Chapter IX
On the first
day of April 1893, there was a tragedy which is vividly remembered by many
Lucas county residents. Henry McKinnis
and his three sons were working on the engine of a saw mill a few miles
northwest of Oakley. The water in the
boiler was low and the father sent 12-year-old Henry, Jr., up with a bucket of
water to fill it. The explosion was
heard for miles around. There were
killed instantly. The body of Henry, Jr.
was blown tree top high. John, 19, was
found on the bank of Little Whitebreast Creek, still alive when his mother
came. The four of them lie in Mt. Zion
Cemetery, near the spot where the disaster occurred. Their tombstones are all of one piece and
inscribed:” keep your lamps trimmed and burning for in an hour when he knoweth
not, the Son of Man commeth.’
Each section has its own inscription. For Henry, Jr., ‘This boy went to the
boiler’s top, obeying his father’s command.
When he poured the cold water in, the flues did all expands.” For Billie Ted, 10 yes old, "Jolly,
laughing little Ted. He was an angel on
hearth, now he is an angel in heaven.”
For John, “His party words I shall never forget. Said he, ‘Your time to die will come. It matters not whom we leave here yet, soon
we will all be gathered home.’ For the
father, Henry McKinnis, age 51, Co.B3 Iowa Inf.’Soldier Rest’ ‘Four loving ones from us have gone. Four voices we loved are stilled. A place is vacant in our home that never can
be filled.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
Mt. Zion Cemetery is on the hill,
sentineled by a great spruce tree.
There, too, stands the church. We
are indebted to John Stierwalt for the use of a remarkable set of records from
which we have drawn for this bit of its history. In March, just one hundred
years ago, four devout persons assembled to organize the ’Primitive Baptist
Church’. They were: The Rev. W. S. Hughes, Mr. and Mrs. Richard
Welch and Thomas C. Stone. The
congregation grew and prospered and met in various places – school houses, the
home of members and for several months in the station at Lucas until 1880 when
they built the church at a cost of about $550.
There were many strong pillars of that church thru the year, some of
whose descendants are with us now and whose assistance has been invaluable in
this collection of its history.
The Rev. W. S. Hughes was a preacher of
great ability and was famed far and wide for that day. He was a prosperous farmer and he drove a
carriage with fringe on top, drawn by a pair of sleek jet black horses. Primitive Baptist preachers received no
salaries in that day but went about as near as possible in the manner and
spirit of the early apostles on their own.
Saturday was their Sabbath as late as about 1940. Their roster of membership has such names as
Mr. and Mrs. Millard Musselman, grandparents of Lois Frank of Frank’s Tea Room;
William and Martha Cottingham, parents of Mrs. Lewis Beem and Mrs. Roscoe
Redigo; the Rev. Andrew Goforth; Mr. and Mrs. William James, grandparents of
Ray and the late Delbert James; Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Burgett, grandparents of
Glenn Burgett. (Mr. Burgett walked from
Brown County, Indiana to Lucas Co. to make his home); William and America
Skidmore from whom the four- acre tract of land was bought for $1. They were grandparents of Mrs. W. C. Evans of
Lucas. James F. Baugh and wife, Margaret
Byrd Baugh, a descendant in the line of the Admiral Byrd family of Virginia,
were the grandparents of Burdette Conrad of Lucas.
Today in our age of skepticism, cynicism
and unbelief, it is refreshing and reassuring to read the pages and between the
lines of ordinances and ritual of these devout people. They practiced the ritual of washing of the
feet. Some of our citizens cherish the
memory of witnessing this impressive lesson in humility. They girded themselves with a towel, took a
basin of water, and performed the ceremony in humble accordance with the
command in the Gospel of John. In the
dawn of Christianity, the followers of Christ used the Jordan River as their
baptismal font. In like manner, these
Primitive Baptists used Whitbreast flowing near by. There is an entry in their record of June
1943 stating that a baptismal ceremony was so performed by Elder J. W. Vincent.
On the first Saturday and Sunday in June
of each year, there was a conference of several churches of this denomination
as far away as Grinnell, Iowa, and other distant places. They came in buggies, spring wagons and
carriages for a week long convention.
These were honored guests.
Hospitality during these happy times was graciously extended in all
homes around about regardless of church affiliation. There would be twelve to fifteen or more in
each home and since no house was large enough to accommodate so many, the men
would take blankets and comforts to the hay mow, sometimes to the corn crib, to
sleep while the women and children were billeted in the house. This was enjoyed by all because guess brought
news from the outside in a day when communication was scarce. As one pursues the carefully handwritten
records of their worship services from the beginning to the early 1940’s one is
impressed with the genuineness of their faith, their trust and their
dedication. Verily, they possessed a gem
of great price.
Pages 24-26
No comments:
Post a Comment