Chaplains of the Revolutionary War

Susan F. Craft

     By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability and expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, altho' death was levelling my companions on every side. GEORGE WASHINGTON, letter to John A. Washington, Jul. 18, 1755

     Possibly because of his close encounters with death, General George Washington understood the meaning of the Bible verse, II Corinthians 12:9, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
     Washington was a Christian who regularly attended church, read his Bible, and gave to missionary organizations. Often, he would leave his military camps on Sundays to attend the services of any church he could find, no matter which denomination. Prayer was a big part of his life, and he was often seen riding into the woods to find a solitary spot to pray, or found in his private quarters on his knees with the Bible opened.
     Washington recognized the need for clergy on the battlefield for encouragement, admonishment, and comfort, and he empathized with the men’s desire for spiritual guidance and instruction in understanding Biblical concepts such as the grace he personally experienced. Consequently, he was a champion of the establishment of a chaplaincy corps.
     After the battle at Lexington and Concord, many pastors enlisted in the Continental Army and encouraged the men in their congregations to follow suit. In its infancy, the chaplaincy service was not organized -- some clergy were commissioned by the army, some by governors, and some were aligned with militias. July 29, 1775, is considered the official birthday of the American Chaplaincy Corps when Congress recognized chaplains in the national army with a rank equal to that of a captain and with a monthly pay of twenty dollars.
     In August 1775, General Washington reported that fifteen chaplains were serving twenty-three regiments and that twenty-nine regiments were without any. In September, there were twenty regiments supplied and twenty vacancies. The situation worsened, and by January 9, 1776, there were only nine chaplains and eighteen vacancies. Because Washington thought that chaplains weren’t paid enough, he suggested assigning a chaplain for each two regiments as a means of doubling the salary.      Chaplains usually served six months. Some served during the week and returned home each weekend. Some were responsible for paying for their temporary replacements back home. Although officers without rank, they had no specified uniform, but did bear arms, at least the sword of an officer and a gentleman, and occasionally a firearm. 
     Normally, chaplains conducted services, offered Holy Communion, acted as representatives of God, prayed with the men before a march and before roll call at night, and comforted the wounded. Some served as surgeons. They also officiated at funerals and performed marriages.


Chaplain James Caldwell

     One of the most notable chaplains during the Revolutionary War was Chaplain James Caldwell, a Presbyterian immortalized in Bret Harte’s poem, The Rebel High Priest. Caldwell’s wife was shot and killed by Hessians, and his church was burned by Tories. At the battle of Springfield, NJ, on June 23, 1780, when the Patriots stopped firing because they had run out of paper for wadding, Caldwell ran into a local Presbyterian church and brought out Watts Hymnals, and, according to the poem, he yelled, “Put Watts into ’em,—Boys, give ’em Watts!”

Chaplain prays with troops in Iraq.

The Phantoscope--The Beginning of Motion Pictures

In the fall of 1895, a small group gathered in an exhibition hall on the grounds of the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta completely unaware that the white curtain hanging in front of them was about to give them a glimpse into the future. In the back of the room, two young engineers--Charles Frances Jenkins and Thomas Armat--were making the final preparations for a demonstration that would change the way people entertained themselves in the years to come. Finally, the lights lowered and a young vaudeville dancer danced across the screen in vivid color.

Motion pictures had been born.

At least, one of the men involved didn't start out as an inventor. Reared in Indiana, Charles Frances Jenkins moved to Washington D.C. at the age of 23 to take a job as secretary at the U.S Life Saving Service. But the job didn't excite Jenkins as much as working with a new medium, movie film. In 1891, he began work on a design for a motion picture projector. To learn more about the electronics involved, Jenkins began taking classes at the Bliss School of Electricity in Washington D.C. where he met fellow student Thomas Armat. Together, they developed the Phantoscope, the first reeled movie projector using electricity and the one demonstrated in Atlanta.

Soon after the Exposition, Jenkins and Armat's partnership turned bitter, each claiming the invention to be their own.Arguments over the patent went on for several years. Armat eventually sold his part of the company to Thomas Edison who re-marketed it under a new name, the Vitascope. Soon, he began public showings in vaudeville theaters for a paid admission.

