Baughman, John A.
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J 0 H- N"
A.
BAUGHC
DEATH OF REV . J. A. B'AUGHM.J\.N
Ske tch of hi ~ Life and uervice
Compl e e Li st of h i s VariouR Appo intments
in Det ro it Adverti s e r &
Tri bune , Mar. 3 , 1868
Th e sudden death on Sunday n.u l'ni n~ a t about 5 o'clock of Rev . John A. Raughman
o ne of the olde s t Me tho di s t ministers in t his stat e, has a l re Rdy been a nnounc a d to
our re aders. Hi s de e.t h oseur r ed ve r y unexpectedl y , at the home of his son- in- la\·!
Be l a Hubbard Esq ., Nhere he hael been re si din,?; for some time, an d i s st?.ted by the
phys ici an s t o have been caued by heo.r t d i sease. No t over t No minutes be-fore he died
he had spoken to hi s vdfe a n d did not s eem to be unwe ll ••
Rev . Mr . Bau ghma n \vas bo rn in Hereford Co., !!a r y l a nd 66 ye e.rs ago. He r;ya s e arly
convert ed to Chri ~ t a d devoted hi s attent ion t o thP. work of the Christ i an ministry
Nhi ch he d i d in connection r;ri th the ol d Ohio T-leth od i s t ConfeT'ence i n 1823 . He ·Jas
possessed of great natural power s of mind , but liad not received a lib ereal educa tion,
s o that his po1-1e r s !'lever attai ned that perfect i on and symmetr ,- Nhich t hey mi g ht
have at t a ine d.
As it was how,.,ver, he -vras a re mar kabl y effect i ve prea.chP.r c!md his l abors were
a tt ended •·ri th ma.r ked succe ss in the rna~ positions whi ch he f ill ed durine his lif e .
He ca me to ' ichie an i n 1825, . being marrie d in tha t ye ~ r to Mrs . Sa r ah H. Baker.
In 18 26 he wa s in ch?r~e of Monroe Circuit; In 1 8 27
1 828 in Cincinnati; 1829
and 1 8 30 in Ramil ton; 1831 at 11ranvil1 e; 18 3 2 i n Ea ton , Ohio; 1 R33 an<'l 1R34 i n '·,il .('ord
0., 18 35 i n vle st Union, 0., 1836 H· i te Oak , 0 . , 1 937 in Lebanon .
In 18 38 h e transferred to Micmi e an, to r.~onoe; 1839- - Saeina,•? ; 1840- Tecums e h , 1 841
Ann Arb nr, 1 842 & 1843 Adri an , 1844 Dexte r ; 1 ~45-A6 De t r o i t ; 1 847- 1 852 ~merican Bi b le
SociP.ty ; 185 2 k 1 8 53 Pre idinP, E l der De troit Di ~trict; 1 ~5~ ~gent of Co nferen ce Tract
S oci ~ ty; 1855 valnut Stre et Chur ch , Detroit and Lee Chanel; 1 8 ~6 Yt. Cl Pmens; 18 57 Bennington; 1858 h'a l n ut utree t Church an d t 1•e l<'rP. nch ?·~i s s ion ; 1 Q59 '!<'lin+.; 1 960 Ha dson; 1A6:
Adrian, 1 86 2 Cli f t on in the Lake Supe ri or countr y: 1 863 ~ l R ~ Hanco ckl 1 86 ~-Roughton;
1866- LexinP-;... on, hi :; l a s t cha r ge.
I n 1 1367 he re tired, partly be c ause of hi s a ge and partl,, be ca u s e Mr. Hu bbard
was c ompel l ed t o be a b sen on the c ontinent and needed soMeo~e to look a-fter hi s
bu s ine s s . Y
·1r . Baug hma n ·,·a s remarka b l y s u ccessful in h i s •·rork as 'Bi n l e a,~ent , <'l n d. a.lso
\I>Ta S a v ery po"t-re rfu1 and succ es s ful temncrance l e ctu ..... ,... r, i n l.oThich c au c-e he ~-; ;:>_ S deen l y
i n tere s ted . He •,ras a t oe time oui te vreal t hy , bu t suffer ed v eavy losses About 10 ve;:>.r s
ago. He buil t the fine hous e i n S nr in~Tel l s now occunied ~n d ovmed by Davi ' Scotten
Esq • • •
Mr. Baug hma n had one s on John C. Bau~hman \•Tho about 10 ye...,rs ago ha d an envious
bus i ne s s here , but aft ert._rard •··as ruined and di ed i n Ma ;r 1.958 . Mr. Ba ughm;=m le::tves
t wo daug hters , one the Ni fe of' Be la Hubb-"Lrr1. and. t he o ther the w j fe of Mr. ICing
r ecen tly a ssociAted with Mr . Hu" b a r d i n the l umb" er bus iness . "'he -funeral ,,ri:bl~~l d on
We d ne s day aft ernoon at 2 o ' clock from the Cent ral Methoni ~ t Church , a nd the exercis Ps
wi ll be conduc te d by Rev . ~r . Clements . It i s a l s o e vner.ted that some of the o 1 dP.~ t
clergymen fro m n i fferent pa r t s of the St a te vlill be pr ,. s elht."
