Son of George Pearis and Martha Bolton French
At the threshold of the Conference year, and within a few weeks of his eightieth birthday, George Decatur French passed to his merited reward. His death occurred at Morristown, Tenn., the home of his later years, October 20, 1923, following a superannuation of seven years. These years, spent in the increasing infirmities of age, were a fitting aftermath of a busy and fruitful itinerancy, a sort of restful bivouac-marking the end of his Christian warfare.
He was born in a section of Tazewell, now Bland, County, Virginia, on December 11, 1843. His birthplace was near that of William E. Munsey. It was under the ministry of this distinguished man that he made his approach to the Christian life, being received by him into the Church on probation at the close of a revival. If he lacked anything at that time in the way of peace and assurance, it was supplied in joyous fashion in a meeting some years later in his father's home conducted by Rev. John D. Wagg.
Dr. Munsey stood just outside the window of one of those far-away mountain churches, sacred as the altars of Abraham, and heard his first sermon, generously sparing his youthful friend the embarrassment of his visible presence. To have thus begun his faith, and later to have launched his ministry, under the guidance of so great a man as Munsey was to him more than a mere circumstance. It was an inspiration rather than an Incident—an epoch rather than an episode.
The Civil War furnished him opportunity to display the fine qualities of courage and chivalry inherited from his Scotch ancestry. While yet a youth he volunteered for General John B. Floyd's State Line Service, and almost immediately became a captain by the vote of his company. The records show him to have been an obedient subordinate, a firm but considerate officer, a soldier ready and unafraid.
His marriage brought him into connection with one of Tennessee's noted families. He was married August 20, 1874, to Miss Sophia H. Hoss, of Jonesboro, Tenn., who was the sister of the sainted Bishop Hoss and a lineal descendant of Governor John Sevier. Besides his devoted companion, there remain four children—Mrs. Robert W. Barrow, Mrs. Ernest Taylor and Miss Mattle French, of Morristown, Tenn., and Mrs. William C. Kreger, of Konnarock, Va.
His relation to the Holston Conference began in 1869 and extended without interruption through fifty-four years. For forty-seven years he was in the active ranks, receiving his appointments along with his comrades in service. T w o of his charges were circuits; eleven years he served stations; twenty-four years he was presiding elder; and ten years he represented the American Bible Society. Among the charges held by him are noted Marion and Abingdon stations, State Street, Bristol, Broad Street, Knoxville, and Centenary, Chattanooga. The districts he served were the Franklin and Jonesboro, one term each, and the Morristown and Abingdon, two terms each. As agent of the American Bible Society, he was responsible for the enactment creating the Annual Conference Bible Board, as provided for In Section 70 of the Book of Discipline, a most timely and important measure. A recent letter from Dr. Haven, one of the general secretaries, contains this significant sentence: "Dr. French was held in very high regard by the American Bible Society for his wisdom, fidelity, Christian character and service."
My life-long acquaintance with Dr. French found its climax in an intimate association the final three years of his life. I was his pastor; he was my counsellor and friend. Time after time I dropped into his home, sat by his armchair and heard him review the past and anticipate the future. His retrospection was never darkened with poignant regret, nor was his anticipation of the limitless future ever once marred by a fear or a doubt.
His personal characteristics, both as man and minister, ^yere rather clearly defined. His convictions were never vague, nor his assertions equivocal. Though always kind in his judgments, his conclusions savored of the positive and practical. The fortunes of his fellow men, particularly his brethren, were matters of kindly concern to him. He gloved men, initiating them into the secrets of his affection almost without effort. While never ill at ease in the councils of those of high degree, he could readily condescend to men of low estate. If I ever heard him utter a word of censure of one of his brethren I do not recall it. The Church and Conference he enshrined in his heart.
He was at his best as an administrator. Poise, discrimination and a certain degree of patience must enter the make-up of him who essays to be a director of affairs. These Dr. French possessed and never lost even in the stress of an emergency. To him an office was a trust, an appointment, a commission. To this good day the Methodists of the Franklin District point to his leadership, back in the eighties, as a signal event in their history.