But Jenkins wasn't finished yet. In 1913, he published an article entitled Motion Pictures by Wireless--Wonderful Possibilities of Motion Picture Progress outlining the infancy of modern television. Ten years later, he transmitted the earliest moving transmissions of television images and on June 30th 1925, received a patent for his work. In 1928, a commercial television license, the first granted in the U.S. was given to him. W3XX, the broadcasting system owned by Charles Jenkins Television Corporation began broadcasting on July 2, 1928.

Almost a hundred years later, C. Frances Jenkins's imaginative forward thinking is still being used in our homes every day.

Patty Smith Hall has been making up stories since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. Now she's happy to share her wild imagination and love of history with others, including her husband of 30 years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters, a future son-in-law and a Yorkie she spoils like a baby. Her latest release is Hearts Rekindled (Love Inspired Historical)

From Porkopolis to Flying Pigs and Giveaway by Jillian Kent

Airport Spirit

If you are visiting Cincinnati beware saying, "When Pigs Fly!"

Flying High at the Library

I picked my hubby up at the airport recently and while I was waiting for his flight to arrive I was reminded of Cincinnati's history. No you are not hallucinating? We really do have flying pigs and they are everywhere. But why? you may ask.

During the 1800's Cincinnati was known as Porkopolis because of the vast number of hogs that entered the city via the riverboats. During the Bicentennial pig sculptures were designed by Andrew Leicester to promote the history of the riverboats and agriculture. Trust me, this was not without much debate.

"In 2000, 425 pigs decorated by professional artists lined streets, then were auctioned to raise $825,000 for 300 Tristate charities."

"The "Pig of Possibilities” was displayed on Fountain Square during the summer of 2000 as part Cincinnati (Cin-sow-nati) Ohio’s Great Big Pig Gig tour. The public art initiative brought local artists, businesses, arts organizations, schools and individuals together in an unprecedented way to have fun and to celebrate Cincinnati’s porkopolis past.




If you want to participate in Cincinnati's now famous FLYING PIG MARATHON there is still time. It begins on Sunday, May 4, 2014 at 6:30 a.m.

You can even buy a book about The Big Pig Gig. 


I hope you've enjoyed this historic pig peek of Cincinnati. And now you know . . . pigs really do fly. Share your favorite pig picture or pig name from the Big Pig Gig Slideshow or these little piggies which brings a whole new concept to the term, HOG WILD, and I'll put your name in a drawing for a ten dollar gift card from Amazon.Void where prohibited. You have until April 5th at midnight Pacific time. I'll announce the pig winner on Sunday, April 6th when someone will squeal with delight.

Jillian Kent loves England's Regency era. In 2013 her second book in The Ravensmoore Chronicles, Chameleon, finaled in both the Selah at Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in romance fiction and in Romance Writers of America's prestigious Daphne du Maurier for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. Jillian is employed as a counselor for nursing students in Cincinnati, Ohio and possesses a masters degree in social work. She is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors and passionate about mental health, wellness, and stomping out the stigma of mental illness. You can reach her at jill@jilliankent.com and explore further at her website www.jilliankent.com.You can also find her on Twitter @JillKentAuthor and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JillianKent 

Tidbits from New Smyrna Beach, FL

A few days ago, my husband Paul and I spent the day at New Smyrna to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. However, I just can't go to a place without learning a little something about it. So today's post consists of tidbits from New Smyrna Beach. There's a great little museum there that was the original building for the first school house. It was built in 1872 at a cost of $42.00.

The Seminole Indians of Florida were long time residents of New Smyrna Beach long before Dr. Andrew Turnbull came in 1767. He started draining the swampy area so the land could be cultivated then he brought in folks from Greece who worked the land. He planted Indigo and it was very profitable for a time. But because of poor management it failed. As one of the curator's at the museum put it, "New Smyrna had a bunch of businesses for a season. Some of these industries included the Indigo, Turpintine, harvesting the live oak for ship building and a sugar mill.

Here is an example of the bins used to make indigo dye which at times was worth more than gold.

In 1830 Henry Cruger built a Sugar mill on 600 acres. Years later it was burned by Seminoles. Here's a link to Sugar Mill Ruins with a bit of history about the place. Well worth a return trip to discover more.