-Ove r t he PaB'B-
\
\
JOHN
BAUGID.1/tN
·l!-
-.re.yne Cou nty Ch rono lopdi:J!y
Fred Ca rl i s l e , De t r oit
O. S . Gulley Bornha m & Co ., Printers
1870
Joh n Ba u .ghman t•ras b orn in He e f orr1 Co un t y, Mar yland in 180 2 . He marri Pd Trs . Samue l rr . Baker at f·1 onro e in 1826 . He r mai ci en n e me NPS Sarah Farve y . She wa s b orn n e a r
Ro chester , N. Y. in 1799 of Bn~li s h pare ntag e . Ee qui etl y f e ll a s l eep, oh March 1, 1868
In 18?5 he w ~ s appo inte d ith Rev . Sol o mon ~an i e~ t o De t r o t. He rc>.n ewe d conne ct i on s wi t h De t r o :i t arotm d 1!145. He serve d a s a gent o f' t he Ame ri c'l.n Bi b l e Soci ety fo r
4 y ::1.r s . In 186 2 he be c?.me Pres i d ine El d e r of the D0t r o i t Tii s t rict tv10 y e?.r s . He
c tay e d in Detro i t after 18A5. He had 43 a ppointme nts . He ne ve r f a ile d hc>.a rtily ~o
do the wor k a ss i g ned him . He "ras a ma n o f e x traordina r y phys ica l strenP't h , wi th a
p l e a~ an t ful l voi ce , c hee r ful manner , pos s ed of much magnet i s m, stron~ f~. ith a nd
untir i n ~ indus tr~ , gre a t l y b elove d by al l, chi ldren a nd a dult s .
He w~s at home
e.ve ryu here , in the p ul pi t o f t he mo rler n c hurc h , in the ne sk of' t he country school
ous e , on the extemnore pl a.t f or m o f the c a mp e;rove, or the f amily of t he r i c h or poor.
He at t ende d eve r y s essi on o f the Conference a d whil e he s el do~ s poke, -~ t w~ en he d i d ,
w~ s li 8tene d to with a t t enti on a nd hi s couns e l had gre ~ t wP i ~ht.
He r-,ras a me :nb er of the g ene r a l conference of 1844 t·Then t he i ssue of sl a very Has
the o c c "~s i on o f s e par ::J.t i on , a nd took pa r t, f <" i t hfully r e preeentinf,' t t>e sen timent o f
hi A c onfe rence . Tie s l ast sermo n ~v? s p rer:>che.d in t he J effereon Aven,ie Chnrch Feb . l n,
1 $j68 , o n " ra it~. Ho·'e , a n d Chari t y ." He spoke \vi th more tha n ord i n a r y povrer and fervo r.
He was unahle to ur each i n the eveniP.', due t o f eeble he a l th and. e xhaust i on for his
mornin effo rt.
r ,,
;t
REVEREND JOHN A. BAUGHMAN
s erved a t Lee Chapel Sept. 11, 1855 to Sept. 9 , 1857.
Born in Herford County , Ma r yl an d, July or Au gust, 1802 .
Converted in 182l,after mov i ng to Ohio in childhood,and joi ned
the Methodi s t Episcopal Church .
Received on t r i a l in t h e Ohi o Conf e rence in 1823 .
Hi s f ir s t t wo
yea r s in the mini s try were spent succe s s ively a t Piqua a nd 6xf ord,
Ohio.
He then v isit ed the f ar off' wilderne ss of :Michi gan and travel-
led the Detroit Circuit in 1825 - 6 , and the next yea r t h e Monroe Circuit.
These t wo aircuit s embra ced whole countie s , al mo s t entirely
without ro ad s , and with a f ew s cat t ered se t tlement s so di st ant fro m
ea ch other t han many of t he pl a ces he coul d vi sit only once or t wi ce
in a yea r.
He began to pre a ch thi r t een years bef ore the Mi chigan
Conference was organ i zed.
Tran sferred to Michi gan Conf e rence in 1838.
Pre siding Elder, Detroit Di s tri ct fro m Sept. 1852 to Sept. 1854.
He l abored 1 2 yea rs in Oh i o and 32 years in Michi gan (including 3
ye a rs when it was covered by t h e Ohio Conf eren ce) a nd was empha tica lly a pioneer prea cher in bot h s t ates , be i ng in many pla ce s the
fir s t man to pr each the Go spel to the peopl e .
