“Aunt Jane” Gaskins
by Brent Gallagher
Fred Rowe, the editor of the Christian Leader, wrote in January of 1903 that he had produced a Portrait Album that presently had 70 pictures with a goal of having 100.[i] The album contained pictures of three women – the wife of a Japanese preacher by the name of Otoshige, H.E. Van Deusen along with his wife M.E. (Mary), and Aunt Jane Gaskins.[ii]
Violet Jane McAllister was born April 15, 1820, to Jane (Work) McAllister and John W. McAllister in Washington County, Pennsylvania. According to her daughter, Nancy Holland, who wrote a short biography of Aunt Jane about a month before she passed away, “she was baptized at the age of 15 by Norman Lamphear in the mouth of Pigeon Creek, near Monongahela City, Pa., with four children of the same family.” The family moved to Marion County, Virginia, in 1838.[iii] She married Job Gaskins in the Spring of 1850. The 1850 census lists the newlywed couple living in Palatine.[iv] Palatine was east of Fairmont with the Monongahela River separating the two towns. What eventually became (West) Fairmont, WV, was incorporated in 1843. Palatine was absorbed into Fairmont in 1899. This part of Virginia separated from the rest of the state and became the nation’s 35th state, West Virgina, on June 20, 1863.[v] The Gaskins’ had five children, and they gave their four sons interesting names. John Newton Gaskins was the oldest followed by Finley Oakes Gaston, followed by Benjamin Franklin Gaskins, followed by Alexander Campbell Gaskins.[vi] In addition they had a daughter Nancy Gaskins (Holland).[vii]
Undoubtedly, Jane’s son, Finley Oakes Gaskins, was named after Finley Oakes, the Gospel preacher. Oakes preached at least 48 years and much of his work was done in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Virginia, and what later became known as West Virginia. Ira Moore, writing in the January 5,1937 Christian Leader about the value of listening to older preachers mentions Oakes, along with Nathan Cramblett, and “Uncle” Joseph Dunn as “aged and gray haired veterans of the cross.”[viii]
The earliest reference which could be found of Finley Oakes Gaskins preaching is in 1884. In 1885 the American Christian Missionary Society issued a yearbook which included preachers from 1883 and 1884. Gaskins is listed for the year 1884 as being a preacher.[ix] The 1888 yearbook listed F.O. Gaskins and W. Larimer preaching at the Antioch Christian Church in Monongalia County West Virginia.[x] This church was eventually known as the Daybrook church of Christ.
Sister Gaskins and her husband, Job, were very generous in their giving to support preachers and the cause of Christ. On May 20, 1889, they donated 2200 square feet of land on Columbia Street for a church building.[xi] The Columbia Street church was at times identified as the First Ward church. This congregation remained on Columbia Street until 1985 when the church purchased an office building in Pleasant Valley and relocated there. As one reads in the Christian Leader in the early 1900’s, through the notices of those who are supporting either preachers or specific missions, the name “Gaskins” is frequently found.
In the February 19, 1901, issue of the Christian Leader James Zachary wrote that he was preaching at Palatine and had conducted the funeral of Sister Katherine Pyle, Aunt Jane’s sister, who was a faithful Christian. He continued by stating that “grandmother Gaskins” is “lingering on the shores of time.” [xii]
James Bell, the editor of the Christian Leader had complimentary things to say about sister Gaskins as he was holding a meeting in February, 1902, at Palatine – “Sister Jane Gaskins, 82 years, for a long time has been a liberal and active member of the Palatine church. Though very frail, and nearly blind, she attends every Lord’s day meeting, and was present the four evenings the editor spoke to the people. As a living example of a true disciple of the Lord, Aunt Jane will be long remembered by the church and her neighbors. She will soon leave her four sons, one daughter, and some grand-children, to sustain the cause of truth she has taught them in word and deed.”[xiii] Sister Gaskins would live almost two more years after Bell’s meeting and would continue to be very active in supporting preachers.