New Smyrna was also host to tourism, even as early as the 19th century with the advent of the railroad down from St. Augustine, FL and ship travel. During the Civil War, 1863, the Oleander bombs and burns Sheldon Hotel that was built on the old Fort Mound. Here's a link to a video made by someone who visited the ruins. Sheldon Hotel Ruins In the museum there is a description talking about the bombing, as the bomb went through the building and into the piano. Well worth stopping in to the Museum with its rich info in such a small space. Weekdays you can go upstairs to work on genealogy and go through some of the other historic photographs they have.
Here are a couple pictures I took of the ruins.
From the top looking down on the structure

     The Front wall that faces the water
And up close view of the coquina walls.

There's a great photograph from Mosquito Lagoon dated 1870. In this photograph you have several women on a boat, fishing, I suppose, but one gal is standing there with her shotgun ensuring safe passage. For a bit more on Mosquito Lagoon click here.

Other little tidbits:
Canal street used to be a canal.
City dock dredged and filled across the footbridge from canal street. Pier was built for commercial vessels.
Torpedo bottle, 1809, horizontal position kept the cork wet.
And there's another great photo of a sandy well heads, stabilized with bottles. The latest bottle 1905-6 which dates the well.

There's so much more to explore in this little gem but I'll leave you with this tidbit from Handbook of Florida ©1892
New Smyrna is a favorite resort for sportsmen. The proprietor of the hotel, Captain Sams, is familiar with the whole region and is always ready either to accompany his guests himself on hunting expeditions or to furnish competent guides, boats, and equipments. Large and small game of all kinds is to be found in the woods and savannahs of the mainland, and water-fowl frequent the marshy islands that border the lagoons. The best of salt-water fish are caught from the wharves or in the channel, especially in the vicinity of Mosquito Inlet, four miles distant.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post.

Lynn A. Coleman is an award winning & best-selling author who makes her home in Keystone Heights, Florida, with her husband of 40 years. Check out her 19th Century Historical Tidbits Blog if you like exploring different tidbits of history. Lynn's latest novel is Courting Holly Her next novel, "Winning the Captain's Heart" is scheduled for release in July.

Wind Up the Automatons

by Linda Farmer Harris

In Lovington, New Mexico, Senator Jack Danglade (1898-1959) gave the children, and the young-at-heart, a marvelous Christmas present every year. His front and side yards were filled with animated and mechanical figures such as Santa and Mrs. Claus, elves, carolers, merry-go-grounds, Ferris wheels, reindeer, trains, and more. His estate maintained the animated displays after his death in a manner worthy of his intentions. As the years passed, we were very familiar with the extensive display. It was a thrill to see what new pieces were added and which old ones had been refurbished and put back on display.

The animated window display downtown in the Anthony's Department Store was a wonderland, too. Set on the corner of the town square, these 1940-1950’s mechanical figures was visible by every passing car. It was no wonder many families stopped, parked, and walked around the square during the Christmas holidays.

Photo Credit: Van Dillard 

In my travels over the years doing research, I've visited museums, private collections, and antique shops. I've enjoyed many 17th-19th century animated creations.

None, however, have been as awesome or enchanting as the 200-year-old clockwork boy. The automaton (au•tom•a•ton) sits in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA, and writes his three poems in intricate, scrolling cursive. His drawings are amazing. Waiting for his caretaker, Charles Penniman, to bring him to life, the "Draughtsman-Writer," as the boy is known, is the most complex automaton of its kind.

 Charles Penniman, Curator, Draughtsman-Writer, Franklin Institute

When he arrived at the Franklin Institute, he was in pieces, a totally ruined brass machine. It is thought that part of his body was destroyed by fire. He was donated by the estate of John Penn Brock. It was known that he was created in London in the late 18th Century, but the identity of his inventor was a mystery. It wasn't until he was repaired, refurbished, and drew one of his ornamental poems that "Written by the automaton of Maillardet" was found along the edge. Henri Maillardet was a famed Swiss clockmaker and mechanician. 

The clockworks boy writes his three poems (two in French and one in English) and four drawings atop a box of 72 brass cams that control his movements. He has the largest memory of any such machine ever constructed. The fingers grasping the pen, guided by the movements of the cams, move side to side, front and back and up and down. Remarkable!

It's believed that Henri Maillardet made one other automaton that wrote in Chinese as a gift from King George III of England for the Emperor of China.

Automata is from the Greek word automatos "acting of one's own will." The first known use was recorded 1645. By the 19th Century, the middle class could afford to order an automaton from catalogues and large department stores for their own parlor. The figures were made with glass blown eyes, ivory teeth, eyelashes and wigs of human hair or mohair, and eyelids from thin kid skin. The word robot was thought to be introduced in 1920 by Czech writer Karel Capek, and not quite synonymous with automaton.