He wa s servi ng a t
Lee Chapel when the Mi chigan Conference was divi ded and automatica lly
became a membe r of the Detr oit Conference.
many of hi s appointments.
He was a man of
He served t wo cha r ge s on
extraordina~y
physica l
strength, a loud voi ce , a che er f ul tempe r, and unti ri ng industry. He
never f ai l ed t o do hea rtily t he work asnigned him .
He was wnrm- heart-
ed , of s t rong fai t h , a t home in city or count r y , in family worship and
pastor td visiting , or in the great camp meeting .
loved by all, bo t h chi l dren and adu lts .
He was greatl y be-
He was an earnest eva ngeli st.
For a shor t t ime duri ng hi s mini st ry he was embarrassed with business
di f ficult i es i n which h e was involved by others , but nothing could
divert him from the Great work of his li fe.
He waB, i n every par-
ticular, a
mi ~1ty
ma n of God.
He was a member of the Genera l Conference in 1844 , and correctly
repre s ented the sentiment s of the Mich i gan Con£erence in a great
controver s i a l struggle.
He asked for a superannua ted rela tion in 1867, though seemingly
in good health a fter 43 years of strenuous service, but was still
ready to re spond to loca l ca ll s to service and hoped to neturn to
active s ervice in a yea r or t wo; but de a th intervened.
He prea ched his l ast sermon on Feb. 1 6 , 1868, in the Jeffer son
Ave. Church, Detro i t on "Faith, Hope and Cha rity."
He pre a ched
with unusua l fervor, a nd the power of the Holy Spirit wa s with hi m.
Unable to pre a ch in the evening of the same day, he was feeble a fterwar d~ ,
but not a l a rmingly so, t i ll the n ight of Ma rch 1st (1868 ) when
he fell asleep in Jemls.
He left no dying te s timony, s ave t hat
noble s t and best --- the hi s tory of hi s long life spent i.u. the
vice of the Redeemer.
A widow and t wo daughters survived him.
sE- .~.·
No
man of his time contributed more to the solid pro sperity of Michigan, but his exclama ti on would be,
11
To Go d a lone be all the glory . 11
He was pa rt i cula rly noted as an a dvoc a te of tota l a b stinen ce from
strong drink and an agent of t he Bible Society.
Even his mini s ter-
i a l rec ord in the Conference Minute s , forma l as it i s , give s a strong
expre ssi on of hi s God-g l ven power.
l
BATAVIA C. CO'NTY OHIO J an . 3rd
1833
Dear Bro ther
:J ith feel in9s of due r spect o your excell ency and gra teful for the
me ans of communication ; I take mv pen to add refs a f etv Hor :sand scatter ed tlmag.ht s to
you . I am at t "l is t i me enj ov i n~ e xcellent hea lth and prosperity and do mos t sinc er el y hone,
the -= ._ li ne s Hi 11 f ind y ou, in the pofsefsi on o f li ke bl efs ings .
I went to meeti:10 on New Year ' s day and ~ard J n D. Baughman pr ea ch . !~eve r before t·ia s
d i sp layed in my fe "]t ingtfiuch a floH of d iv ine e loquence . It Ha s f rom these viOrds . KnoHing
the t i me . Romans 13# 11 11
he proceed ed fir st t o shoH tvh<Jt time 1:1as . Then to shm-1 the value
time , fr an a consideratic-n oftne vas t tvork that sh ou l d be done i n it. He then pr oceeded to
show the shortnefs of ti me ; fr om this i ngen iou ~ me thod . From obser vat i ons mad e by the most
profound and deep l e arned men that ten ye .., rs of our 1 i ves pafs ~s before we are capabl e of
be i n g en gar ed in the service of our vrea t cilv~:t iihich takes t en y ears f r om our lives and l eav es us
onl y threescor e years , to prepRre for a neverend i ng e ternit y, and i t ha s also been concluded
that the l ast ten ye ar s t-~hen t he body is general y v1or n rut e, febl e , and these mortal fram e s
becone dull and h r:avy and the mind ann eJrs t o be st i ll mor " confus ed i n its na r rmv l i mits:
He ar e then i ncapable of be in ~ engared i n actua l s ervice : and that from e stimat i ons made ,
i t a:mear s that 1 2 hours i n ea c h day must be s pent i n r efreshing this body l-Ji th food am
s l eep vJhich l eaves but a ve r y short time for us to prepare fo r anothe r Hcr l d . He traced the
subj ect through va r iou s Hriti n s Hi t h grea t suc cefs . I nev er satv a congr eg ati on so gene ra l ly
effe ct ed in allw~~e me et i ngs 1 eve r at tended . l:.ver yon e e ·rnear'ed to feel the f orce of divine
trut h . I never w my li fe better ent ~r tained thaL I w;::s t ha t day .