A tribute to sister Gaskins was also written by Bro. W. H. Devore in April 1902 describing her faithfulness over the years. After mentioning that she was 81 years old and still knowledgeable of the Scriptures he wrote that no one was more responsible for the establishment and success of the Church of Christ in the community than she. He described her search for a husband when she was around 30 years old and selected a “helpmeet from among the Methodists.” According to Devore her husband was her first convert and that he lived “true to his profession.” Many Methodists were taught by her and had literature distributed to them so that “she had constrained more than one to leave the M.E. Church by obeying the Gospel of Christ.” She initially was a delegate and a treasurer for the West Virginia State Missionary Society but eventually “her eyes were opened and she has kept them opened ever since” and that she had helped check the missionary society in the area in which she lived. Devore described her faithfulness in attendance and wrote, “it was always an impressive sight to me to see this old sister leaning on the arm of her only daughter, wending her way to the house of God.” Devore continued by saying that he prayed that “the blessings of Heaven may rest on this aged saint” and “reach at last that peaceful shore beyond the troubled wave.” [xiv]
There were sixteen references to sister Gaskins in the 1902 Christian Leader giving money to different preachers and missions. In a time where an average donation might be $1.00 or $1.50, Sister Gaskins’ donations would frequently be $3.00, $5.00, or $10.00. Ira Moore wrote in June of 1902 of money he had received for an upcoming tent meeting he was scheduled to hold – “That mother in Israel, “Aunt” Jane Gaskins, of Fairmont, W.Va.—God bless her – sent me the nice sum of $10 a short time ago to aid in the work. She knows of my labors in the past, I having lived within three miles of her home the last nine years.” Moore’s statement of living close to Sister Gaskins is a reference to his living in Barrackville which is a short distance from Fairmont. [xv]
A.A. Bunner wrote in September 17 of receiving “a letter from our aged sister in the Lord, Mrs. Mary E. Vandeusen, containing words of cheer and also $5.00 to aid me in my mission work in West Virginia. May the Lord continue his blessings to her in her declining days. There is surely a bright and shining crown awaiting such noble, self-sacrificing disciples of the Lord as Sister Vandeusen and ‘Aunt Jane’ Gaskins.[xvi] Sister Vandeusen was the above mentioned woman whose portrait was in the Leader Portrait Album.
There were 17 references in the 1903 Christian Leader with the last name of Gaskins giving money to various preachers and causes. Sister Gaskins continued to support various preachers and also gave money to the Christian Leader fund. In addition, Finley Oakes Gaskins, his wife, and Frank Gaskins (perhaps Benjamin Franklin Gaskins) were listed as donors. In October of 1903 J.W. Bush wrote that “’Aunt Jane’ Gaskins, that grandmother in Israel, gave me $5.00 to help me in the Lord’s work. May the Lord richly bless her in her declining days, is my prayer.” [xvii]
A preacher by the name of J.C. Perry sent in a notice to The Christian Leader and the Way dated January 12, 1904, that he was preaching at Earnshaw in Wetzel County, West Virginia. He mentioned 35 people by name who had bought a suit for him and included in the list is Aunt Jane Gaskins.[xviii] This was the last reference to sister Gaskins in the Christian Leader before her passing.