The Turk, created in 1770 Vienna by inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen, is another famous automaton. The chess playing automaton astounded audience and won matches against the era's most gifted players. The machine moved its own chess pieces, and instantly recognized illegal moves by its opponent. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, Benjamin Franklin, and Edgar Allen Poe were among its challengers. Poe reportedly became obsessed to expose how it worked. It's believed that the secret of the machine was an elaborate illusion, and that hidden inside the gear box was a human operator.

Not all automatons were created in the likeness of  humans. The bejeweled Ethiopian Caterpillar was created in 1820. Henri Maillardet, assisted by Jaquet Droz, is thought to be the creator. Just so you'd know, this automaton was sold at Sotheby's in Geneva in 2010 for $415,215.00. Get in line, there are only six known to exist.

The caterpillar is comprised of 11 jointed ring segments, framed by seed pearls, and decorated with translucent red enamel over an engine-turned ground, studded overall with gold-set rubies, turquoise, emeralds, and diamonds. Its underside is decorated with champleve black enamel.

Visit: http://www.fi.edu/learn/sci-tech/automaton/automaton.php?cts=instrumentation to see the boy in action.

Go to http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2765.htm and see what you think about The Turk. 

If you built an automaton, what would it do?

Blessings,

Lin writes historical fiction for adults and children. She and her husband, Jerry, live on a hay and cattle ranch in Chimney Rock, Colorado. Her current work-in-progress is a historical series Voices in the Desert about the Southwestern Indian Detour Couriers is set in New Mexico. Book One: Treasures Among the Ruins features Cornelia Miller, a recent college graduate, who is searching for self-identity apart from a strong political, socially prominent family. Her enjoyment of genealogy and family history adds unique elements to her stories.

What did women wear in the l9th Century?

Hello, guest blogger Veronica Heley here.

I began to write my stories and to get them published when I was working on an old manual typewriter. I had seven historical novels published, and the fanciful view that illustrators had of fashion drove me to join the Costume Society, from whom I learned what people really had worn in the past. Nowadays I work on a computer and deliver my work by email, but I can’t say – sigh – that the women in my covers are more appropriately dressed.

What has struck me is how much society changed in the l9th Century. We take the Industrial Revolution for granted, bringing enormous changes in the workplace and driving men and women off the land to seek work in towns and cities. But what about the domestic scene? In the early l800s, typhoid and cholera rampaged through insanitary housing. Transport was by horse, coach or carriage and the road surfaces were not well maintained – no tarmac for a start. Letters were franked by local bigwigs until the Penny Post was introduced. At night lighting was by candle or the moon. 

With the introduction of the steam engine, everything began to change. Within a comparatively short space of time the domestic scene was altered for the better. Pipes were laid to bring fresh water into housing areas and to dispose of waste. Hurray for indoor toilets! Almost overnight cholera and typhoid disappeared. The wonders of gas lighting and electricity transformed the urban landscape and the houses of the well-to-do, shortly to be followed by the inventions of the telephone and the car.

And don’t let’s forget the bicycle. At the start of this era, an unmarried girl might take exercise on horseback, but she’d be accompanied by a groom. At the end, she’d be out and about on her bicycle, on her own, without a chaperon.

Women’s fashion made some momentous changes during this period. The young Queen Victoria, neck and shoulders bare, wore a crinoline under a voluminous skirt, and a tiny bonnet on her head. The boned top would be separate from the skirt. Little boys wore sailor suits. Little girls dressed similarly to their mothers’ but with tucks which could be let down as they grew. Queen Victoria dressed in much the same fashion till the end of her days – well, she did loose the cage of the crinoline and covered up her neck and shoulders – but everyone else moved onto other styles.

The crinoline went out. Skirts became slimmer, with a back interest which eventually led to the bustle. Trains were introduced for high society functions. I have examined some of these by the famous couturier Worth, and found to my astonishment that the reason these trains could seem to ‘float’ across the floor was because they were sewn onto a base stitched with rows and rows of stiff gauzy ruching, so that however heavy the fabric of the train might be, it did not actually touch the floor.

