USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky Baptists : From 1769 to 1885, including more than 800 biographical sketches, Vol. II > Part 6
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He is said to have been a preacher of great usefulness. He loved the gospel, and often expressed an ardent desire to preach as long as he lived. The last evening that he remained on earth, he held worship with his family and, among other blessings, he asked the Lord, with great earnestness, that he might be able to speak, as long as he lived on earth. That night, he ate supper, and went to bed, in usual health. Before the morning light re- turned, while he slept sweetly and peacefully by the side of the wife of his youth, his spirit passed away so quietly that she knew nothing of his departure, till he had already crossed "the River."
SIMEON BUCHANAN was a son of the above, was born in Wood- ford county, Ky., in 1790, and grew up with little education. He sought and obtained hope in Christ, in the days of his youth, and was baptized by John Taylor. He probably united with the church at Clear Creek. He commenced exercising in public prayer and exhortation, soon after he united with the church. During the war of 1812-'15, he served as a soldier in the United States Army.
At the return of peace, Mr. Buchanan moved to Hardin county, and became a member of Rudes Creek church, where, after laboring some years as a licentiate, he was ordained, in Sep- tember 1822. Soon after his ordination, he moved to Mead county, and became a member and the pastor of Otter Creek church. He was pastor of Ohio (now Wolf Creek) church twenty-two years, and, for different lengths of time, supplied Mt. Pleasant, Dorrits Creek, Hill Grove and Walnut Grove churches.
From Mead, he moved to Grayson county, and became a member and the pastor of Goshen church, in Breckinridge coun- ty. The old pioneers had passed away, in Goshen Association ;
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no young ministers had been raised up, and laborers in the gos- pel were very few. Mr. Buchanan did not supply less than five churches, for a number of years. He traveled and preached over a large district of country, as long as he was able to ride, and until he saw young preachers coming up to take his place.
Some four years before his death, he became too feeble to preach, but such was his love for the house of the Lord, that he continued to attend meeting as often as he was able, and his soul feasted on the rich food of the gospel.
In the spring of 1863, he was on a visit to Hardin county, where he had two widowed daughters. The great Civil War was raging fiercely, he became too feeble to travel, and never returned to his earthly home. He spent much of his time in religious devotion, and sent for different ministers to come and preach at his daughter's house. One evening A. F. Baker preached in the neighborhood. Mr. Buchanan heard of it, and would not rest, till a messenger was sent after Mr. Baker, who came and preached, at II o'clock, that night. The aged father listened to the sermon with delight. He enjoyed much of the divine presence during his feebleness. On the 27th of June, 1863, he received the welcome message to come to the Father, and joyfully obeyed the summons.
Mr. Buchanan's abilities, both natural and acquired, were below medium, and some good brethren thought his gift so feeble that he ought not to be ordained. Yet such was the purity of his life, the earnestness of his devotion to the Re- deemer's cause, and his industry and energy in preaching the simple truth of the gospel, that he became abundantly useful, and many souls were converted under his ministry.
JOHN RUSH was a member of Otter Creek church as early as 1822, but was not brought into the ministry till some years later. He was a citizen of some prominence, and gave promise of usefulness in the ministry. But after he had been preaching a few years, he engaged in trafficking in slaves. He refused to desist from "trading in negroes," and the churches refused to hear him preach. His son, James C. Rush, a lawyer and preacher, has been long and favorably known, in Hart and the adjoining counties.
ISAAC VEACH was one of the early preachers in Otter Creek church. He was probably raised up to the ministry in that
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body. He was a preacher of fair ability, but his religious character was subject to some suspicions, which greatly impair- ed his usefulness. He moved to Indiana, about 1826. One of his sons became quite a useful preacher, in Spencer county, in that State.
