confiding woman, who had given him, in this holy re-
lation, her hand, and heart, and life. While their family
was small, he removed to Madison county, Kentucky,



316 SKETCH OF THE

where he served, as ruling elder, for seven or eight
years, under the pastoral charge of Rev. Matthew
Housten whom he ardently loved, and whose brilliant
talents he admired, but in whom he was wofully dis-
appointed on his joining the Shaking Quakers. Shortly
after Mr. Bone had removed to Tennessee, Housten
visited him in company with his compeers, Dunlavy,
Eanken and Young with the most sanguine expecta-
tion of making him a proselyte to the new light of
mother Ann. Father Bone met him in " stern and
awful combat." Calmly, courteously, but firmly, and
with the tried sword of the Spirit, which had long been
his study, and with which but few were more familiar,
he soon vanquished and put to flight his quadruple foe.
They had each alternately fired their artillery of soph-
istry at his rampart of truth, but without success. They
retreated, " shaking" indeed, but not so much to " sub-
due the flesh," as from the effects of mortified pride and
ambition of spirit. They never came back. He often
said, that that victory, over such odds of numbers, learn-
ing and tact, in polemics with all the subtlety and cun-
ning mischief of Satan himself, gave him more confidence
in the power of truth, than anything he had ever before
experienced.

He witnessed something of the great revival of 1800,
before he removed from Kentucky, to Wilson county,
Tennessee ; but it was among those who soon afterward
abused it, by running into the fanaticism of Arians
and Shakers. At that time, his mind was not satisfied



LIFE OF HUGH BONE. 317

that the revival was of God. In the fall of 1802, he
removed to Smith's Fork, Wilson county, Tenn., where
he found the revival spirit pervading the entire popula-
tion of the county. He carefully examined it ; weighed
it in the scale of a sound and unbiased judgment ; watched
and marked all its fruits and effects, and judged of them
in the light of the Word of God. Then, in much prayer
and fasting, came to the conclusion that it was of God's
own spirit and power, and he fell in with the tide of holy
and divine influence, then sweeping like a flood all over
the land. His own soul became filled with light and
love, never before to him revealed. The revival spirit,
now heartily received, joined to his tenacity correct dis-
cipline, and good order in all things, especially in things
appertaining to the church, together with his knowl-
edge of theology, and love of sound doctrine, rendered
him an efficient member, both in respect to christian
example, counsel, and public teaching and exhortation.
He was often in the councils of the revival party of
Cumberland Presbytery, while they were under orders
of silence by the Commission of Kentucky- Synod ; and
was regarded as a conservative and safe counselor
though firm against all ecclesiastical aggressions and
unconstitutional oppressions, with which that evangel-
ical party was in those days afflicted, in their efforts to
promote spiritual piety. He acted a full share in those
measures, which led to the new and independent organ-
ization of Cumberland Presbytery, out of which grew
the Cumberland Presbyterian church. And, therefore,



318 SKETCH OF THE

the name of Hugh Bone is eminently entitled to be en-
rolled among the names of those who are to be remem-
bered and honored as the fathers of the church.

He, with the entire congregation of Smith's Fork,
received and adopted the revised Confession of Faith
and constitution of the church, as soon as it was pub-
lished. This was done in the house of Mrs. Bumpass,
which house still stands in the village of Statesville,
Tennessee, and is held by the members of that congre-
gation as in some sort sacred to the memory of that
event.

There is still a large and nourishing congregation at
that place. Rev. Mr. Ivy has been, and is yet, its de-
voted and beloved pastor. For many years, this con-
gregation regarded Mr. Bone as its shepherd ; and
though they had stated preaching by Calhoun, King,
McSpedden, and Dillard, yet the burden of the care of
the church devolved on him. Every Sabbath day,
when they had no other preaching, he would meet
them, and explain and enforce the Gospel of Christ
unto them. Crowds attended his appointments, pleased
and delighted to hear him ; while many, very many,
were led by him to the cross of Christ.

.Rev. F. R. Cossitt, D.D., who was an intimate ac-
quaintance of Mr. Bone, said of him, in the " Banner of
Peace" soon after his death : " Father Bone was a re-
markable man, indeed ; and no mere newspaper article
can ever do him justice. With a native intellect of the
first order, an energy of character equaled by few, a



LIFE OF HUGH BONE. 319

zeal which knew of no abatement, and a benevolence
as unbounded as disinterested he stood in the church
of God as a tower of strength ; and his whole life was
an epistle of Christ, ' written not with ink, but with
the spirit of the living God.' Many can testify to the
excellency of his example many have experienced to
advantage of his counsel and many will cherish his
memory with fondest recollections. He had made his
mind a store-house of scriptural knowledge, his heart a
reservoir of christian experience, and like pure streams
from a perennial fountain, truth flowed from his lips in
rich aphorisms."