As the emphasis shifted from breast to behind, bonnets went out, and tiny hats came in. Shoulders were only bared at night, but however many courses were placed on the dinner table, women were still confined in corsets or stays. In time women started to exercise by playing tennis – still wearing hats! Waists got smaller; there were instances of a woman’s liver being almost cut into two by the compression of corsets. 

As skirts became slimmer, hats became larger and the emphasis moved to the famous leg of mutton sleeves. And then, just as you’d think there was nothing new, we had a different silhouette; slim of skirt but with a dropped waist and more emphasis on the bust, as in the Gibson Girl look. It took the first World War for women to discard their corsets, and when they started to work in offices, they took to the manual typewriter with gusto.

An early book of mine, Fear for Frances, first published in l977, showed a lowly governess in a tight-waisted crinoline . . . with a train . . . and leg of mutton sleeves. 

Do you wonder I joined the Costume Society? 

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Veronica Heley Bio:

Veronica Heley celebrates the publication of her 72nd book in May 2014, having been  in the business for forty years. She lives in Gt Britain and is currently writing two gentle crime series with a Christian background, set in different areas of London. She also writes three short stories a year for the Methodist Recorder. She’s involved with her local church and community affairs, likes to break for coffee with friends and does the garden when she has time.  

FALSE DIAMOND, Severn House, March 2014.  (starred review from PW)

Bea Abbot runs a domestic agency whose watchword is discretion and whose clients do not  wear fake diamonds. The wealthy Holland matriarch, Sybil, is worried that her niece Dilys, is living in fear of her abusive husband. Benton believes he can get his way by violence, and has enticed Bea’s Member of Parliament son to his plans. How can she refuse to help her son out? Then Dilys tries to commit suicide . . . or does she? And what of the black sheep of the family, who may or may not be on the side of the angels?

The Whiskey Ring, Part Two

Last month, I told you all about the Whiskey Ring, a tax evasion scandal that plagued Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency in the 1870’s. If you missed the post, you can read it here. So let's continue the story!

Political Cartoon on the Whiskey Ring,
drawn by Thomas Nast

Orville E. Babcock

Thanks to the help of a St. Louis newspaper reporter named Myron Colony, Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin Bristow was able to gather enough information to blow the Whiskey Ring scandal wide open. By the Spring of 1875, over 300 arrests were made in strategic cities throughout the United States, and a grand jury sifted through the evidence during that summer. At first, President Grant backed up the grand jury, stating “Let no guilty man escape if it can be avoided.” However, the grand jury’s investigations soon exposed the President’s personal secretary, Orville E. Babcock, as having intimate knowledge of the scandalous Whiskey Ring dealings. The most incriminating evidence were several telegrams exchanged between Babcock and two of the ringleaders in St. Louis. As the grand jury found more and more evidence against Babcock, Grant flip-flopped with his approval of the jury’s investigation. He grew suspicious, especially when those same ringleaders in St. Louis were convicted and sentenced to three years in the state penitentiary. The investigation led nearer and nearer to the President’s secretary.

By early 1876, Babcock was put on trial for his involvement in the scandal. But this is where things grow truly interesting. President Grant felt the trial was as much an attack against him as it was against his secretary, and Grant went to great lengths to help his friend. First, just ten days before Babcock’s trial began, the President secretly created a “no deal” policy, stating that prosecutors could not give convicted criminals immunity in exchange for their testimony. Without that incentive, no one wanted to testify against Babcock. Also, it appeared that the jury was stacked with those who would vote to acquit Babcock. But the greatest help to Babcock’s case came when the President of the United States chose to testify on his friend’s behalf—something no President had ever done before, nor since.

Political Cartoon on the Whiskey Ring, drawn by Thomas Nast

President Ulysses S. Grant

Grant wanted to personally take the stand, but he was persuaded to testify by deposition done within the controlled setting of the White House instead. The prosecution and the defense settled upon a list of questions, and on the appointed date, President Grant testified. The President was said to have a photographic memory, but that memory failed him over and over during the deposition when he was asked about particular circumstances or pieces of evidence. But when it came to painting his friend in a good light, his memory did not fail him. In addition to Grant’s testimony, Babcock’s defense team provided numerous other character witnesses to state what a good, honest, and upstanding man he was.

The final help to Babcock’s case came when the judge instructed the jury before they went into deliberations. The jury was told to place more weight on the character witnesses for the defendant than on the evidence against him. Since the President of the United States had been one of those character witnesses, it took the jury only two hours to deliver their verdict. Not guilty.

