ville, Va. Mrs. Hatcher helped to organize the W. M. U. of the Southern Baptist Convention, and in 1889 was the first president of the Virginia (State) Union. The children who survive their father are Rev. Dr. Eldridge B. Hatcher, Miss Ora Latham Hatcher, Mrs. C. L. DeMott, and Mrs. H. W. Sadler. The span of his life was from July 25, 1834, to Saturday, August 24, 1912. Services were held, first at Fork Union and then in Richmond. The plan that his body be laid to rest under the sod of Fluvanna was changed when a committee came from his old flock, Grace Street Church, asking that Hollywood be made his burial place. Here, near the graves of many whom he loved and with whom he labored, and hard by the city where so much of his life was spent, his ashes await the resurrection morn. The speakers at the funeral at Fork Union were Dr. F. W. Boatwright, Mr. Walton, Dr. W. W. Landrum, and Dr. T. J. Shipman, and those taking part in the services at Grace Street were Dr. R. J. Willingham, Dr. W. W. Landrum, Rev. Andrew Broaddus, Lieutenant-Governor J. Taylor Ellyson, Dr. R. H. Pitt, Dr. C. H. Ryland, and Mr. Haddon Watkins. Such a familiar figure was Dr. Hatcher to Virginia Baptists that a description of his personal appearance seems almost unnecessary, but some who read these pages may live beyond the arena and period of his service. In his latter years he was portly in figure, and yet he had, almost to the end, an alertness of movement that showed remarkable physical vigor. He was of distinguished bearing, and would have attracted attention in any crowd. His features were almost rugged, though not stern, and his eyes clear and imperative in their sweep. His head, which was large, finely shaped, and remarkably broad, was firmly set on his neck that gave token of strength and power. While he was not tall, his appearance before an audience was always impressive, for he was indeed a master of assemblies.

ALEXANDER FLEET

-1912

In the home of his father, Col. Alexander Fleet (who claimed, and apparently with justness, to be descended from Charlemagne, of France), near Fleetwood Academy, King and Queen County, Virginia, Alexander Fleet was born. In the community of his birth he came up to manhood "amidst influences which admirably tended to nurture his mind and heart, to refine his manners, and confirm him in the faith of the gospel as held and practiced among Baptists. The piety of his early life, his devotion to the interests of the church, and his natural aptitude and gifts, left no cause for surprise among his associates and friends when he gave himself to the ministry." At Bruington Church, King and Queen County, he was ordained, on June 24, 1883, to the gospel ministry. He began his ministerial career as pastor of Upper Essex and Centennial Churches, Rappahannock Association. This Association was to be, save for a brief season, the scene of his work as a pastor and preacher. For some eighteen years he ministered to the Exol and St. Stephen's Churches, and a year or so longer at the former charge. His interesting association with these churches began in 1890.

Rev. W. T. Hundley, speaking of Mr. Fleet, after his death, says: "He was known by friends and companions as Darner Fleet. Fifty years ago last September I saw him for the first time one Monday morning, standing by a desk in the old academy building at Stevensville, King and Queen County. was a tall and comely youth, with the ruddy glow of

He

budding manhood on his cheeks.

I entered Richmond College together.

Darner and

All the

qualities that go to make up the character of a royal Christian gentleman were found in him;

.

gentle as a woman, refined, cultured, intellectual, self-sacrificing, modest, courageous, faithful, loyal to his convictions, cheerful. So he was a gentle man. I can say no more."

"Along with his ministerial aims and glad willingness to preach as God gave him opportunity, he was strongly called to the schoolroom, and much of his life was devoted to that high and useful service. He conducted schools at Warrenton, six years in Kentucky, at Tappahannock, and at Bruington, and many pupils in these several localities hold his memory in grateful esteem." During his life at Warrenton he was pastor, for a short time, of Bealeton and Broad Run, churches of the Potomac Association.

For some years before his death his health was not good, and so his work was much interrupted. He bore his sufferings with Christian fortitude, and his end, that came September 20, 1912, was peaceful. His wife, who before her marriage was Miss Josie Jeffries, of Essex, and these children survive him: Ella Laurie (Mrs. Robert Grey Dillard), Robert Hill Fleet, Rawley Martin Fleet, Martha Pollard Fleet. The quotations in this sketch and some of the facts are from the obituary, in the Minutes of the General Association, by Rev. Dr. G. W. Beale.

ROBERT BABBOR GILBERT

1867-1913

While the list of ministers and the Associational tables of the General Association do not contain the name of Robert Gilbert, an obituary of him appeared in the Minutes of the General Association for 1913, written by Rev. O. L. Terry, one of the pastors of the New Lebanon Association. The facts given in the obituary, with others furnished by Mr. Terry, are summed up here. He was born in Russell County, Virginia, in 1867, and died February 8, 1913. In 1889 he was baptized into the fellowship of the Oak Grove Church, New Lebanon Association. He was ordained to the gospel ministry in 1899, and then the Copper Ridge Baptist Church called him to be their pastor. Until his death, February 8, 1913, his life was a consecrated one, and his friends say that in his last hours, when he was ill, he sang, preached, and prayed till he fell on sleep. He left behind him a mother and two brothers. His education, though limited, was remarkable, when it is remembered that his opportunities for self-improvement were most restricted. His knowledge and comprehension of the Bible were wonderful. Mr. Terry gave him a “Teacher's Bible" and guided him in the effective use of this valuable volume. Mr. Gilbert was a most zealous and earnest preacher. It was his custom to get employment at "public works" and then preach to his fellow-workers at night. Many very hardhearted sinners were converted under his ministry.

THOMAS F. GRIMSLEY

1835-1913

In the "Lives of Virginia Baptist Ministers," Third Series, there is a sketch of Rev. Barnett Grimsley. Rev. Thomas F. Grimsley, who was his son, was born near Laurel Mills, Rappahannock County, Virginia, December 20, 1835. As a youth Mr. Grimsley, with the help of Rev. Mr. Worden, a Presbyterian minister, prepared himself to teach, and began his work in this important sphere in the home of Mr. William B. Harris, of Clarke County. While young Grimsley was giving instruction in other branches, perhaps he was receiving from Mr. Harris, who was a good classical scholar, special training in the Latin language and literature. His work at this time was evidently thorough, for in his latter years, after all the vicissitudes through which he had passed, he could translate, practically at sight, Cæsar, Virgil, Cicero, and the Vulgate. He was a great reader, and was always trying to fit himself, in these years, for the business of teaching. When the War broke out he left the schoolroom for the more trying experiences of the camp. As a member of the 6th Virginia Cavalry he followed the cause of the Confederacy from Manassas to Appomattox. He made a good record as a soldier, and his comrades, who knew him as Tom Grimsley, loved to tell how he had stood by them in their hours of emergency.

With the end of the War he took up the work of life in the twofold capacity of teacher and preacher. At Mt. Salem Church, on Saturday before the first Sunday in February, 1868, he was ordained to the full work of the gospel ministry. In the course of the years, he served