USA > Tennessee > Monroe County > Sweetwater > History of Sweetwater Valley > Part 14
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"These men and angels thus predestinated and fore- ordained are particularly and unchangeably designed; and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be increased or diminished."
RAPID INCREASE OF THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS.
The C. P. Church increased rapidly in this section. There was a church of this order and a graveyard now mostly overgrown with considerable sized trees one and a half miles north east of Sweetwater at the corner of the Gaut, Young and Heiskell lands. The church there was called Mt. Lebanon. In about 1854, after the location of the E. T. & Ga. R. R. depot and the beginning of the town it was moved as being a more convenient location to the Heiskell land on a part of the lot now occupied by the Sweetwater Woolen Mill.
Mt. Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Church moved to Sweetwater when the Cumberland Presbyterian Church or, as our Baptist brethren insist, church house (a church being a number of organized-baptized be-
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lievers, and not a house) was moved from its former lo- cation 1 1-2 miles northeast to the town on the Heiskell land, it thereafter answered several purposes. The schoolhouse in the bend of the creek southwest of the town was too small to accommodate the increasing num- ber of students, being only about 25 by 20 feet. The Cumberland Church, then the only church building in Sweetwater was about 35 by 30 ft. So it happened the first school taught in the town and the first I ever went to was in that building. I was between eight and nine years old at the time. I had been very much opposed to going to school because of what the school children I knew told me. I had come to believe that school was a place of confinement, punishment and torture, where the children spent the long summer day sighing for the open air. As they passed me trudging homeward, their talk was mostly of who had been whipped by the teacher and of who had unexpectedly managed to escape punish- ment. They carried no books home, as the studying they did was at the schoolhouse during the day. I dreaded going to school as much as the heretics the Spanish Inquisition. What I knew I learned from my father by asking questions. Usually when I questioned my mother she would say, "Go ask your Pa." And once in a while he would say, "Maybe you better ask Mr. Coffin that, if you think of it, next time you see him." Therefore I came to believe that if Mr. James Coffin did not answer a question the answer was unknown or that it ought not to be answered.
One summer day my father took me to the free (Pub- lic) school at the Cumberland Church. Instead of find- ing there some scolding ogre, armed with a large bunch of hickory switches ready for use as I expected, we found an intellectual, pleasant faced young woman, Miss Mar- tha Stakely, daughter of Wm. M. Stakely, of Madison- ville. She was the soul of goodness and kindness, a characteristic family trait. She welcomed us and I liked her at once, and was willing to remain at school. I have always remembered her with warm feelings of gratitude, not because of what I was taught by her from the blue- back speller, for I did not learn very much, but because of her unvarying kindness to a sensitive boy. There were those of her scholars who could repeat their A-B-
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C's forward and backward. This was to me an aston- ishing feat but was not to my taste. I did not see the sense in it. It was many months afterward when I be- gan to like to go to school and became interested in my studies that I learned that letters formed words, words represented objects and ideas and that ideas could be translated into actions.
At that first school I used to watch from the window, near which I had a seat, the tan yard water wheel across the creek. It was an undershot wheel with cups attached, which as the wheel revolved dipped up the water and poured it into troughs that conducted the water into the vats in the tanyard. It was a never-failing source of pleasure to me to watch the wheel go round and see the streams of water sparkling in the sunshine. Miss Mar- tha did not get angry with me for preferring this to my one book.
If she ever whipped anyone I do not recall it. She had reasonably good order without it. I have vividly in mind one escapade. I was in company with several boys larger than myself. Of course I was the dog tray of the crowd. A pot of greasy lamp black was found. It was suggested that we all black ourselves. It was agreed that it would be a fine joke, and so we all did. I used the blacking sparingly at the start, but they said it would not be a bit of fun unless we blacked up good and well. This was amusing enough until just before "books" we tried to wash it off. We stayed long enough to be sent for. Then we were given soap and sent back to the creek to stay till we were white again. But the black was like the smile on the face of "Sunny Jim," it wouldn't come off. When I reached home then more soap and water till I ab- horred the very sight of them and a black mamma (as if I had not enough of black) was told to go along to assist in my ablutions. Pretty soon she said: "Mercy's sake ! child, 'taint a bit of use trying to git this black off, you'll have 'sociate with niggers all yore born days." I jerked loose from her and looked for the dryest place I could find to meditate in. My thoughts were far from cheer- ful; there was a girl in the case.
