1891 - Prof. Gant and the Victoria Avenue Baptist Mission

 

During the fall of 1891 on Hamilton’s Victoria Avenue North, at Evans street, a new church had recently opened. Called the Victoria Avenue Baptist Mission. Across the street and a bit north at Barton street corner lived one of the city’s most prominent characters. Prof. Jesse Gant was a barber by profession as well as serving as the self-proclaimed spokesman for the city’s black community. Jess Gant was a loquacious, articulate man known as a singer, dancer, boxer and a frequent writer of letters to the editors of the various Hamilton daily newspapers.

On October 14, 1891, the following Prof. Gant letter appeared in the Spectator:

“TO THE EDITOR : Several months ago I was invited by (to my mind) some kind-hearted and Christian persons to visit them at their place of worship, a little Baptist mission not many yards from where I now live, and feeling that I would be welcome and satisfied anywhere among God’s children, I accepted their invitation and attended their meetings at different times. And I now confess that at some of their meetings, I enjoyed spiritual blessings, and felt that I had been benefited by being there. But greatly to my surprise, amusement, and I might say disgust, I was met on the avenue yesterday by the pastor of the above-named mission (who, by the way, is quite a bicyclist), and with a long, serious face kindly requested me not to attend any more of his or their meetings, stating as his reasons for making the very unchristian-like request that he, (the pastor) and a few of the members of his flock had made up their minds that I did not possess enough of the grace of God to worship and take part with them in their prayer meetings and church services. And when, with much surprise, I asked him the cause of his and their conclusions and request, his reply was : ‘Well, we have come to the conclusion that it is very wrong for you to be making and flying kites, and we don’t think that a Christian should do such a thing, and for that reason we prefer that you discontinue your occasional visits to our little mission.’ I asked the reverend gentleman (who owns and constantly rides a nice bicycle), if he thought there was any more harm in making and flying a kite than there was in riding a bicycle, and silence was his reply, and as yet he has not answered my question. I would say here that I have some warm-hearted, Christian friends, members of that congregation, and I want it known that I do not think they would stoop so low or so far forget their Christian duty as to try to injure or hurt me in any way. But I have reason to believe that the ball was made by an old deacon of the mission, and given to the pastor to fire, and he fired it with a vengeance. Now, to my mind, a minister of the gospel who will do a thing of that kind is working not for the salvation of souls, but for the almighty dollar, for it is for the first time in the history of my life to know of hear of a Christian minister or people asking one to stay away from the house of God. If I was such a bad, rude fellow flying kites and going headlong to ruin as they make me out, don’t you think it was their duty to do all that was in their power to get me to their religious services, to draw or lead me to Christ? I would say, in conclusion, I forgive those of the mission and the pastor, whom I and my friends consider have done me an injustice and will promise them that I will not meet with them in their little mission anymore, where in in time gone by, I have enjoyed Spiritual blessings. But I will not promise any of them that I will not met them in heaven, for, by the grace of God (not the mission) I intend to live a godly, righteous and sober life, and when my labors are ended here, to be taken home to dwell with Him, who said to the winds, Peace, and to the waters, Be still, where I hope to meet every member of their mission, with their pastor, and every reader of the communication, to hear those welcome words, Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

                                                Respectfully yours,               

                                                          Prof J. Gant.

  155 Victoria avenue.

Hamilton, Oct. 14, 1891

A reporter for the Hamilton Herald tried to investigate the matter and on October 15 1891, his article appeared:

“Rev. F. T. Tapscott, the pastor in charge of the little Baptist mission on the corner of Victoria avenue and Evans street, who is accused by Prof. Gant of having requested him to remain away from the mission, denies the accuracy of the tonsorial artist’s statement. He says he will be pleased vat all times to see Prof. Gant or anyone else at the meetings held there, but what he objects to is the Professor taking part, as he did by telling how precious Jesus was to him at a recent experience meeting. In his opinion, Mr. Gant’s everyday life is not consistent in all points with his professions, and for that reason he exercised the right he claims to have with every member of the congregation, as well as with all who come to the meetings, and requested him to refrain for the present at least from taking part in the gatherings. As to the professor’s kite-flying, that is only a minor consideration with him, and he bases his opinion of Mr. Gant on other matters which does not specify.”

