BIO:Jerry McAuley 1839-1884

   Jerry McAuley was born in 1839 in County Kerry, Ireland. His father
was a counterfeiter who fled home to escape the law. At the age of 13,
Jerry was sent to America to live with a married sister in New York
City. Soon he was running with a gang on Water Street and was
supporting himself by stealing. Later he was arrested and sentenced to
15 years in Sing Sing Prison.

   While in prison, McAuley began to read the Bible in search of
forgiveness for his sins. After reading it through twice, he was
converted to Christ through the efforts of a lady missionary who
visited the prison. His attitude and con- duct changed to the effect
that he was let out of prison in 1864, after serving seven years and
two months.

   In October, 1872, McAuley, his wife, and a few helpers opened the
Water Street Mission in the heart of the slum section of New York City.
Night after night, many of the seats were filled with drunks and
tramps, looking for a place to rest and relief from the cold. McAuley's
mission accepted anyone, regardless of how dirty he looked, how foul he
smelled, or how uncertainly he stood to his feet.

   The services of the mission were not limited to the physical needs
of the men, as Gospel meetings were conducted nightly. Singing,
testimonies, and preaching competed with the shouts and noises of the
Water Street slums. The Water Street Mission, under McAuley's
direction, became an example of Christian compassion for the down and
out. Tens of thou- sands of bums, transients, drunks, and harlots heard
the Gos- pel of Jesus Christ, many of them responding to the invitation.

   Although McAuley died in 1884, his influence lives on today through
the work of the mission.
