My Genealogy Hound

REV. CLEMENT S. LESTER, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Benton Harbor, was born in Lenawee County, Mich., on the 18th of March, 1860. He is the son of one of the pioneers of Michigan, Lewis G. Lester, a native of New York, who settled in St. Joseph, tills State, in 1840, and followed farming operations there for a period of nineteen years. In 1859 he removed to Lenawee County, where he has since resided. The Lester ancestors were English people and, emigrating to America, settled on Long Island, where John Lester, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was born. The mother of our subject was Harriet, the daughter of Enos Scofield, a native of Seneca, N. Y. The maternal grandmother of our subject was in maidenhood a Miss Talmage and was a cousin of the father of the famous divine, T. DeWitt Talmage.

The best educational opportunities were bestowed upon the subject of this notice, who was prepared for college at Raisin Valley Seminary, located near Adrian, Mich. At the age of twenty-two years, he entered Kalamazoo College, at Kalamazoo, Mich., and was graduated from that institution with the Class of ‘85, having completed the studies of the classical course. Early in his boyhood he had become a Christian, and it was his lofty ambition to become a minister of the Gospel. For this profession he was peculiarly adapted, both by nature and training, and it was a source of gratification to his friends when he was ordained to the ministry at St. Louis, Mich., August 4, 1886.

At once after ordination, Rev. Mr. Lester assumed the pastorate of the First Baptist Church of St. Louis, Mich., where he remained until 1888, meanwhile building up the church at that place and increasing its usefulness in the vicinity. Thence he came to Benton Harbor, and has since that time been pastor of the First Baptist Church. His labors here have been crowned with great success. The church has prospered and increased in numbers under his pastorate, and now has a membership of three hundred and nine, having had one hundred and seventy additions during his pastorate of five years A new pipe organ, costing $2,000, has been placed in the church, other expensive repairs have been made, and a parsonage fund amounting to $3,000 has been accumulated.

Such facts as these, without further comment, prove the possession of unusual abilities on Mr. Lester’s part. He is a fine illustration of the combination of Christian uprightness and business capabilities, and while of course his success as a pastor is principally due to the former, yet the latter has been by no means an unimportant factor in securing the gratifying results. He is reverenced and loved by young and old in the church where his counsels are heard, and is also highly regarded by the people of Benton Harbor, irrespective of denominational preferences. He has served as one of the Directors in the Baptist State Convention and is well known by the Baptists throughout the State.

November 18, 1885, occurred the marriage of Rev. Mr. Lester to Miss Frances, daughter of Francis M. Matteson, a native of New York, but a long-time resident of Lansing, Mich. This union has proved a most happy and congenial one, and has been blessed by the birth of one daughter, Lucile. The parsonage is located at No. 101 Broadway, and is a cozily furnished and attractive abode, where Mrs. Lester welcomes her friends with a charming hospitality. The social position occupied by the family is one of distinction, and they are very popular among the people of the village.