Jesse Gant was definitely not shy in expressing his feelings, so he fired of another letter to the Spectator about the matter:

“TO THE EDITOR : I noticed in last evening’s Herald a statement made by the Rev. F. T. Tapscott in reply to my communication of the 14^th inst. The statement was a somewhat sugar-coated attempt to justify his ungentlemanly and unchristian-like action towards me by saying it was not the kite-flying he objected to so much, but it was the manner in which I got up and told how precious Jesus was to my soul at one of the experience meetings recently held in his church. Why, dear me, he should not condemn me for that, and especially after all who were on the Lord’s side to testify. I, feeling then as I do now, that I was a child of God, said then, as I rejoice to say now, that Jesus my Saviour is all and in all to me. And, sir, those are those the words that the dear good Christian, the Rev. F. T. Tapscott, took offense at, according to his own statement, in answer to my communication, in last evening’s Herald. Now, what in this wide world would he have me say in a meeting of that kind? If I felt inclined to stand up a sing Yankee Doodle or the Three Little Curly-headed Coons, he would be very likely to ask me to stay away from there, and he would be justified in doing so. And when I get up and speak as I did for the Lord, he said he did not like it. I’m afraid my reverend brother from the far west is a little rattled and pretty hard to suit; or, perhaps, when he looked upon my bronze face and curly hair and thought that there might be a possibility of me getting to heaven, he would do all he could to head me off , and, therefore asked me to stay away from the church, thinking possibly that it would lessen my chances, and if that is what he thought, I think the dear brother has made a great mistake, so far as my experience with that church of late and its present pastor and its long-faced Deacon, who is making all of those spite balls for the reverend gentleman to fire, the farther I get away from that mission the nearer I will be to haven. It is somewhat gratifying to know that there is one kind of spark left in his manly bosom, for he says he did not tell me to stay away altogether, but for the present at least. I wonder how long he wants me to stay away? I suppose until such time as I can make up my mind to be contented to take a seat in the wood box, behind the stove, wait for the collection plate to drop in my money, crawl out under the seats and drop out on the sidewalk, and then would constitute a member and worker for the little mission. Thanks, I beg to be excused. I prefer attending a place o worship where at least I will be allowed to take part in the services. I am sorry to say, but I do say with a truth, it is all spite work on the part of Mr. Tapscott and one or two others whom I might make mention of. Further on, if necessary, again he tries to whitewash his dark doings, by saying he would be pleased at all times to see Prof. Gant, or anyone else at their meetings. I would ask, what for? So would a wolf be pleased to receive a call from a nice, fat rabbit every day? No thanks, I will attend their meetings no more; but may divine blessings rest upon the church and people. I will defy Mr. Tapscott or any other living soul to say that in the last five years or so that they have known me to do one unchristian-like act; and if I did, he (Tapscott) or they knew so much about it, they were very unchristian-like not to come and tell me about it, and try to get me to do better. I say, God help such Christians! I have lived quite a number of years, I have travelled quite a distance, I have heard and seen many strange things and sights; also have visited hundreds of churches. I have visited and have been kindly received and treated in. I might say, about all the city churches. And the only church door that I found shut against me was the little mission around the corner with the bicycle paster, and the reasons he gives for doing so, verbally and in print, are because I sometimes fly a kite and dare to own Jesus as my Saviour. Will wonders ever cease ! Hoping I may never have occasion again to say anything on this very unpleasant subject, I am, respectfully, yours.

                                                Prof. J. Gant.

155 Victoria avenue north.