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Benton County TN
Contributed by W.I. Gregson Jr. to the Benton County TN Genealogy Society
Rev. James Washignton Blackard's Tenure
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W. C. Waters was my predecessor of the Big Sandy Circuit. He was at this time pastor of the adjoining Camden Circuit. I had been his mother's pastor while serving the Murray Circuit the year before, so there had sprung up between us a warm and lasting friendship. Then there was a fellow feeling in addition, since our presiding elder had strongly advised against his marriage just as he had against mine, but neither of us heeded the elder's counsel. Waters wrote me a few weeks before he was to take the leap and asked me to tell him how a young preacher felt with a wife and a big circuit on his hands. I wrote him in reply that "a young benedict felt like he was standing on the rainbow, playing marbles with the stars and throwing kisses at the moon" and for him by all means to go ahead with the marriage if he thought the girl could put up with it.
My presiding elder got hold of this letter and read the foregoing sentence to an old farmer in whose home we were spending the night. The farmer said: "Did our young preacher write that? Lawdy bless my soul if I could talk Greek and Latin that way I would not stay on this earth nor nowhere else". After Waters married he suggested that as Big Sandy and Camden were not far apart that we exchange frequent visits so that our young brides could rejoice or condole, as the case might be, with each other, and further suggested that we exchange work in our revival meetings, to all of which I readily assented. So he invited me to assist him in his meeting at Postoak Church, near Camden and insisted that I bring my wife as he would have his wife there with him and we could have a pleasant social time while holding the meeting. Brother Wiseman was the chief ruler of the synagogue at Postoak. He was a man of rather unique character and had some peculiar ideas, but he was a noble character and was very useful in his community. When E. M. Mathis served this circuit some years later and made his first appearance at Postoak Brother Wiseman looked him over from head to foot and asked: "Is this all that we've got for a preacher?" Mathis replied: "This is all that you've got and I am wondering just what I've got". After the services of the first day of the meeting were over, Waters and I and our wives went home with Brother Wiseman to spend the night. When bedtime arrived Brother Wiseman pointed out to us the room that we were to occupy and said; There are two beds in this room and you can use them to suit yourselves" and added as he was leaving that his baby boy would come in later and sleep on the lounge in that room if we did not object and of course we did not object. Waters and I perambulated around in the front yard until assured that the two brides had retired. Each of the women had taken particular pains to let us know which bed she would occupy. Then we came into teh dimly lighted room, I in a vein of mischief said: "Waters, do you know which bed yoru wife is in?" Before Waters could reply each of the women cried out simultaneously: "Here I am". The next morning at the breakfast table Brother Wiseman, after passing greetins, asked if hs baby boy disturbed us when he came in our room. I replied that he did not and then asked him where was his baby boy. He pointed across teh table to an eighteen year old six-footer and said "that's him". The well- grown young man was still the baby boy to Brother Wiseman.. |