Ther e t.;e.re sev~ra l joined during the mee t in9 . I t~i 11 no'I-I l eave this subject and pafs on ,
I am ver y tha!lkful .Lo y u f or the l e t t er you s ent ITE . 1 t is enx excellent communicatiot
The you gave me I believe vi a· the earnest Hi sh of y nur sou l. I see the need o1 doing better
and of t en sane l ittle r e solves . There a li tt l e so me thin, in me tha t want s to do ri ght but
i t o15ten appear s that that saneth ·nr is overcome by oth r princ iples vlhi ch apear to be stron geJ
J.. t o ften a poe a.ss to me tha the Q'"'~rx3 Hhichit·Joul d !o I do not a1. a the evil vJh i ch I Hould not do
I do .
You stated to me the 0r eat nec e.Ssi ty ofrel "g i on in 1vhich opini nn I most gl adly concur.
You aon ~r ed to t hi nk too tx the .t.ducati n vJ hi ch you s u'1pos d me eage r to pof sefs Ha s of no gre<
i mportance when cotllf)ared Hith Hel i gi on . 1 beli e ve i t i s true ; if He coul d have b ut on e the
l a tter Hou l d no doubt be of the g r eatest i m o r tance , but J. beli eve educat i on an d Reli gi on
to be sane vlha t bl ended togeth er . 1 do not say tha t one can!lot 2xist 11Jit hout tl-te other ; f or
I be li eve there an many t.Jho have no re l i gi on w""l ich ha11 e no educ ation; and there are many
Hho rove edu ·a tion that hav e no r eli gi n . But they ap e ar. to be atendants on each other ;
and Hher e e ither flourishes to an y great d Egr ee tl">e oth(2r al; ost invari ab l y attends .
Trav il at ~ his t i me over thL r l ob and y u t·Jill i inJ that the 1~ations tvhere .r..,du:::ati on has not
spre;::d her bri gh tninr r ays t he peopoe ar e in hea thenish d""~r knefs . J.hey Horsh i p n ot the true
and the livin 9 9od , but are bo1-Iihg do-vm to .• Ido l s , and pxayi ng there s 8bstance to pr i e sts
a!ld a lse r ods : th first th i nr or amongst t he .Lhinr s t h8t a r e done whl? n the mifs i onari es are
sent a mon them is to educate them .
So man i s a much ~e tt er christian and better citizen : and the influence Hhen .•• education and r e l ig i on bo th, ha s i n morali zino a nd c ristianizing his fe llowi3RR morta ls; i s l beli eve i n a four fo l d f:Jr eater pronort i cn t han that o a re li g i on man without Educa tion. An
eminmt writer observes that the ::icrip t ures ar e a Ho.rk of deep an d p rofound Lea r n i ng and
that no man can under s tard t h em a s to. be ab l e to explain them to advantar e toJithrut und erstandit
'-'eography , Chr onolo~{, His t r y , "\.tronomy, '"'hem i str y , and s evera l others .
u m1 i t mLS t be ot.r duty to obtain as far as pofs i b l e tha 1-Jh i ch will be of such gr eat ar
l asting advan t ape t o ourselves and to ourfe llow cr eatures . I f l arr not \oJonderfulll.y deci eved
.l~· hav e no ev i.l mot i ve _in vi ew ~
striv i n~ to obtain an education .
If I kno\v my hear t ,
~ tt 1. s for the ex cl uts 1ve be nef:t \·J hich I be lieve i t wi ll be t~ myself and oth"'rs . I knot·J t hat i
1 1s a source o f he most enJoyment to me of anythino that I eve was co
d ·
t.d
t ·
of its sel f has a tendency to moral ize a person . ..l.t -gi "es a n iu ea of hl"rnns :elfrnweh . lhn . h
ucaldl on
·
<
lC
e HOU
.
h
bt · d ·
no t o t h €r't-11 e are o a1ne : 1tshoHs human nature to him and s et before h "
·
th
·d
d
vaniti es f th ·
ld
d "f h ·
lSVHH
ep r1e an
o
1s wor ' a n 1
e 1s a person o f educa ti onand sense h e v i ews them vJ ith contenq::>t
- 2-
...
lhe fo l ks are a ll lL l l 1 be li<VE, except Shad rach and t-Je t h i;)l{ h2 is some be tt er ;
theugh there is ye t but littl e p e rci evab l e d ifferenc e . I should be gl a 1 to r ec i eve a
l e tter f r om you ·· efdlr e long . l'•ichael Sviing J. expe ct Hi ll send one the f i r st of next
vJeek . You mi r ht send o::~ e then i f you t ;.10 ught proper exc use anythin~ I may lla·· e sai d
am i fs we are all l iab l e t o err
Y6URS HIT4 SE ·l I ;'J!ENTS
of '!'rue r espec t
J oshua Di el ( ?)
Di ll
u i ehl