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Rev. Lemeaul Call Barnes, D.D.
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biography
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Barnes, Rev. Lemeaul Call D.D., an eminent divine of Pittsburg, pastor of the Fourth Avenue Church, is the son of
Lemuel Munson and Rachel (Call) Barnes. His great-great-great-grandfather, Timothy Barnes, came from England in the early part of the seventeenth century.
The emigrant's son Timothy was born in Connecticut; Timothy, third, was born at Hartford, Conn.; and Timothy, fourth grandfather of Dr. Barnes, was born at
Litchfield, Conn., and became one of the pioneers of the Connecticut, or Western Reserve, Ohio. His wife, Ruth Taylor, was a native of Rutland, Vt.
The maternal great-grandfather of Dr. Barnes was the Rev. Stephen Call, a native of Colerain, Mass., who removed to Warren County, New York, in 1797. He was a Baptist
minister and one of the active men of his time, preaching and organizing churches near and far. He lived on his farm in Warren County nearly fifty years. The country
road in the township of Luzerne still goes by his name, Call Street. His son, Obed Call, became a pioneer of the Western Reserve, settling in Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio.
He was one of the early school-teachers there, and a pillar in the Baptist church. Obed Call's wife was Lovina Sperry, a daughter of Elijah Sperry, who was a Lieutenant
in Colonel Jeduthan Baldwin's regiment of artificers in the Revolution. He enlisted at New Milford, Conn., in 1777, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant, April 1, 1779.
He had an active hand in making the great chain which was thrown across the Hudson at West Point, links of which are still preserved there. He married Marauchie Van Order,
a native of Holland. The daughter Lovina was born in Waitsfield, Vt.
Lemeul Call Barnes was born in Kirtland, Ohio, November 6, 1854. His parents removing to Michigan, he entered Kalamazoo College, whose charter requires the standard of
admission to be kept equal to that of Michigan University, and there enjoyed the advantage of being under a man of choice ability as an educator, President Kendall Brooks, D. D.
Mr. Barnes was graduated in the class of 1875, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After pursuing the usual course of study at the Newton Theological Institution in Massachusetts,
graduating in 1878, he was ordained at Kalamazoo, and took as a first pastorate that of the First Baptist Church, St. Paul, Minn., at the time one of the strongest churches in the Northwest,
and enjoying a house of worship which cost over a hundred thousand dollars. He remained there until July 31, 1882, when he accepted a call to the Fourth Avenue Baptist Church, Pittsburg.
Five years and a half later he became the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Newton, Mass., one of the ancient churches of this faith in the suburbs of Boston, composed largely of solid
business men and their families, being also the home church of the Newton Theological Institution, the Baptist Divinity School in New England. On entering a new and elegant house of worship,
the church, at the earnest solicitation of Pastor Barnes, adopted the free pew system, after more than a hundred years of pew renting. The church prospered as never before in home expenses,
and at the same time very largely increased its contributions to objects of benevolence. It also grew steadily and decidedly in numbers.
At the annual meeting of the American Baptist Missionary Union held in Chicago in 1890, Mr. Barnes was elected Foreign Secretary to succeed the Rev. J. N. Murdock, D. D., LL. D., who had
been secretary for twenty-seven years. This position involved the oversight of a widespread work in Europe, Asia and Africa, including the largest number of converts from heathenism under
the care of any foreign mission society in the world, more than twice the number under the care of any other American society. He declined, however, the highest honor in the gift of his
denomination, in order to continue in the pastorate. The same marked taste for the pastorate led him at different times to decline professorships in two theological seminaries and the
presidency of a college. In 1892, he spent seven months with his wife in Europe, Egypt, and Palestine.
After a pastorate of five years and a half in Newton he returned, June 1, 1893, to his former beloved people of the Fourth Avenue Church, Pittsburg, and has here done a great work during
the last four years. This is the oldest Baptist church of the city, organized in 1812 as the First Baptist Church; and from it all the other Baptist churches of the city have sprung.
It is now often called an institutional church, sometimes "The Twentieth Century Church." It is more simply named by its pastor the Practical Church. It has two branches,
one on Wylie Avenue, corner Conklin Street, with a presiding minister, and one in the West End. The church is aggressive in practical, philanthropic effort, and carries on a kindergarten,
a nursery, and an industrial school. The latter includes sewing, mending, dressmaking, cooking, clay modeling, and a penny savings bank. The church employs a trained nurse to devote her whole
time visiting the destitute sick in the city, regardless of race or creed. It provides an interpreter for deaf-mutes, who attend its services in large numbers. It also has a flourishing Chinese department.
Free giving is a feature of the church life, and it is a remarkable fact that the living expenses of the church for the past year were but nine thousand five hundred and sixty-two dollars; while for missions
the total amount contributed during the year was eleven thousand eight hundred and eighteen dollars. This is the more surprising because the church counts among its members very few of the men of wealth.
Through the pastor's teaching, money is never raised by pew rents, suppers, fairs, or admission fees, but is freely subscribed as a direct worship of God. It is a "free church" in more senses than one.
The steadfast purpose of pastor and people is to bring Christianity into the daily life of the community. The chief prayer of the church is, "Thy kingdom come on earth."" Its membership has grown in spite
of its decidedly down-town location, during the pastorates of Dr. Barnes, from less than four hundred to more than seven hundred.
Dr. Barnes is a natural leader and organizer and a deep student thinker. His executive power is unquestionable. When he was pastor in St. Paul, the church raised in cash a church debt of thirty-one thousand
dollars in thirty days' time. He there inaugurated city missions, out of which five churches have sprung. In 1885, he was active in bringing Messrs. Moody and San key to Pittsburg, after having made and published
a painstaking review of the religious statistics of Pittsburg and Allegheny. He later inspired the making of a careful sociological examination of all the churches in two cities, showing to what industrial ranks
the membership belonged. Lemeul Call Barnes is the author of various articles and pamphlets. One entitled "Shall Islam rule Africa?" published by the Baptist Ministers' Conference of Boston, was
appreciatively reviewed in England, and was republished there. In June, 1896, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on him by Kalamazoo College, a rule of many years' standing against
conferring honorary degrees being suspended for the first time for this purpose. A week later the same degree was conferred by Bucknell University. The following season he was also proffered the degree by the
Western University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Barnes is a trustee of the Newton Theological Institution and of the Board of Managers of the American Baptist Missionary Union. He has done elaborate committee work in the service of the latter.
He married January 2, 1879, Miss Mary Clark, who was graduated from Kalamazoo College with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in his own class of 1875, taking the degree of Master of Philosophy in 1878.
During the three years immediately following her graduation and previous to their marriage Mrs. Barnes as Lady Principal of the college. She is possessed of scholarly tastes and of much executive ability.
A large part of the success of the Practical Church and of the missionary work of her husband is due to her untiring sympathy and wise effort.
Biographical review: containing life sketches of leading citizens of Pittsburg and the vicinity, Pennsylvania. Boston: Biographical Review Pub. Co., 1897, Author: Anonymous.
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