Fitful and trivial subjects did not appeal to him as a preacher. He drew a distinction between a so-called popular topic and a vital gospel theme, choosing always to expend his thought upon the abiding verities. His pulpit powers consisted rather in sound and consistent thinking than in the mere physical graces of the orator.
The closing of his earthly life impressed me as bearing a message of beautiful significance. The first token of an impending change was a blending of the past and present in his conversation. It was discerned that realities of present things were giving place to memories of distant years. He called for his horse to go home. As in the long ago, he was out at his po.st of duty, the quarterly meeting was ended, the people were taking their leave, and his thoughts turned to his fireside. Again and yet again he called for his horse and the loved ones at the parsonage awaiting his coming. Before the sunset of that autumn day his longing was realized in terms of a happier realm than this. The faithful itinerant had reached home, and eternal rest.
Written By: E. E. Wiley – Holston Conference Journal -1924 – PP: 78-79
At the threshold of the Conference year, and within a few weeks of his eightieth birthday, George Decatur French passed to his merited reward. His death occurred at Morristown, Tenn., the home of his later years, October 20, 1923, following a superannuation of seven years. These years, spent in the increasing infirmities of age, were a fitting aftermath of a busy and fruitful itinerancy, a sort of restful bivouac-marking the end of his Christian warfare.
He was born in a section of Tazewell, now Bland, County, Virginia, on December 11, 1843. His birthplace was near that of William E. Munsey. It was under the ministry of this distinguished man that he made his approach to the Christian life, being received by him into the Church on probation at the close of a revival. If he lacked anything at that time in the way of peace and assurance, it was supplied in joyous fashion in a meeting some years later in his father's home conducted by Rev. John D. Wagg.
Dr. Munsey stood just outside the window of one of those far-away mountain churches, sacred as the altars of Abraham, and heard his first sermon, generously sparing his youthful friend the embarrassment of his visible presence. To have thus begun his faith, and later to have launched his ministry, under the guidance of so great a man as Munsey was to him more than a mere circumstance. It was an inspiration rather than an Incident—an epoch rather than an episode.
The Civil War furnished him opportunity to display the fine qualities of courage and chivalry inherited from his Scotch ancestry. While yet a youth he volunteered for General John B. Floyd's State Line Service, and almost immediately became a captain by the vote of his company. The records show him to have been an obedient subordinate, a firm but considerate officer, a soldier ready and unafraid.
His marriage brought him into connection with one of Tennessee's noted families. He was married August 20, 1874, to Miss Sophia H. Hoss, of Jonesboro, Tenn., who was the sister of the sainted Bishop Hoss and a lineal descendant of Governor John Sevier. Besides his devoted companion, there remain four children—Mrs. Robert W. Barrow, Mrs. Ernest Taylor and Miss Mattle French, of Morristown, Tenn., and Mrs. William C. Kreger, of Konnarock, Va.
His relation to the Holston Conference began in 1869 and extended without interruption through fifty-four years. For forty-seven years he was in the active ranks, receiving his appointments along with his comrades in service. T w o of his charges were circuits; eleven years he served stations; twenty-four years he was presiding elder; and ten years he represented the American Bible Society. Among the charges held by him are noted Marion and Abingdon stations, State Street, Bristol, Broad Street, Knoxville, and Centenary, Chattanooga. The districts he served were the Franklin and Jonesboro, one term each, and the Morristown and Abingdon, two terms each. As agent of the American Bible Society, he was responsible for the enactment creating the Annual Conference Bible Board, as provided for In Section 70 of the Book of Discipline, a most timely and important measure. A recent letter from Dr. Haven, one of the general secretaries, contains this significant sentence: "Dr. French was held in very high regard by the American Bible Society for his wisdom, fidelity, Christian character and service."