But the gentle reader may ask what has this story to do with early history and what is the moral of it? It has not much to do with it and there is no moral to it. It is
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no Aesop's fable but a digression ; and a digression does not have to have a moral. All truth is useful. At least I have been told so.
As has been remarked the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was a historic building. For the white people it answered the three fold purposes of a day school, church and a Sunday School building. The Sunday School car- ried on was a union, not a denominational one. After the new Cumberland Presbyterian Church was built the colored people used the old one for the same purposes. There were in the early days of the town, living in this section, quite an array of Cumberland preachers and ef- fective ones too. Among others were Rev. Jas. Tate, Joseph Johnston, Jas. Blair and Jas. H. Fryer. During the week we were taught Webster's speller and reader, and in the same house on Sunday we heard the gospel ex- pounded and the sacred desk pounded. In those days the conception of the Supreme Being as told was quite different from that presented now. Instead of preaching of love and giving entertaining lectures on the lands spoken of in the Bible, we were told in the vivid terms of the torments that awaited the unrepentant beyond the grave. The pictures drawn were truly awful. The Rev. Blair was quite an artist in that line. But however soul harrowing he may have been in the pulpit, he was pleas- ant and companionable in the family circle. He some- times visited at my father's and was always a welcome guest. It is somewhat strange how, in the boyish mind, certain words and phrases are connected with certain public speakers and preachers. I never saw or thought of Mr. Blair without thinking at the same time of fire and brimstone. The Rev. Thos. Brown reminded me of the word "Faith;" Rev. Geo. Caldwell, then of Athens, of "Love;" Rev. Thos. R. Bradshaw of "dedicate and pre- destinate;"' Rev. Jno. Scruggs of the Greek word of "Baptizo," which he was prone to explain meant "plunge or immerse" and could not by any implication or indirection in the remotest degree mean anything else. Of most of these things my ideas were of the vaguest na- ture, except about the brimstone. This I found by ex- periment smelt bad when cold and worse when burning. I was not anxious enough for knowledge to try the effect on my flesh. I connected Mr. Fryer with the word
4
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"freckwently" as he pronounced it. I became rather fond of the word and adopted it till my father told me if I used the word at all to pronounce it "free-quently." I then concluded not to use it at all, not being allowed to pronounce it as I wished.
We hear often now of old time honesty and "old time religion ;" and many regret the changed conditions not only in church and state and schools, but even of the roads; for they say that in the last instance if we have pike and graded roads the automobiles traveling there will frighten the horses and make them run away.
It was also sinful in the minds of many to make places of worship comfortable, as by so doing you were listening to Satan's whispers and compromising with him. Serv- ices were twice as long then as now and the homes not so conveniently situated. Sunday to some children was made to appear as long as the rest of the week. Con- science did not make cowards of the people but it made them tyrants. Instrumental music in the church they thought a snare and a delusion of the devil. The favor- ite airs were heart-rending minors sung to such words as "Twas on that dark, that doleful night."
The place of torment was no figure of speech. The lake of fire and brimstone, the wailing and gnashing of teeth of the lost souls was made as realistic as possible, that its tortures were such as no words could picture.
As to the public school money in the forties, East Ten- nessee got the best of the other sections of the State.
The disbursements were made assording to scholastic population. The families were larger in this section of the State and the people poorer. Only about sufficient State taxes were collected in this end of the State to sup- port the public schools. Middle Tennessee furnished the greater part of the money for the other State expenses.
The eastern part was looked down upon as poverty stricken and that it should ever amount to anything in wealth or resources was considered a remote possibility, which goes to show how provincial people were in those days, and how little was known of us in the other sections of the State.