JAMES NALL was born in Scott county, Kentucky, in 1787. He was raised by an aunt, who gave him a fair English educa- tion. Being quite lame from the effects of a "white swelling," he adopted school teaching as his profession. While engaged in this occupation, in Hardin county, he professed religion under the ministry of Shadrach Brown, by whom he was baptized into the fellowship of Mill Creek church. In 1822, he was married to the daughter of Enoch Boone, of Mead county. He after-1 wards moved to LaRue county, where he was licensed to preach, by Nolin church, in August, 1825. His improvement in speaking was so slow that he was not ordained till 1832. At this time, he was a member of Forks of Otter Creek church, in Hardin county. In 1838, he moved to the neighborhood of Gilead church, in the same county. About that time, this church became much confused, on the subject of missions, and in 1840, Warren Cash, its venerable pastor, led off a large party, of which he constituted a "Regular Baptist" church, in the same house. Mr. Nall was chosen pastor of the original church, and ministered to it the remainder of his earthly life. He died from the effects of a fall from his horse, in 1842.
Mr. Nall was a " slow preacher;" but he was a man of respectable standing. He possessed a sound judgment, and was a good disciplinarian. Hence he was not without utility to the churches. He was Moderator of Salem Association, in 1840.
SHADRACH BROWN was born in North Carolina, about the year 1780. He grew up with but little education. Early in life he gave his heart to the Savior and was baptized by James Chambers, under whose ministry he had been led to the cross. In his 22d year, he was married to Rachel, daughter of Elder James Chambers, with whom he moved to Jessamine county, Kentucky, in 1804. Here, it is believed, he was for a short time, a member of Clover Bottom church, in Woodford county, and it is probable that he here began to exercise in public. In 1808, he moved to Hardin county, where he united with Mill Creek church, and gave himself actively to the work of the ministry.
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He was ordained, about the year 1812, at Mill Creek church ; about this time he moved his membership to Otter Creek church in Mead county. He served this church and the church on Mill Creek, as pastor, with great acceptance, from his ordination, till 1821, when he moved to White River, Indiana, where, after laboring faithfully two or three years, in his holy calling, the Master bade him " come up higher."
Mr. Brown was a good, strong, zealous preacher, was a man of active fervent piety and eminent respectability ; he was much loved by the brethren, and honored by all who knew him. Of a large and respectable family that he raised, his son William became an acceptable Baptist preacher in Indiana.
ENOS KEITH. Alexander Keith, the father of this brilliant young preacher, was born in Virginia, but was of Scotch ex- traction. He united with the Baptists, in the time of their fiery persecutions. Soon after the Revolutionary war, he emi- grated to Nelson county, Kentucky. He was in the constitu- tion of White Oak Run church, in 1790.
Enos Keith was born in Nelson county, Kentucky, in 1788. His father moved to a new settlement on Vertrees Creek, in Hardin county, while Enos was a small boy; so that he was raised up in the frontier settlements, and consequently received very little education. In early childhood he became much in- terested on the subject of religion, and as soon as he learned to read, became a constant reader of the Bible, and was known to be often engaged in secret prayer. He professed faith in Christ, in his sixteenth year. There being no church in the settlement, he was not baptized till four years afterwards; but he immediately obtained permission, and set up family worship in his father's house. He also led in prayer, and engaged in exhortation, at the prayer meetings, held around in the settlers' cabins. His young heart seemed so much taken up with com- munion with God, that he appeared literally to "pray always." "We never went into the woods together," said his younger brother, Benjamin, "but Enos would kneel down and pray be- fore we returned to the house. Sometimes he would wait till we came back in sight of the house, and I hoped he would forget it; but he never did. He would invariably say, before we left the woods: 'Ben, we must pray, before we go to the house.'"
During this time, Warren Cash began to preach in the Ver-
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trees Creek settlement, and, in 1808, a church, called "Union," was constituted there. Soon after the constitution of this church, Enos Keith and his brother Benjamin were baptized by Mr. Cash, and became members of it. Enos was shortly afterward licensed to exercise his gift. This, however, he had been doing almost from the time of his conversion, four years before.
He was ordained at Union church, 1811, by Warren Cash and others, and soon afterwards succeeded to the pastoral care of that congregation. He commenced preaching on Otter Creek, in what is now Mead county, and Otter Creek church
was soon raised up. Brush Creek church, in Breckinridge county, was raised up through his labors. He also visited the new settlements in Grayson and Hart counties, and laid the foundation for other churches. Concord, in Grayson, originated under his ministry, in 1813. Of this, and Lost Run, in Breckin- ridge, he was pastor.