A.J. Vincent wrote a notice dated Feb.6 from Fairmont that stated Sister Gaskins had passed away at 3:00 that morning.[xix] Various notes of condolences and memories were found in The Christian Leader and the Way. W. B. McVey preached her funeral on February 7. J.W. Bush wrote an excellent summary of her life. “’The three sweetest words in the English language are Mother, Home, and Heaven.’ And where mother is, home is. Mother Gaskins has been taken away from this home with her sunny, happy, cheerful disposition together with her loving smiles and words of counsel…Aunt Jane, who was 84 years old at the time of her death, obeyed the Gospel when she was 15 years old, and spent the remainder of her days in the service of the Master. She was well posted in the Word of God, and delighted to converse with ministers of the Gospel, on the things that pertain to eternal life. She loved God and the Word supremely, and to meet with God’s people on the first day of the week to break bread was a foretaste of heaven itself. She was liberal with her means in contributing to preachers in having the Gospel preached in weak and destitute places. I doubt whether there is anyone now living in West Virginia who has done more along this line than she did.” Speaking of her death Bush continued to write “the hand that had so long and so often ministered to the necessities of the saints was still; the tongue that had taught the mighty Gospel to her neighbors was silent; the small, frail body that was the home of a mighty and sympathetic soul was as cold as an icicle in death. The soul was absent from the body and in the presence of the Lord.’” [xx]
It is true that not enough space has been given to the godly women who had a large influence on the growth of the Restoration Movement in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. There were undoubtedly scores of other women, like sisters Gaskins and Vandeusen, who were responsible for raising faithful Christians, teaching others the Gospel, and being generous with their money in supporting preachers and other worthy causes. One is reminded of the reference in Luke 8:1-3 of the women, who along with the apostles, followed Jesus and who “provided for Him from their substance (possessions).” To paraphrase Hebrews 11:4, which describes the faithfulness of Abel, “she being dead still speaks.”[xxi]
[i] Fred Rowe, “The Condenser,” Christian Leader, Volume XVII. Issue 3 (20 January 1903): 15.
[ii] Fred Rowe: “Leader Portrait Album” (1902). Stone-Campbell Books. Book 97. http://digitalcommons, acu.edu/crs _books/97.
[iii] Nancy Holland, “’Aunt Jane’” Gaskins, Christian Leader and the Way, Volume XVII. Issue 1 (5 January 1904):4.
[iv] “1850 United States Census,” Palatine, Marion County, Virginia, digital image s.v., “Job S. Gaskins, Violet J. Gaskins,” Ancestry.com.
[v] The West Virginia Encyclopedia, e-wv (https://www.encyclopedia.org/articles/2231: accessed 26 May 2024).
[vi] Find A Grave (https://findagrave.com: accessed 30 May 2024). Memorial page 130770286/job-s.-gaskins (1816-1897): citing Maple Grove Cemetery, Fairmont, Marion County, West Virginia, USA.
[vii] 1870 United Staes Census, Palatine, Marion County, West Virginia, digital image s.v. “Nancy Gaskins,” Ancestry.com.
[viii] Ira Moore, “Editorial Views and Reviews,” Christian Leader, Volume LI. Issue 1(5 January 1937):5.
[ix] Wilbur H. Cramblet. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in West Virginia. St. Louis, Missouri: Bethany Press, 1971. Page 171.
[x] Ibid. Page 182.
[xi] Sandra Alderson. A History of Churches of Christ in 16 Northern West Virginia Counties. n.p., 2018. Page 406.
[xii] James W. Zachary, “Field Reports,” Christian Leader, Volume XV. Issue 8 (19 February 1901):12.
[xiii] James Bell, “Editorial Jottings,” Christian Leader, Volume XVI. Issue 6 (11 February 1902):8.
[xiv] W.H. Devore, “A Letter From Brother Devore,” Christian Leader, Volume XXVI. Issue 17 (29 April 1902):5.
[xv] Ira Moore, “Winnowing Zephyrs,” Christian Leader, Volume XVI. Issue 23 (10 June 1902):5.
[xvi] A. A. Bunner, “Acknowledgments,” Christian Leader, Volume XVI. Issue 38 (23 September 1902):5.
[xvii] J.W. Bush, “Field Reports,” Christian Leader, Volume XVII. Issue 42 (20 October 1903): 12.
[xviii] J.C. Perry, “Field Reports,” Christian Leader and the Way, Volume XVIII. Issue 3 (19 January 1904): 12.
[xix] A.J. Vincent, Christian Leader and the Way, Volume XVIII. Issue 7 (16 February 1904):4.
[xx] J.W. Bush, “Aunt Jane is Dead,” Christian Leader and the Way, Volume XVIII. Issue 9 (1 March 1904):5.
[xxi] Hebrews 11:4 (New King James Version).