The character of God, his laws, Christ as the God-
man mediator, and the wisdom, grandeur, and adapted-
ness of the plan of salvation, were his favorite topics of
theology. His thoughts on those, and other subjects,
were clear, strong almost to overwhelming. His man-
ner of expressing his thoughts was peculiar, and with-
out any ornament of language, except the sublime
adorniug of truth, told without any trappings of human
embellishment.

As an illustration of what is above said, as to his
manner of expressing his big thoughts in divinity, he
was once exhorting, in the presence of the members of
the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian
church ; the divinity of Christ was the subject of the
discourse, and speaking of his death, he said : " 'Twas
not the Jews that killed him ; all the Jews in Palestine
couldn't do that. It wasn't the Eomans, neither, that



320 SKETCH OF THE

killed Jesus ; all the Eomans of the seven-hilPd city
couldn't kill him. Nor," said he, " all the devils in hell
couldn't kill him." Then, with a calm tone, he added:
" Some one may think, perhaps, ' Old man, are you go-
ing to say that God could not kill Jesus ?' Well," he
responded, " that might seem to be rather strong terms.
But this I will say, that God has as much power to

LIVE AS TO KILL."

The Bible was his great text-book, the Holy Scrip-
tures he made his principal commentary on Holy Writ,
comparing Scripture with Scripture. His observations
upon the administrations of Divine Providence, were
most acute, and afforded to him a delightful and con-
stant field of contemplation. He saw God in all His
works of creation and providence, as well as in His re-
vealed word.

His family government was taken from the Bible ;
and was administered with tender affection, but with
most absolute positiveness and precision, making the holy
prophets his exemplars. His confidence was firmly
established in the stipulations of God's covenant with
believers and their children. And as God promised to be
the God of Abraham, so did the promise embrace, in
covenant relation, Abraham's seed with him. But he
believed that covenant blessings, bequeathed by promise
to the children of believing parents, would only be real-
ized in proper moral training in the family nursery, ac-
cording to the declaration of the wise man, viz : " Train
up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old



LIFE OF HUGH BONE. 321

he will not depart from it." Then the covenant promise
is sure. Thus he taught, and upon these principles he
proceeded most strictly in the government of his own
family. And' during the minority of his children,
rigidly enforced upon them the constant practice of
moral precepts. As an example, in this respect, it was
his custom, and that of his very estimable wife, to call
their smaller children, each night, before retiring, for
prayer, which they superintended, at their knees. This
was especially attended to on each Sabbath night. His
son, Matthew Housten, was about four years old when
called up to say his prayer before his father. At the
close of the exercise, the father said to him : " Housten,
you are old enough to pray by yourself." The boy was
old enough to think himself too young. The following
morning, before breakfast, the father said to him, "Well,
my son, have you prayed this morning ?" " No, sir,"
was the reply ot the boy. " Well," said the father, " go
away by yourself, somewhere, and get on your knees,
and pray to the Lord." " I am too little," was the boy's
reply. " Go this minute, and do as I tell you, or I will
whip you," was the positive command. The boy knew
then, that compliance must be had, in some sort. He
retired in the back yard, got behind the smoke-house,
leaned for a moment against the wall, and thus solilo-
quized : " Well, pa has sent me here to pray. 1 don't
want to do it ; but if I go back, without trying, and tell
him so, I know he will whip me, for he always does as

he says he will do. If I say I tried, when I did not, it
41-



322 SKETCH OF THE

will be a lie, and then God will be angry with me, and
that will be worse." So he came to the conclusion that
there was no other way, then, between God and his
father, but to try to pray. He crept down on his knees,
and as best he could, tried to pray ; arose, and with a
light heart, bounded away to his father, and threw his
little arms about his neck. " Have you prayed ?" said
the father. "Yes, sir," said the happy boy. "Then,"
said the father, " see that you do that every day while you
live. 11 The boy felt the force of the injunction, and
right then resolved to comply. He in some sort car-
ried out the injunction, until, in his seventeenth year,
God converted his soul ; and he has still tried to pray,
every day, up to the present time.