My life-long acquaintance with Dr. French found its climax in an intimate association the final three years of his life. I was his pastor; he was my counsellor and friend. Time after time I dropped into his home, sat by his armchair and heard him review the past and anticipate the future. His retrospection was never darkened with poignant regret, nor was his anticipation of the limitless future ever once marred by a fear or a doubt.
His personal characteristics, both as man and minister, ^yere rather clearly defined. His convictions were never vague, nor his assertions equivocal. Though always kind in his judgments, his conclusions savored of the positive and practical. The fortunes of his fellow men, particularly his brethren, were matters of kindly concern to him. He gloved men, initiating them into the secrets of his affection almost without effort. While never ill at ease in the councils of those of high degree, he could readily condescend to men of low estate. If I ever heard him utter a word of censure of one of his brethren I do not recall it. The Church and Conference he enshrined in his heart.
He was at his best as an administrator. Poise, discrimination and a certain degree of patience must enter the make-up of him who essays to be a director of affairs. These Dr. French possessed and never lost even in the stress of an emergency. To him an office was a trust, an appointment, a commission. To this good day the Methodists of the Franklin District point to his leadership, back in the eighties, as a signal event in their history.
Fitful and trivial subjects did not appeal to him as a preacher. He drew a distinction between a so-called popular topic and a vital gospel theme, choosing always to expend his thought upon the abiding verities. His pulpit powers consisted rather in sound and consistent thinking than in the mere physical graces of the orator.
The closing of his earthly life impressed me as bearing a message of beautiful significance. The first token of an impending change was a blending of the past and present in his conversation. It was discerned that realities of present things were giving place to memories of distant years. He called for his horse to go home. As in the long ago, he was out at his po.st of duty, the quarterly meeting was ended, the people were taking their leave, and his thoughts turned to his fireside. Again and yet again he called for his horse and the loved ones at the parsonage awaiting his coming. Before the sunset of that autumn day his longing was realized in terms of a happier realm than this. The faithful itinerant had reached home, and eternal rest.
Written By: E. E. Wiley – Holston Conference Journal -1924 – PP: 78-79
Son of George Pearis and Martha Bolton French
At the threshold of the Conference year, and within a few weeks of his eightieth birthday, George Decatur French passed to his merited reward. His death occurred at Morristown, Tenn., the home of his later years, October 20, 1923, following a superannuation of seven years. These years, spent in the increasing infirmities of age, were a fitting aftermath of a busy and fruitful itinerancy, a sort of restful bivouac-marking the end of his Christian warfare.
He was born in a section of Tazewell, now Bland, County, Virginia, on December 11, 1843. His birthplace was near that of William E. Munsey. It was under the ministry of this distinguished man that he made his approach to the Christian life, being received by him into the Church on probation at the close of a revival. If he lacked anything at that time in the way of peace and assurance, it was supplied in joyous fashion in a meeting some years later in his father's home conducted by Rev. John D. Wagg.
Dr. Munsey stood just outside the window of one of those far-away mountain churches, sacred as the altars of Abraham, and heard his first sermon, generously sparing his youthful friend the embarrassment of his visible presence. To have thus begun his faith, and later to have launched his ministry, under the guidance of so great a man as Munsey was to him more than a mere circumstance. It was an inspiration rather than an Incident—an epoch rather than an episode.
The Civil War furnished him opportunity to display the fine qualities of courage and chivalry inherited from his Scotch ancestry. While yet a youth he volunteered for General John B. Floyd's State Line Service, and almost immediately became a captain by the vote of his company. The records show him to have been an obedient subordinate, a firm but considerate officer, a soldier ready and unafraid.
His marriage brought him into connection with one of Tennessee's noted families. He was married August 20, 1874, to Miss Sophia H. Hoss, of Jonesboro, Tenn., who was the sister of the sainted Bishop Hoss and a lineal descendant of Governor John Sevier. Besides his devoted companion, there remain four children—Mrs. Robert W. Barrow, Mrs. Ernest Taylor and Miss Mattle French, of Morristown, Tenn., and Mrs. William C. Kreger, of Konnarock, Va.