Probably no man in Kentucky, in his day, was more wholly absorbed in the great work of preaching the gospel, than Enos Keith. From his youth, he was filled with that wisdom which is from above. He kept so close to God, and communed with him so constantly, that heavenly things became as familiar to his heart and mind as the sensible objects around him, and he spoke of going to Heaven, or going to see Jesus, as a man talks about visiting his neighbors. His motive in preaching the gospel seemed to be to persuade sinners to come to Christ. He never impressed his congregation with the feeling that he was trying to preach a sermon ; he talked to dying men and women as if Jesus were present, filled with love and pity, and yearning for them to come to him and be saved from the fearful doom that threatened them.
His manner, like that of John S. Wilson, Thomas Smith and a few other young men, whom God has raised up in Ken- tucky, is difficult to describe. His voice was clear and strong, yet very tender and impressive. His love and confidence towards Jesus Christ was real and manifest, and his love for the souls of men was so apparent that his hearers saw and felt it. He often wept profusely while speaking, and his whole soul seem- ed to run out after his dying fellows.
He never married, but consecrated himself wholly to the gos- pel, preaching day and night, and from house to house. But
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his work on earth was not of long duration. In the summer of 1824, he was violently attacked with flux, of which he died in a few days, in the fullest assurance of a blessed immortality. A few hours before his death, Elder Simeon Buchanan called to see him. When he entered the room, the dying christian said to him: " Brother Buchanan, when I saw you last, I thought you would see Jesus before I should ; but now I shall see him first." Thus passed away this godly man in the noontide of life.
His brother Benjamin entered the ministry soon after he did, and labored in the gospel more than fifty years.
GEORGE H. HICKS, a son of John C. Hicks, was born De- cember 22, 1814. At the age of 23 years, he professed the re- ligion of Jesus, and united with Rudes Creek church, in Hardin county, of which he remained a member till his death. In Sep- tember 1841, he was licensed to exercise his gift, within the bounds of the church, and, in the following January, he was liberated to preach, wherever God, in his providence, might direct. He was ordained to the full work of the ministry, by Jacob Rogers and Colmore Lovelace, in November, 1843. Soon after his ordination, he was called to the care of Hill Grove church, in Mead county. In December, 1847, he succeeded the venerable Colmore Lovelace, in the pastoral care of Rudes Creek church, and, about the same time, took charge of Mt. Pleasant church, at Brandenburg. He was at different periods of his ministry, pastor of twenty-one churches. So popular was he that at some periods he had the care of six churches, at the same time. He preached at Rudes Creek twenty years, at Brandenburg the same length of time, and at Hill Grove, thirty years. He was Moderator of Salem Association three years, and preached the introductory sermon before that body, on six occasions. During a ministry of thirty-two years, he baptized 1,584 persons. His popularity among the young people was evidenced by the fact that he married 250 couples. He closed his eminently useful career, in the strength of mature manhood, July 30, 1873.
Mr. Hicks' preaching talent was scarcely above mediocrity, and his education was quite limited ; but his voice was melodi- ous, and his manner was very pleasing to the populace. He had a strong native intellect, a clear practical judgment, and a 5
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dignified, manly bearing. He was an excellent judge of hu- man nature, was prompt in decision, firm in execution, and was endowed with excellent business capacity. In his generation, he was the leading spirit in Salem Association.
JACOB ROGERS was one of the most popular and useful preachers that ever labored within the bounds of Salem Associ- ation. His father, MATTHEW ROGERS, was an Irishman, and was probably born in Ireland. From whence he emigrated to Kentucky, is unknown. He settled in Nelson county, and erected a fort, on Beech Fork, near the present site of Bards- town, in 1780. He was a Baptist, and occasionally " exercised a gift," in preaching or exhorting. He was probably one of the original members of Cedar Creek church, the oldest organi- zation of the kind, in Nelson county, and next to the oldest in the State. He raised a large and respectable family, and is still represented by a numerous posterity, some of whom still linger around the site of the old fort. Of his six sons, three were preachers. Two of them moved West, and the third, is the subject of this sketch.