As for the roads, they were built not for the purpose of transportation but for viewing the scenery and inci- dentally find out how much a yoke of oxen could pull up
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a thirty per cent. grade. They went straight up the hill and directly down to the hollow; they descended to the depths and rose to the heights; to wind and twist about was an unnecessary waste of energy. When they were muddy, Monroe County mud is about the muddiest mud of which I have any knowledge with the exception of Texas, whose weather behavior runs old probs crazy. If you happened to be traveling the road some night and saw something white in front of you, there was no oc- casion for alarm; it was no ghost but only the top of a North Carolina covered wagon, the rest of which was down below. All you had to do was to unhitch and leave your vehicle till tomorrow or next week as the case might be.
When you trudged home from school you would likely be greeted with the remark "Where in the world did you get so muddy?" "Where?" and the whole blooming world was mud over your boot tops. The town was lit- tle different from the country. When you went calling, after knocking you were allowed five minutes to clean your feet before the door was opened for your recep- tion.
In 1873 and 1874 Daniel Heiskell, who had purchased a lot for that purpose, built the new Cumberland Presby- terian Church, where it now stands, across the railroad and east from the Southern passenger depot. He said he wanted to build the church as a monument to himself and, as he was amply able to build it, he would ask for no outside help, not even from the members of his own church. If they or others wished they could subscribe to the furnishing of the church and help to pay the salary of the pastor. He wanted to give the house and lot to the Cumberlands himself. Exactly what the church cost no one knew; when asked the question he replied that he did not know precisely and if he did know would not care to say. Not long after the church was finished, Mr. Heis- kell executed a deed to the Cumberland Presbyterians. This deed was misplaced, lost or destroyed by fire. What the provisions in this deed were I have never been able to ascertain. Dr. R. F. Scruggs was confident it con- tained a reversionary clause, i. e. the property was to re- vert to the heirs unless used as specified for the Cumber- land Presbyterian church. This deed was not placed of
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record on the Registers' Books of Monroe County, at Madisonville.
But even after the Cumberland Presbyterian Church determined in their assembly to unite with a branch of the Presbyterians, the Cumberlands here continued to use it and to claim that it belonged to the members at Sweetwater. There has been no suit entered to de- termine the question.
The first pastor of the church, if I remember correctly, was Rev. Solon McCroskey.
Some brief information about the older members of the Daniel Heiskell family :-
Daniel Heiskell was born near Winchester, Virginia, March 7, 1799. He died at Sweetwater on July 22, 1875. He married Elizabeth McBride near Greeneville, Tenn., March 4, 1823. She was born April 15, 1803; she died August 1, 1841.
The children of this marriage were:
One. Wm. McBride, b. May 2, 1824. Married Vir- ginia Netherland, December 30, 1852.
Two. Eliza Adaline, b. January 20, 1827; d. July 14, 1906. Married Nathaniel Pope Hight, October 9, 1851, b. January 20, 1827; d. May 17, 1889.
Three. Luther Melancthon, b. June 8, 1829. Married Ellen Wright June 6, 1853.
Four. Hugh Brown, b. November 20, 1831; d. Novem- ber 13, 1904.
Five. Sarah Catherine, b. September 25, 1834. She married John Patterson February 3, 1853. They moved to Springfield, Mo.
Six. Martha Isabella, b. November 13, 1836. She died in Missouri, April 21, 1861. She married N. W. Haun. Under the firm name of Haun & Stakely he was one of the first merchants in the town of Sweetwater.
Seven. Betsey (Elizabeth) Ramsey, b. November 5, 1839; married R. F. Scruggs February 14, 1860.
Daniel Heiskell married the second time Mary Wallace Montgomery on March 14, 1844. She was born January 1, 1819, and died June 4, 1888.
Children of this marriage were :
1. James Montgomery, b. January 30, 1845; d. March 26, 1898.
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2. Margaret Caroline, b. August 19, 1847 ; married A. D. Scrugg's May 1, 1867.