His relation to the Holston Conference began in 1869 and extended without interruption through fifty-four years. For forty-seven years he was in the active ranks, receiving his appointments along with his comrades in service. T w o of his charges were circuits; eleven years he served stations; twenty-four years he was presiding elder; and ten years he represented the American Bible Society. Among the charges held by him are noted Marion and Abingdon stations, State Street, Bristol, Broad Street, Knoxville, and Centenary, Chattanooga. The districts he served were the Franklin and Jonesboro, one term each, and the Morristown and Abingdon, two terms each. As agent of the American Bible Society, he was responsible for the enactment creating the Annual Conference Bible Board, as provided for In Section 70 of the Book of Discipline, a most timely and important measure. A recent letter from Dr. Haven, one of the general secretaries, contains this significant sentence: "Dr. French was held in very high regard by the American Bible Society for his wisdom, fidelity, Christian character and service."
My life-long acquaintance with Dr. French found its climax in an intimate association the final three years of his life. I was his pastor; he was my counsellor and friend. Time after time I dropped into his home, sat by his armchair and heard him review the past and anticipate the future. His retrospection was never darkened with poignant regret, nor was his anticipation of the limitless future ever once marred by a fear or a doubt.
His personal characteristics, both as man and minister, ^yere rather clearly defined. His convictions were never vague, nor his assertions equivocal. Though always kind in his judgments, his conclusions savored of the positive and practical. The fortunes of his fellow men, particularly his brethren, were matters of kindly concern to him. He gloved men, initiating them into the secrets of his affection almost without effort. While never ill at ease in the councils of those of high degree, he could readily condescend to men of low estate. If I ever heard him utter a word of censure of one of his brethren I do not recall it. The Church and Conference he enshrined in his heart.
He was at his best as an administrator. Poise, discrimination and a certain degree of patience must enter the make-up of him who essays to be a director of affairs. These Dr. French possessed and never lost even in the stress of an emergency. To him an office was a trust, an appointment, a commission. To this good day the Methodists of the Franklin District point to his leadership, back in the eighties, as a signal event in their history.
Fitful and trivial subjects did not appeal to him as a preacher. He drew a distinction between a so-called popular topic and a vital gospel theme, choosing always to expend his thought upon the abiding verities. His pulpit powers consisted rather in sound and consistent thinking than in the mere physical graces of the orator.
The closing of his earthly life impressed me as bearing a message of beautiful significance. The first token of an impending change was a blending of the past and present in his conversation. It was discerned that realities of present things were giving place to memories of distant years. He called for his horse to go home. As in the long ago, he was out at his po.st of duty, the quarterly meeting was ended, the people were taking their leave, and his thoughts turned to his fireside. Again and yet again he called for his horse and the loved ones at the parsonage awaiting his coming. Before the sunset of that autumn day his longing was realized in terms of a happier realm than this. The faithful itinerant had reached home, and eternal rest.
Written By: E. E. Wiley – Holston Conference Journal -1924 – PP: 78-79
At the threshold of the Conference year, and within a few weeks of his eightieth birthday, George Decatur French passed to his merited reward. His death occurred at Morristown, Tenn., the home of his later years, October 20, 1923, following a superannuation of seven years. These years, spent in the increasing infirmities of age, were a fitting aftermath of a busy and fruitful itinerancy, a sort of restful bivouac-marking the end of his Christian warfare.
He was born in a section of Tazewell, now Bland, County, Virginia, on December 11, 1843. His birthplace was near that of William E. Munsey. It was under the ministry of this distinguished man that he made his approach to the Christian life, being received by him into the Church on probation at the close of a revival. If he lacked anything at that time in the way of peace and assurance, it was supplied in joyous fashion in a meeting some years later in his father's home conducted by Rev. John D. Wagg.