Jacob Rogers was born in Nelson county, Kentucky, June 6, 1794. During his boyhood, he attended school about six months, in which time he learned to read and write. The re- mainder of his youth was spent in hard labor. In early life he was deeply impressed with the importance of his soul's salva- tion. After a long struggle with the power of sin, he was en- abled to trust in Christ for salvation, and rejoice in the evidence of pardon. On the 24th of May, 1810, he was baptized by Daniel Walker, and became a member of Cedar Creek church, in his native county. On the same day, Precious Lovelace, was baptized, by Isaac Taylor, at Mt. Moriah, in the same county. On the 26th of November, 1812, Jacob Rogers and Precious Lovelace, daughter of Zadok Lovelace, were married. In the spring of 1815, Mr. Rogers, not yet twenty-one years of age, moved with his young family, to Hardin county, where he rented land one year, and then bought a piece of ground on a credit, without an acre of cleared land, or a dollar in money, with a helpless wife, who required much of his attention, and the house-hold duties to perform with his own hands, Mr. Rogers began the labors of life, on his own land. These cir- cumstances would have discouraged a man of less energy. But
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he proved himself equal to the task before him. He possessed good health and a strong constitution. He did much of the clearing of his ground in the night. In a few years he had his land paid for, and a farm opened. In the midst of his pressing domestic duties, he was deeply impressed with a sense of duty to preach the gospel to dying sinners. Against these impres- sions he plead an almost entire want of education, and a grow- ing young family to provide for ; but conscience, at last, pre- vailed on him "to try." After exercising in public a year or two, he was ordained to the full work of the ministry, at Severns Valley, in September, 1831. His reading was very limited, and almost entirely confined to the Bible. But he brought into his new field of labor a strong mind, a strong body, inured to hard- ships, a strong voice and a tireless energy. Once convinced that the Master required him to preach the cross, he consecrat- ed all his powers to that important work. His manner was rough and his language was uncouth ; but his ideas were good, and his whole soul seemed to be in the work. His improve- ment in preaching was very rapid, and ยท he grew as rapidly 'in popular favor. In a few years he became the leading minister of Salem Association, and so continued till his death. He was generally pastor of four churches. His longest pastoral relation was twenty-three years, at Mill Creek, Hardin county. Besides his labors as pastor, he did a great deal of preaching at destitute points. He was frequently appointed by the Mission- ary Board of Salem Association, to labor among the destitute, within her bounds. In every position he occupied, he seemed to be blessed of the Lord with a large measure of success.
In 1837, Mr. Rogers was first elected Moderator of Salem Association, and continued to occupy this position, with the exception of two years, until his death. The following incident is related of him, which shows his illiteracy: On one occasion while he was occupying the moderator's chair, the house be- came so crowded with spectators that it became difficult to pro- ceed with the business of the body, when Mr. Rogers arose and said, in a firm, commanding tone: "The female sisters will sit on the left, and the male brethren will sit on the right." It was customary to have preaching at a stand in the woods, while the business of the association was being transacted at the house. When the hour of preaching came, Mr. Rogers arose
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and made the following announcement : "The hour for preaching have ariv. Bro. Hix are gone to the stand, and Bro. Thomas are a-goin."
The pedant may smile at the idea of putting a man of such homely language in the ministry ; but if God calls men to this great work, however weak and illiterate they may be, he can cause them to accomplish all his will. It is highly probable that Jacob Rogers baptized more people during his ministry than any classical scholar ever has baptized in Kentucky, during the same length of time.
Mr. Rogers' last sermon was a funeral discourse, delivered at Westpoint ; he preached with great earnestness and force. He was taken very ill in the pulpit. Next day he was carried home in a carriage. Medical attendance was secured, but "the number of his months " was accomplished. He died of pneu- monia, on the 23d of March, 1855. "He rests from his labors and his works do follow him."
Mr. Rogers was a man of great power in the pulpit. He never said anything quaint or humorous in his sermons. He be- gan a discourse in a calm and measured style, but as he grew warm with his subject his voice became louder, and his words flowed more rapidly, until it became like a resistless torrent, bearing down everything before it.
As a disciplinarian, he had few superiors. Whether he was in the pulpit, the social circle, or at his own fireside, he main- tained a native dignity that gave him great influence.
He was twice married, and raised ten children all of whom were baptized before his death. One of his sons, Warren J., became a preacher in Hardin County, and another, Colmore G., is a minister in Missouri.