3. Dorcas Ann, b. April 5, 1850; d. January 14, 1854.
Most of those mentioned above were parents of large families. Daniel Heiskell's grandchildren and great- grandchildren are very numerous. From present indica- tions, the Heiskell generation like the cause of popular government will not perish from the face of the earth.
WILLIAM MCBRIDE HEISKELL
Married Virginia Netherland. They had eleven chil- dren :
1. Ada Florence, b. November 2, 1853; married Isaac Johnson July 26, 1875. They had one daughter, Brucie Davis, who lives in Los Angeles, Cal.
2. Mary Lyde, b. February 3, 1855; married S. W. Fleniken, April 24, 1878. He died at Sweetwater, April 1902. She lives at Sweetwater.
3. James Netherland, b. July 20, 1856; married Eliza- beth Browder, November 18, 1880. Their children are: Mamie Letitia ; married J. W. Scott, September 19, 1914. Address, Sylvania, Ga .; John, married Lem Dickey June 15, 1910. Address Dallas, Texas; Loyd, married Maggie Fisher, October 27, 1900. Address Sweetwater; Samuel and Emmett, address Olustee, Okla., and Luther, ad- dress, Sweetwater.
4. Bettie Pendleton, b. April 16, 1858. Married Wil- son Small, December 18, 1872. They had one child, Rob- ert, who lives at Decatur, Tenn.
5. Myrtie, b. February 3, 1861. Married Mark God- dard, December 12, 1893. They live at Sweetwater and have two children, Willie and Hugh.
6. Ann Lipscomb, b. June 29, 1862. Married James Small September 3, 1878. They have three children, Willie, Henry and Thomas. They live at Niota.
7. Willie, b. October 28, 1863; d. September 2, 1870.
8. Virginia N., b. January 18, 1865. Married Wilson Small August 7, 1878. They had two sons, Isham and William, who live at Decatur.
9. Daniel, b. January 8, 1867; married Bertha Willis, October 6, 1901. Their children are: Earnest, Beulah, Grace, Mack, Anna and Tyler.
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10. Cate, b. January 9, 1869; married John Ferguson, December 11, 1894. Their children are: Brucie (who married John Thomas, May 5, 1912), Earl, Charlie, Henry, Horace P. and Mary Alma.
Henry Lee Heiskell and Martha Neil were married January 29, 1898. They had one child, Elga, b. December 9, 1898. They live at Pilot Point, Texas.
Ada Heiskell Johnson, married second, T. J. Hinton, in 1894. They live in Knoxville. James N. Heiskell, owns and lives on the farm his father bought in 1852.
LUTHER MELANCTHON HEISKELL.
(The Melancthon is sometimes abbreviated to 'Ton") was born June 8, 1829. He died at his residence near Spring City on September 16, 1909. He married Ellen Wright of Greenville, Tenn., January 6, 1853. She was born November 1, 1830, and died January 2, 1892. Soon after their marriage they moved to Missouri and from there to Rhea County, near the site of Spring City, in 1866. He was a farmer, being in a country where game abounded, he was very fond of hunting. Their children were seven in number :
(1) Martha Elizabeth, b. May 11, 1854; died October 24,1887.
(2) Daniel, b. April 9, 1856.
(3) Pope, b. June 25, 1858; died September 14, 1871.
(4) John, b. March 26, 1860; died December 21, 1860.
(5) Emma Ada Bell, b. August 23, 1863; died Septem-
1 ber 12, 1894.
(6) Everett, b. March 13, 1866; d. August 28, 1867.
(7) Minnie.
Martha Elizabeth Heiskell was married to T. J. Robin- son October 26, 1871. To them four children were born, two boys and two girls.
Daniel Heiskell married Belle Rose. To them were born five children.
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Emma Ada Belle Heiskell was married to Jas. L. Hoyl October, 1882. To them were born two children, Ellen Hoyl and Barbara Hoyl.