While he was acquitted in the Whiskey Ring case, Babcock was forced to resign his position as Secretary by the rest of the President’s cabinet. Just ten days later, he was indicted for his suspected involvement in another scandal of the Grant administration. Once again, he was acquitted in the second case, and not surprisingly, the President took care of his friend. Babcock was appointed to the position of Chief Inspector of Lighthouses by President Grant, a position which he held until his death a handful of years later. Death by drowning in the line of duty.

So what do you think? Last month, many of you said you hadn't heard of the Whiskey Ring scandal, although most who commented were aware that President Grant's administration was wracked by scandals. Does this outcome surprise you? Why, or why not?

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won five writing competitions and made the top 10 and top 3 in two other competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenaged son, and four fur children.

Saving Souls With a Bible in One Hand and a Gun in the Other.

The unsung heroes of the past might well include traveling preachers. Those ministers of yesteryear rode into town every six months or so and “always preached the same sermon.”    

Though itinerant preachers still exist today in some rural parts of the United States they were the norm in the Old West.  

Known as circuit riders or saddlebag preachers, they rode from town to town preaching the gospel from horse and saddle pulpits.  Weddings and baptisms were carefully planned to correspond with a preacher’s expected appearance.  Funerals were seldom as conveniently timed. Nor, in some cases, was the arrival of babies.

  "My wardrobe was on one end of the saddle; 

my bookcase on the other."

-Methodist circuit preacher Horace Bishop

Circuit riders were most often lay preachers without formal education. They were young, poor, and, for the most part, single. Traveling thousands of miles a year they were probably also saddle-sore.  

Though the pistol-packing preachers eventually represented many different denominations none were more aggressive or effective than the Methodists. In 1838, there were only six Methodist circuit preachers for the whole Republic of Texas, but this number soon grew.  Supervised by presiding elders under the authority of itinerant bishops, circuit riders helped make the Methodists the largest religious group in Texas. This changed during the Civil War when church membership dropped fifty percent.

"Of all the deaths that any people died, 

there is none so distressing as being preached to death." 

-Parson Brownlow

Circuit riders preached in fields, barns and private homes.  Oftentimes saloons or dance halls were the only buildings large enough to hold a worship service.  If nothing else, these “dens of inequities” assured good attendance, especially if free drinks followed the sermons.

Finding a place to preach was the least of it. Early circuit riders fought for independence, ran revival meetings, built schools and churches, and served as fort chaplains and medical assistants. They also battled Indians, outlaws and wild animals.

Holy Scalawags!

Often the realities of the trail conflicted with church policy or beliefs. In her book Pistol Packin’ Preachers, Barbara Barton writes about a preacher named Jackson Potter who, after being ambushed, shot two Indians.  A bishop admonished him saying that according to scripture, “Our weapons are not carnal.”  Potter quickly responded that Indians didn’t exist when the Bible was written.

Drinking, smoking, snuff-dipping and other “wages of sin” provided frontier preachers with perhaps some of their toughest battles. Women were often just as guilty as men.

Though most circuit preachers were good Christians, some were better at preaching the Ten Commandments then obeying them.  A circuit rider name George Morrison poisoned his wife after falling in love with another woman.  Although Morrison was convinced that God would forgive him, the good citizens of Wilbarger County were less willing to do so.  He was hung at twelve noon on October 29, 1899.

Neither Rain nor Snow…

Circuit preachers received little pay, and sometimes only farm crops for their services.  Each congregation was responsible for collecting a circuit rider’s salary but many early pioneers had little or no money to spare. This posed a great hardship for preachers with families to support.   However, the difficulty of getting paid was nothing compared to the poor working conditions. Lack of roads, bad weather, diseases, and far-flung communities took their toll. Of the 737 Methodist circuit preachers that died prior to 1847 nearly half were under the age of 30.

Had the good citizens of those small western towns known the difficulties of the job, perhaps they would have been more lenient toward their “one sermon” preachers.  Or, then again, maybe not.   What do you think?

 margaret-brownley.com 

Available for preorder

 

 "A kiss seals the deal in this splendid collection of novellas. Forget something old, new, borrowed and blue––pitch perfect humor and romance are what tie the knot in Four Weddings and a Kiss." ~Tamera Alexander, USA Today bestselling author of To Whisper Her Name and The Inheritance