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Title
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Dawe, William M.
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DR. WILLIAM DAWE
Elmer Houser
HE friends of Dr. William Dawe were
. startled on Tuesday morning of last
week to learn tha t this esteemed veteran
of the Detroit Conference had died suddenly, at his home in Dearborn. duringthe
nig ht previous, from a stroke of apopl exy. H e had risen from bed, and without warning fe ll to the floor and passed
a way before anyone could come to his
aid. Dr. Dawe was quite ill last summer,
and was in th e hospital for some weeks.
But he so far recovered as to attend
Conference and had been in fairly comfortable health since.
· William Dawe was born in the village
of P eace, ncar Camborne, • Cornwall,
E ngland, on March 5, 1848. Dying on the
early morning of Dec. 2, 1924, he had
nearly r eached the age of 77. He was one
of fift y Cornishmen who were at one
time members of th e Detroit Conference.
His early education was in the Chu rch
ot eng land sc hools. Conv erted a t an
early ag e, at 20 he was preaching a nd
s tu dying law in North Devon shire. In
1871 he visited relatives in Ch icago, and
decided to r emain in America. H e completed hi s education at Nor thwestern
Univers ity and Garrett Biblical Ins titute,
havin g heard and accepted the urge and
call to the Gospel ministry.
H e entered the Detroit Conference on
trial in 1873 and was admitted to full connection in 1875. He was the last survivor o f his class. o f fourteen, thoug h two
others ordained a t the same time that
he was, survive- J ames E . J acklin and
Rola nd Woodha ms. Joseph F. Berry
came into the Conference one year la ter
than he.
· Brother Da wc's fi rst appointm ent (as
fittin g for a Cornishman) was as junior
preacher a t Ca lu met, where he remained
two yea rs. Then a year at Ypsilanti as
junior prea cher. Then he took a year off
and completed his studies at Garrett, receiving the degree of B. D. in Jj77. (His
degree of D. D. came fro m Afbion Collese in 1888.)
Brother Dawe's appointments in the
T
years following were : W est Bay City,
1877-79 ; T abernacle, Detroit, 1880-81; J efferson Avenue, Detroit, 1882-83; Mary W.
Palmer (successor of Jeffers on Avenue),
1884-85; T abernacle again, 1886-90·; J effcrson Avenu e, Saginaw, 1891-92; Presiding Elder, Saginaw Dis trict, 1892-99. For
the seven years followin g Dr. Dawe rendered va luable service to Albion College
as chancellor, field secretary and financial
agent. On the retirement of Dr. E. B.
Bancroft as superintendent of Ann Arbor
District, through ill health, in · 1905, Dr.
Dawe was appointed his s uccessor and
served a full term of six years. He then
returned to the pastorate, serving Trinity
church, Highland Park, two years; Fremont Avenue, Bay City, three years, and
Dearborn six years. The latter pastorate
• wa s a most delig htful one to Dr. Dawe
and this people, a fine rounding out of his
long and usefu l ministry. Though going
on the retired list in 1922, he in ;act continued his' ministerial work a year longer,
serving th e Ford Memorial church, a few
miles out from Dearborn in the country,
interest in which he retained to the very
last . Thus Dr Dawe's ministry in the
Detroit Confer ence continued for a full
half· century.
The foregoing outlin e fails to adequate.Jy represent the labors and influence of
Dr. Dawc in the Detroit Conference. He
was an outstanding man of his generation. For four year s ass istant secretary
and four years secretary of the Confer.e nce; a member of one General Conference and alternate delegate in three;
trustee of Albion College and Northwestern Univer sity; serving on various boards
and committees ; he was ever a valued
and influential counsellor ·and had large
part in shaping th e policies and promoting
the welfare of the church he greatly
loved, and to which he wa s ardently
loyal.
Dr. Dawe wa s intellectually virile, and
kept fu lly abreast with the best thought
of his day. He was a forceful. live
preacher of the verities of the Christian
faith. H is ministry wa s fr uitful. Four
visits to his native Engla nd broadened his
vision and culture. He had s everal lectures whi ch showed much research and
were widely delivered to th e profit of
his hearers.
Dr. Dawc wa s a n in cura ble opt:mist .
H e bel ieved the best was yet to be. His
genial, gracious courtesy ever radiated
good cheer. H e never had a grouch or
nursed a grudg e. He was held in fondest
affect ion by h is fa mily, was loved by his
brethren in the ministry and g reatly esteemed by all who knew him.
Our brother was twice married. His
first wife wa s :Miss · Clara Minerva Kimball, to whom he was married in 1873, and
who died in 1881. In September, 1885, he
ma rried 1Iiss Ma ry E. Smedley, who survives. Th ere are five children: Ida M.
(now Mrs. N. D. McCutcheon), of Salt
Lake Ci ty ; Willi am P., of Los Angeles;
Ed ward R., o f Chi cago; Charles Newman,
of Detroit ; Clarence B., of Dearborn.
Th e very im pressive f un cral se rvices
took place at the Dearborn church, which
was filled wit h fri ends to pay th eir last
token of respect. Scores of Dr. Dawe's
fe llow ministers we re prese nt. The pia
form, indeed t he whole front of the
torium, was banked with beaut iful
offerings, th e g ifts of mtmerous
tions and fri ends.
(Concluded on P age tl. )
personal tribute to his "father in the ministry," and summed up with fine discrimination the choice treasures of his mind
and heart. Dr.]. E. Jacklin, who received
his ordination with Dr. Dawe fifty years
ago, gave the concluding address. From
the long years of intimate relationship
he brought a wealth of recollection and
a discerning analysis of the rich qualities
which gave onr brother his large success
and influence.
The burial was at Woodmer e cemetery.
The bearers were Revs. James Chapman,
S. D. Eva, W . H. Collycott, J . A Yeoman,
W. C. S. Pellowc, and J. H . Oatey.
Dawe, William M.