Minnie Heiskell was married to S. E. Paul December 1, 1897. To them was born one child, Ellen Heiskell Paul, b. June 2, 1899.
HUGH BROWN HEISKELL
Was born in Sweetwater Valley, Monroe County, Ten., November 30, 1831. He died at his residence in Rhea County, Tenn., November 13, 1904. He married Rhoda Farmer of Hillsville, Va., in 1856. She was born April 7, 1841, and died March 23, 1892. He moved to Rhea County in 1861. He was a farmer and stock raiser. He was Justice of the Peace for fifteen years. Their children were:
1. Florence, b. July 27, 1857; d. June 30, 1903; mar- ried R. M. Robinson of Rhea County on November 16, 1881.
2. Wade, b. October 21, 1858; married Lydia Ganett, of Alton, Mo., in the spring of 1891.
3. Frank, b. February 21, 1860; married Lucy Patter- son of Bozeman, Montana, in November 1894.
4. Addie, b. July 21, 1861.
5. John, b. September 17, 1863; d. April 17, 1915. He was twice married; first to Eva Holloway, of Spring City, Tenn., on March 1, 1892. After her death in he married Kitty Caldwell, of Spring City, on October 17, 1906.
6. Hugh Brown, b. August 11, 1865; married Carrie Wallis, Spring City, on March 7, 1900.
7. Catherine, b. February 8, 1867 ; married D. C. Kem- mer February 1, 1911.
8. Frederick, b. August 20, 1869 ; married Annie Smith, Bozeman, Mont., October 18, 1911.
9. Nellie May, b. May 2, 1871; d. August 13, 1898.
10. Richmond, b. September 2, 1873; married Etta Hart, of Spring City, on February 20, 1907.
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SARAH HEISKELL PATTERSON.
Sarah Catherine Heiskell, b. September 5, 1834, was married March 30, 1853, to John A. Patterson, moving to Springfield, Mo., the same year. She joined the church at an early age and lived a faithful Christian life to the end of her more than four score years. To them were born ten children, all of whom were living and present when she died on June 16, 1916. Their names are as follows :
Bettie Y. Patterson, b. April 19, 1854.
Addie Isabell Patterson, b. March 23, 1856.
Virginia Ellen Patterson, b. . May 13, 1858.
Joe Alma Kate Patterson, b. November 1, 1860.
Daniel Lewis Patterson, b. June 11, 1864.
Jessie Heiskell Patterson, b. December 15, 1866.
Hattie Amada Patterson, b. August 26, 1869.
John Hugh Rice Patterson, b. July 9, 1872.
Eva May Patterson, b. January 30, 1875.
Edward Tefft Patterson, b. July 25, 1878.
Bettie Y. Patterson, married W. E. Anderson, 1874; three children, Wm. Y. Anderson, Guy P. Anderson and Mary Heiskell Anderson (all living).
Addie I. Patterson married Wm. H. McCann, 1876; two children, John E. McCann, Fred Harrison Mc- Cann.
Virginia E. Patterson married Hugh M. Cowan, 1877. Children, Katherine, Bruce H., Wm. P., Edna, Aleen, Hugh.
Joe Alma Kate married Emory L. Hoke, 1886; two children, Clifford Hoke, Catherine E. Hoke.
Daniel L. Patterson married Allie Murden, 1892; three children, Dwight M., Louise, Frank.
Jessie Heiskell Patterson married Geo. D. Stateson, 1891; three children, Alberta, Salome, Ruth.
Hattie A. Patterson (single).
John H. R. Patterson married Elsie Moore, 1913, one child, Edward Moore Patterson.
Eva May Patterson married A. C. Jarrett, 1901; no children.
Edward T. Patterson married Marie Lagana, 1905; three children, Virginia Catherine, Bernice, Edward Raphael.