This narrative will serve as an example of the man-
ner in which Hugh Bone trained his family. The re-
sult was, that, in early years, each of his seven children
embraced, by faith, the promises of a covenant-keeping
God. Two of his sons, viz : Thomas, now in the vicin-
ity of Memphis, Tenn., and Matthew Housten, of Win-
chester, Tenn., are both devoted ministers of the Gospel,
and have been for the last thirty years. The other
three sons were ruling elders in the church, and re-
garded standards of piety. James lives in Arkansas ;
Andrew, the eldest, died in Kentucky, 1858 ; and Abner,
the youngest son, died at the same place the year before
both greatly lamented by the church. His daughter,
Elizabeth, died in the triumphs of faith, in Kentucky,
1824. Jane still survives, a devoted christian, living



LIFE OF HUGH BONE. 323

with her brother. The grand-children are mostly pious
members of the church.

In the spring of 1819, Hugh Bone removed, and set-
tled in Hopkins county, Kentucky, which was then
quite a newly settled country, and almost entirely des-
titute of the means of grace. Soon he assembled, on
each Sabbath, his neighbors, at some private house, to
whom he would read and explain the Bible, and exhort
them to reform, and seek the salvation of their souls.
They attended, with growing interest. Soon he pro-
cured preaching from the church, which he had as-
sisted, in some good degree, to organize ; a congrega-
tion was formed of Cumberland Presbyterians ; a camp-
meeting was held ; multitudes from the adjoining
settlements and counties attended ; God poured out
abundantly of His spirit; many were converted, and
carried home the holy influence ; others were induced
to seek, and hundreds found the same blessing.

Churches were organized out of these converts, all
over the Green river country, which have done much
for the general cause of God, and for the Cumberland
Presbyterian church in that section of the country ;
while others have removed to other countries, and be-
come the nucleus of other congregations. Many useful
and effective preachers were the fruits of that first
revival at Eose creek, Hopkins county, where Hugh
Bone lived and prayed, and labored publicly and pri-
vately, for twenty-seven years, and where he closed
his earthly career, in peace with God and all mankind.






324 SKETCH OF THE

In 1826, he followed the remains of his beloved wife,
Mary, to their resting place. No man was ever more
devoted to the wife of his bosom, than was he to his ;
yet he meekly bowed to the Providence which deprived
him of her society for the remainder of his days ; often
saying, m the language of Job, " The Lord gave, and
the Lord hath taken away," &c.

It was his custom, from the first night that he lodged
under his own roof, to hold worship in his family twice
everyday, unless absent or prevented by sickness ; and
then, his true helpmate filled his place at the family
altar, and kept the holy fire still burning. Every man
who lodged with him, was first invited to officiate in
family prayers, and "say grace" at the table, if he ate
in his house. He never was in the company of any
man, even a stranger, one half hour, without intro-
ducing the subject of religion. Everything about him
rested on the Sabbath day, which was with him, and
all his, a holy day unto the Lord. No conversation of
a worldly character was permitted on this day, in his
house, or in his presence.

His influence was felt among his family relations.
Besides his two sons, he has had eight nephews in the
ministry of the Cumberland Presbyterian church two
of whom have gone to their reward. It is a matter of
history, that Hugh Bone's great grand-father, John
Mc Williams, was a man of extraordinary prayer ; that
he never prayed without praying for his posterity, unto
the last generation ; and that neither of them have



LIFE OF HUGH BONE. 325

ever died without leaving evidences of having made
peace with G-od. Generally, they professed faith in
Christ before they reached the age of twenty-one
years.

Hugh Bono was uncommonly interesting and in-
structive in social conversation. In this he was indeed
impressive. Many persons have traced their first reli-
gious impressions to conversations had with him. He
was affable and courteous in his manners ; dignified in
all his bearings; and of noble and commanding appear-
ance. He was beloved by all who knew him ; and if
he ever had an enemy, at any time, he was not able
long to remain such, before he was converted into a
most devoted and enduring friend.

He departed this life, June 6th, 1846, full of years
being in his 82d ; but retained, in a remarkable degree,
the vigor of his powerful natural intellect, to the last
moment of his existence. He died full of the hope of
a glorious immortality.

His sun went down without a cloud.



ERRATA.

Page 17, in tenth line frorn top, read division instead of decision.
Page 28, in fourteenth line, Burnett instead of Barrett. In second line,

page 29, same correction.
Page 95, in second line from bottom, Arminian instead of Armenian.

This word occurring elsewhere in the book, same correction.
Page 121, in line above signature, your instead of you.
Page 194, in third line, unconditional instead of unconditioned.
Page 232, in eighth line, concurrence instead of convenience.



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