Dr. Munsey stood just outside the window of one of those far-away mountain churches, sacred as the altars of Abraham, and heard his first sermon, generously sparing his youthful friend the embarrassment of his visible presence. To have thus begun his faith, and later to have launched his ministry, under the guidance of so great a man as Munsey was to him more than a mere circumstance. It was an inspiration rather than an Incident—an epoch rather than an episode.
The Civil War furnished him opportunity to display the fine qualities of courage and chivalry inherited from his Scotch ancestry. While yet a youth he volunteered for General John B. Floyd's State Line Service, and almost immediately became a captain by the vote of his company. The records show him to have been an obedient subordinate, a firm but considerate officer, a soldier ready and unafraid.
His marriage brought him into connection with one of Tennessee's noted families. He was married August 20, 1874, to Miss Sophia H. Hoss, of Jonesboro, Tenn., who was the sister of the sainted Bishop Hoss and a lineal descendant of Governor John Sevier. Besides his devoted companion, there remain four children—Mrs. Robert W. Barrow, Mrs. Ernest Taylor and Miss Mattle French, of Morristown, Tenn., and Mrs. William C. Kreger, of Konnarock, Va.
His relation to the Holston Conference began in 1869 and extended without interruption through fifty-four years. For forty-seven years he was in the active ranks, receiving his appointments along with his comrades in service. T w o of his charges were circuits; eleven years he served stations; twenty-four years he was presiding elder; and ten years he represented the American Bible Society. Among the charges held by him are noted Marion and Abingdon stations, State Street, Bristol, Broad Street, Knoxville, and Centenary, Chattanooga. The districts he served were the Franklin and Jonesboro, one term each, and the Morristown and Abingdon, two terms each. As agent of the American Bible Society, he was responsible for the enactment creating the Annual Conference Bible Board, as provided for In Section 70 of the Book of Discipline, a most timely and important measure. A recent letter from Dr. Haven, one of the general secretaries, contains this significant sentence: "Dr. French was held in very high regard by the American Bible Society for his wisdom, fidelity, Christian character and service."
My life-long acquaintance with Dr. French found its climax in an intimate association the final three years of his life. I was his pastor; he was my counsellor and friend. Time after time I dropped into his home, sat by his armchair and heard him review the past and anticipate the future. His retrospection was never darkened with poignant regret, nor was his anticipation of the limitless future ever once marred by a fear or a doubt.
His personal characteristics, both as man and minister, ^yere rather clearly defined. His convictions were never vague, nor his assertions equivocal. Though always kind in his judgments, his conclusions savored of the positive and practical. The fortunes of his fellow men, particularly his brethren, were matters of kindly concern to him. He gloved men, initiating them into the secrets of his affection almost without effort. While never ill at ease in the councils of those of high degree, he could readily condescend to men of low estate. If I ever heard him utter a word of censure of one of his brethren I do not recall it. The Church and Conference he enshrined in his heart.
He was at his best as an administrator. Poise, discrimination and a certain degree of patience must enter the make-up of him who essays to be a director of affairs. These Dr. French possessed and never lost even in the stress of an emergency. To him an office was a trust, an appointment, a commission. To this good day the Methodists of the Franklin District point to his leadership, back in the eighties, as a signal event in their history.
Fitful and trivial subjects did not appeal to him as a preacher. He drew a distinction between a so-called popular topic and a vital gospel theme, choosing always to expend his thought upon the abiding verities. His pulpit powers consisted rather in sound and consistent thinking than in the mere physical graces of the orator.
The closing of his earthly life impressed me as bearing a message of beautiful significance. The first token of an impending change was a blending of the past and present in his conversation. It was discerned that realities of present things were giving place to memories of distant years. He called for his horse to go home. As in the long ago, he was out at his po.st of duty, the quarterly meeting was ended, the people were taking their leave, and his thoughts turned to his fireside. Again and yet again he called for his horse and the loved ones at the parsonage awaiting his coming. Before the sunset of that autumn day his longing was realized in terms of a happier realm than this. The faithful itinerant had reached home, and eternal rest.
Written By: E. E. Wiley – Holston Conference Journal -1924 – PP: 78-79
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