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MR. JAMES MONTGOMERY HEISNELL,
Son of Daniel and Mary Heiskell, was born in Sweet- water, Tenn., January 30, 1845. Died March 26, 1898. Interred in West View Cemetery, Sweetwater. He was married to Miss Laura Jones on October 18, 1874. Her father was James Jones, her mother was Sarah Pugh Jones of Bertie County, N. C. She was born in Memphis Tenn., October 23, 1848. J. M. H. owned a very large farm and a number of houses and lots in Sweetwater. He was a Cumberland Presbyterian. The children of Jas. M. and L. J. Heiskell were :
Harry, b. August 27, -1875. Was married to Norah Jones on December 18, 1901. She was a daughter of Moulton and Sarah Cunningham Jones. He is a success- ful farmer and stock raiser and lives near Sweetwater. The children of Harry and Norah H. are: Lucille, King, Pauline, Harry Lee, Hugh Lynn and Annie Laurie.
Edgar, b. November 19, 1877. He married Annie Cleve- land, daughter of Eli and Susan Martin Cleveland, Jan- uary 16, 1908. He is a farmer and resides in the old Daniel Heiskell residence. Their children are: James Eli, Christine and Edgar Burton.
Maiden, b. October 4, 1880. She married D. C. Boykin June 15, 1902. He is a traveling passenger agent for the Southern R. R. Lives at Knoxville, Tenn. They have one child, Laura Elizabeth.
MARGARET C. HEISKELL SCRUGGS,
Of Knoxville, was born at Sweetwater on August 19, 1847. She was married to Dr. Abijah Scruggs on May 1, 1867, the Rev. Jas. Blair, officiating. Abijah was the son of the Rev. John Scruggs and brother of Dr. R. F. Scruggs. He was a physician and druggist. He moved from Knoxville to Niota in 1867. and from there to Cleve- land, Tenn., in 1874. They resided there until Septem- ber, 1889, when they moved to Knoxville. He died at Knoxville April 9, 1909, and was buried at Sweetwater April 11, 1909. The children of A. D. and M. H. Scruggs were:
1. Richard Francis, b. July 31, 1869; d. May, 1902.
2. Daniel Heiskell, b. September 15, 1874; d. July 11, 1909.
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3. Mary Heiskell, b. in Cleveland, Tenn.
4. Bess, b. in Cleveland, Tenn.
5. Samuel, b. July 7, 1881 ; d. July 8, 1882.
Richard Francis married Geraldine Jackson of Nash- ville, Tenn., on January 24, 1895. She was the daughter of Dr. - Jackson, of Nashville. They had three children.
REV. JOSEPH JANEWAY
Was born in Claiborne County, Tenn., June 28, 1831. He moved to Sweetwater Valley, McMinn County, De- cember, 1855, after having lived three years in Loudon, Tenn. He was educated in the literary course at Car- son and Newman College at Mossy Creek, now Jefferson City, Tenn. He married Jane Helms of Claiborne Coun- ty on February 12, 1852. She was a cousin of John Helms of Morristown, Tenn. She was born July 9, 1831. James Janeway's father was a minister and farmer. On the second Saturday of July, 1859, he was ordained at Mt. Harmony. He was pastor of the following churches in the order named: Cedar Fork, Post Oak, Stockton's Valley; Providence, in Roane County, Prospect, Phila- delphia, London; two churches in Knox County, Blair's Cross Roads and Mars Hill; Union (in McMinn) ; Good- field, Decatur, Sewell, Mt. Harmony, County Line, Eas- tanalee, Hiwassee, New Friendship and others. His chil- dren were:
William Thomas, b. February 16, 1853; d. in infancy.
Nancy Jane, b. March 8, 1854; married S. K. Moun- tain. Address, New Tazewell, Tenn.
Elizabeth Ann, b. April 14, 1856; married H. M. John- son, Bells, Texas.
Jno. Nelson, b. December 10, 1859; married Alice Mitchell of Pennsylvania in 1898. They have four chil- dren. He is in the transfer business at Edmonds, Puget Sound, Wash.
Prior Lee, b. July 14, 1862; married Etta Williams in Texas. They have seven children and live at Bonita, Texas.
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