THOMAS JEFFERSON FISHER was never long a resident of any one place ; but he probably spent more time within the ancient bounds of Salem Association, than in any other locality. His father, John Bolyn Fisher, was of German extraction, and was a native of Pennsylvania. He came to Kentucky while a young man, and raised five daughters and eight sons on its soil. He died in Hardin County, about 1868, at the age of about 106 years.
Thomas J. Fisher, the fourth of thirteen children of his par- ents, was born in Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky, April 9, 1812. He professed conversion at the age of sixteen
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years, and united with the Presbyterian church at Paris, Ken- tucky. A year later he was baptized by Jeremiah Vardeman, and united with the Baptist church at Davids Fork, in Fayette county. His parents being very poor, he had enjoyed few educational advantages. But having a great desire for learning, and having acquired the trade of a tailor, he resolved to educate himself. Accordingly, in his eighteenth year, he went to Middletown, Pennsylvania, where he entered the acad- emy of a Mr. Sloan, a Presbyterian minister, and remained till March, 1831, when he went to Pittsburg in the same State, and placed himself under the instruction of S. Williams, pastor of the Baptist church in that city. During his second year at Pittsburg, he was licensed to preach, by the church of which his instructor was pastor. Returning to Kentucky, he was or- dained to the pastorate of the church at Lawrenceburg, in 1834. The following February (1835) he took the pastoral care of Mill Creek church, near Bardstown. But it was soon apparent that he was unsuited to the pastoral office. He resigned his pastoral charges and gave himself to the work of an evangelist. He was pastor for brief periods, of several other churches, during his ministry, but never succeeded well in that office.
The gifts of Mr. Fisher were very extraordinary. His ora- tory was of a style peculiarly his own, and was inimitable. It is probable that no other man on this continent ever exercised such entire control over an audience. One illustration will suf- fice to show the power of his oratory.
Returning on horse-back from the South, where he had spent the winter in protracted meetings, he stopped on a Satur- day night, at Bowling Green. The Methodists were holding a protracted meeting in the village, and invited him to preach on the next day. He declined on the plea that he was fatigued by his journey, and needed to rest over the Sabbath ; but agreed to preach on Monday morning. "I went to meeting early," said Mr. Wilkins, "and took a seat by the side of the pulpit where I could observe the audience. The house was crowded. Mr. Fisher arose, read his text and started off happily. The audience was at once enchained, and, within forty minutes, the orator had lifted them all to their feet. Every individual in the house, as far as I could see, was standing up and leaning for- ward, with open mouth, towards the speaker, apparently oblivi-
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ous of all his surroundings, and so stood until the discourse was finished."
Mr. Fisher spent the thirty-four years of his ministry in hold- ing protracted meetings in the southern States, giving a majori- ty of his labors to Kentucky. His success was extraordinary. In a funeral discourse, delivered previous to the burial of the great orator, Dr. Lorrimer estimated that not less than 12,000 people had professed conversion under Mr. Fisher's ministry. He died from the effects of a wound on the back of his head, inflicted by an unknown assassin, on Eighth Street, in Louisville, January 1I, 1866. *
SQUIRE LARUE HELM, D.D., has been a prominent actor in the public enterprises of Kentucky Baptists, since 1837. He has been pastor of several churches in the most important towns and cities of the State, and has held various positions of trust and responsibility in the denomination. But it appears more fit to give a sketch of his life in connection with Salem Associa- tion, than in any other relation. In the early history of this body, his ancestors were prominent actors, and among its churches, he began his labors in the ministry. His grand fath- er, Thomas Helm, was of Prussian extraction, and emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky. He settled in Hardin county, while the Indians were still roving in the surrounding forests, making it necessary for the white settlers to dwell in forts. His father, George Helm, was about seven years old when brought by his parents to Kentucky. He was a prominent citizen of Hardin county, which he represented in the Kentucky Legisla- ture, in 1813, '14 and '16. In 1814, he resigned his seat in the Legislature to take a position on General Thomas' staff, and was in the battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815. The maternal grand-father of S. L. Helm was John LaRue. He was of French extraction, and was an early settler in what is now La- Rue county. He was an Elder in a Baptist church, and a citi- zen of great moral worth. LaRue county was named in honor of him. From his posterity have sprung the following Baptist preachers: S. L. Helm, A. W. LaRue, John H. Yeaman, W. Pope Yeaman, and Robert Enlows.
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