>ctroit Hi1lo of t ho line , nnd by the now conference \\'lll!
rect•ivctl into full mmuuer1:1h ipund onlninetl tll·ncon by lli1:1hop J nne!:!
nt l'outint: in Hcptutnllllr, IHi>ll, llo Will:! unlninl'll el1IUI' by Hi11hop,
Alltl'H In llulrult., 1-lt•plPllolol't', IHUI.
llu gli\'O nt•n t·ly thirty-two yourH to t ho JHIMlol'llto, Hu t•vl n~-t during
tho~u yenrl:! Collllllllrcu. llu rtlund, 1'1!1'1')', Uuk liru\'11, l!'uw ler\'illc,
1n~-thnut Byron Houth l,von, :::iouth Flint, ·w atrolll:i\'illo, Perry n
!<ec01 ul t im~, llt;mbur).(, l;niem nml Northlidd, Leroy, Wnlled Luke,
New iloHton, l osco, " 'ei.Jbcrvillc.
lf our h rotlwr wns not fa,·ore<l with the thorough training of tho
schoolo, hll pOt;sossotlu. good mastery of himself, nntl by diligent upplicatio n lllltletlto his early acquirement!! such information us made
him intc n!!oly pructicul iu his preaching and so gunrtletlthnt he Horer
pained· oven critical mind!! lJy inco~Tect statements of th eology or
glarinl:( inaccurucie:; of speech. He was fct'\'e nt, he wns lluont, pnrticulurly so in cxhortution ami prayer, and thrilleu you us he talked
with Uotl. · No work ever deteriorated under his can•. He r epaired
churchcH, he hnilt now ones, he helped Christians to tind the earnest
of thcit· inheritnnce, he led mt'n to t he Ha\'ionr.
After hi!l I:!IIJIOl'liiiiiU:Ition in the fall of 1l>Sli, he li vctl with hill son .
for four year~:~ within th(l lJuunds :or t he ilay City dist rict, lllHl being
still anxious to do something for the church, the prl•:;iding elder em·
ployeo\ him e ight montl1!! of 1SS7-8 in t he Vmitlcr'b ilt churgc, where
)10 did helpful work. .
lu i\lnrch, ltl\JIJ, he hnd tm at.t nck uf Ia gl'ippe, from wh ich he
11cvor fully reco,·cred. ln th(l early aut111nn of lH\10 h e moved to
GnincH in tho hope of re lief. · It cmne 11ot. lie said to . hi~:~ ftimily:
. "1£ my work if! dune, anti t he Lord has nothin~ farthe r fo r me hero,
I 11111 ready to go." ln writing n few lines to a friend in tho m inistry
,_
r
·'
~~--------•j•a._.m_.e~···5-..-t.t· ._.c.s~•.•s-.Z:.e. ·. r- .. .. ..
70
D ETROIT ANNUAL CoNFERENcE,
he said: " Tell the brethren I think of them often in tears, and of
the s.c enes of th e feast with pleasure, and hope that by-and-by we
sh all meet where h ope will be in full fruition lost. Oh, broth er!
Preach a lh·ing Christ to dying men. if I had the strength of young
manhood I would giYe it to the breaking up of fallow f,'TOtmd and
ut ilizing new territory for a future han ·est."
His final sickness continued little inore th an two weeks. His
end was that of the loyal, faithful, efficient seryant of God, to whom
was said:
"Well 3nd faltbfully done,
Enter into my joy
And all down on my tbrono."
{I\rs. 8ue Dul)lap. ·
.Miss Sue Hill was h orn in Ireland, December 11, 1847. One year
thereafter she, with her parents, emigrated to this country, settling
in Cincinnati, Ohio., remaining there for a term of years. "She then
remoYed to Hannibal City, )fo.
On the 8th of )larch, lSGS, her marria~e union with Re,·. J . A.
Dunlap oceurred, who, at th is time, was principal of Lancaster School,
but formerly of the school at Hannibal City.
At t he age of fou r teen sister Dunlap experienced the conYerting
power of divine grace, joined the Methodist Episcopal Church,
became an earnest, faithful Christian, and h ence was rend'" at the
time of her marriage to enter with her husband into the wo;k of t he
Master with a zeal characteristic of a warm-hearted and deYoted
Christian. She ever acted as a stimulus to him in his mini.s terial ~
\york wh en discourage ments confronted him and clouds gathered and
somewh at sh aded his pathway. When his body weakened and his
h ealth failed somewh at , she wa5 ever ready with means, and its applicat ion, that h e might be strengthened for · th e further pursuit of the
work he so much loved-e\"en preaching the gospel of Christ- and
when his health failed beyond possible recovery she, though weakened by th e same fatal disease, was unremitting in. h er attention to
his needs, often forge~ting her own personal weakness nnd sufferings.
'-"-- She survived h er husband two years and eleven months, nnQ. .
·. during this . t ime she ~an aged, through economy and carefulness, to .
settle all obligations incurred during both h is ·~nd her last sickness,
.•_ arid t o adjust matt ers pertaining to "both t~lis and the life beyond,
: tb"at when her end drew near and the time for her departure came,
~·! she had n othing,
do but hold fast t hat which she , h~d grasped
I :Y.ears .I?efore-even .the b and of ~ loving and faithful SaviorJ;.Through .
year
Caster, James H.