Dr. William Meade Jones |
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Jones, William M. On the death of Rev. William H. Black in 1872, Elder Jones, his son-in-law,
became pastor of Mill Yard Church, and ably served the church in this capacity until his death
in 1895, February 22nd. He was born at Fort Ann, Washington Co., N. Y., May 2, 1818. His father,
Nathan Jones, was a member of the Baptist Church, and on the last Sunday of January, 1836, William
was baptized in the Chenango River. In March, 1838, he preached his first sermon from Matt.
25: 31, 32. In October, 1838, he entered Madison University, Hamilton, N. Y., and on January
12, 184, he was licensed to preach.
He began ministerial work at Mill Creek, Huntington Co., Penn., in June. January 5, 1841,
he was ordained at the Mill Creek Baptist Church. In May, 1844, he was appointed, with Elder
Bingham, as a missionary to Burmah, but was sent to the island of Hayti in the West Indies,
for which he embarked at Boston, January 10, 1845. December 2, 1845, he preached his first
sermon in French, from the text, 1 John 1:7.
His first knowledge of the Sabbath came from the fact that an uncle, Joel Jones, then living
in Canada, was keeping "Saturday for Sunday." After this the Sabbath was several
times brought to his attention, but his doubts were allayed by a Baptist brother who said that
"Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath, but Sunday is the Christian Sabbath," and several
others of the most plausible statements on the wrong side of the Sabbath question. While attending
a missionary meeting in Sansom Street Baptist Church, Philadelphia, in November, 1843, he found
some tracts lying on the seats, three of which he picked up and found to be, "The Sabbath
Vindicator," "An address to the Baptists by the Seventh-day Baptist General Conference,"
and "The True Sabbath Embraced and Observed." He was dismayed as he read these, and
said to himself:- "Are these things so? If so, then I am involved in the transgression
of God's law, and am a Sabbath-breaker." His wife said:- "I think we have no more
Scripture for Sunday-keeping than my father has for infant sprinkling." Thus the subject
was dropped for awhile.
In 1847 he visited his uncle, Joel Jones, at Clarence, N. Y., and wrote in his diary :- "Saturday,
August 21st. This day is kept by my uncle as the Sabbath of the Lord God. Am I wrong in keeping
the first day, or not? Is it not a serious question? . . . . I preached for the Seventh-day
Baptist Church, and was particularly impressed when the whole congregation sang with much fervor
Stennett's hymn :-
"Another six days' work is done, Another Sabbath is begun," etc., etc. Two months
after this he called on Rev. Eli S. Bailey in Brookfield, N.Y., on a Sabbath evening; and of
this visit he writes :- "I inquired for a book on Seventh-day Baptist doctrine and history
- one containing a summary of arguments. The Doctor replied, 'Yes, sir, we have a book on these
subjects - a very good book we think it is; indeed we know of no better one, and if you haven't
one, I shall take great pleasure in presenting you with a copy. It is the Bible, sir.' "
This recalled to Mr. Jones the oft repeated Baptist aphorism:- "The Bible is the only
rule of faith and practice."
Finally he settled the question, and began keeping the Bible Sabbath on the first Sabbath in
July, 1848. This resulted in his recall as a Baptist missionary to the Island of Hayti, from
which he sailed August 17, 1850. He was welcomed in New York by Seventh-day Baptist friends,
and in the following November he became pastor of the Church at Shiloh, N.J.
March 11, 1854, in company with Mr. and Mrs. Charles Saunders, he and his wife sailed for
the Holy Land, whither the Church had sent them to found a mission at the ancient Joppa. Here
he studied Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, German and Italian; and was able in March, 1855, to
use Arabic in public worship to some extent. His first public service conducted wholly in Arabic
was on March, 13, I858. In January, 1859, he conducted part of a service in German.
Being recalled from this mission, he left Jerusalem December 23, 1860, passed through Paris
and arrived in London February 22, 1861, where he first met the Rev. William Henry Black, F.
S. A., pastor of the Mill Yard Seventh-day Baptist Church. May 6th he arrived in New York,
and in October became pastor of the Walworth (Wis.) Seventh-day Baptist Church. In 1863 he
became pastor of the Church at Scott, N.Y., and in August, 1868, he removed to Rosenhayn, near
Vineland, N. J. He and his family were the first settlers here, built the first house, and
cleared a small plot of ground.
On the death of Rev. W.H. Black, April 12, 1872, he was called as pastor of the Mill Yard
Church. Reaching London, September 14, 1872, he found only three members belonging to the Church;
but during his pastorate twenty-six others were added to the number. He at once began to print
and distribute tracts; and issued the first number of the "Sabbath Memorial" in January,
1875. This quarterly he published for fourteen years, and made it a faithful and strong advocate
of Sabbath observance.
One of the most unique and important of his many Sabbath publications is his "Chart
of the Week" in 160 languages; this he issued in 1887. By this he showed that in over
one hundred languages the seventh-day or Saturday was referred to as the Sabbath. Of this Chart,
the Christian Leader said, "It is a marvelous production of patient as well as erudite
toil, giving a bird's eye view of the language history of the seven days' week from the remotest
antiquity to the present time.
In 1882, Sir Walter Besant, in his famous novel, "All Sorts and Conditions of Men,"
describes Mill Yard Chapel, and refers to Mr. Jones under the title of the Rev. Percival Hermitage.
Mr. Besant says :- "As for the position taken by these people, it is perfectly logical,
and in fact, impregnable. There is no answer to it."
In June, 1886, Alfred University conferred upon Mr. Jones the honorary degree of Doctor of
Divinity. He was Professor of Arabic and Hebrew at the City of London College, Moorfields,
for several years, and was a member of many societies - Seamen's Christian Friend Society,
London Board of Baptist Ministers, Northwest London Fraternal, Board of the General Baptist
Assembly, Society of Biblical Archeology, The Oriental Congress, The Southern Provincial Assembly
of Free Churches, etc., etc.
He spent much time in studying the Scriptures in the original languages ; and his advice
to students for the ministry was always to learn Hebrew first and then Greek, holding that
the New Testament Scriptures should be studied through Hebrew spectacles.
His funeral services were conducted on February 26, by Rev. G. J. Hill of the Seamen's Christian
Friend Society, at Abney Park Cemetery. Mr. Hill said, among other things, "I never knew
a more consistent follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I never heard a single word fall from
his lips which I might wish had not been uttered, never an uncharitable or unkind word in reference
to any one absent, nor the manifestation of any but a Christlike spirit to those who were present."
Reprinted from "Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America" Vol 1, pp 80-83, published
by the American Sabbath Tract Society, 1910.
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