Sermon At Deadman's Bend

By Charles Rogers

In the opening years of the nineteenth century, south of Natchez, hidden away in a remote backwater named Deadman’s Bend, a woman in her 20s found herself a widow, the mother of two small children. With fierce determination, she supported her family.

On the waters of the great river and in the shade of the deep woods, her precocious son Hiram grew like a wild plant, with no schools and no churches. Soon enough, he learned how to catch a riverboat into Natchez. There he encountered ball room ladies, swindlers, gamblers, merchants, constables, and judges.

When he was 17 years old, the boy Hiram learned carpentry from an Uncle. The Uncle’s wife taught him polite conversation. He met a lovely young girl and moved to Wilkinson County to marry her. When his wife joined a Methodist Society, Hiram went along to please her. Soon he became convinced that his purpose in life was to preach the gospel.

Contrary to the old adage, Hiram Enlow found acceptance among his own people. The unlettered and un-churched at Deadman’s Bend and his neighbors in Wilkinson County revered him. The Methodists, however, had a tradition of academic preparation and a Book of Discipline. Hiram Enlow struggled for more than a decade to gain acceptance into the Methodist clerical hierarchy. He was loved and admired by those whom he served, but his academic deficiencies and his preaching style needed correction. He overcame his weaknesses and eventually received his church’s recognition.

The book is written as an historical novel. Each chapter is appended with meditation/discussion questions in the style of contemporary Christian spiritual literature. Additional features include the author’s notes regarding the research and family history. The autobiography, poetry and essays of Hiram Enlow, long held as a private family heirloom, are included as an appendix. The book and appendix feature separate Tables of Contents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles Rogers
• Release date: Jun 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301445271

Book preview

Sermon at Deadman’s Bend

By Charles Rogers

Copyright 2013 Charles Rogers

Smashwords Edition

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I want to live in peace,

I want to die at home,

I want to feel my guilt absolved,

I want my heart made whole.

I wish before I die

To see my children grown . . . ,

Hiram Enlow

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – Crossing Over

Chapter 2 – Elizabethtown

Chapter 3 – Jesse

Chapter 4 – Richard

Chapter 5 – Elizabeth

Chapter 6 – Harlots

Chapter 7 – Gamblers

Chapter 8 – Judges

Chapter 9 – Jesse and Jane

Chapter 10 – A Visit to Deadman’s Bend

Chapter 11 – Nancy

Chapter 12 – Man and Wife

Chapter 13 – Joining the Church

Chapter 14 – Desire of Salvation

Chapter 15 – Lay Leader

Chapter 16 – License to Exhort

Chapter 17 – Trip to Deadman’s Bend

Chapter 18 – Appointment at Deadman’s Bend

Chapter 19 – Sermon at Deadman’s Bend

Chapter 20 – Mrs. Chandler

Chapter 21 – Mr. Cole

Chapter 22 – License to Preach

Acknowledgements

Notes

Autobiography of Hiram Enlow, Poems, and Essays

Preview of Conversation With A Barn Cat

Chapter 1 - Crossing Over

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. . . when you have crossed over to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you . . . .

Deuteronomy 27:3

North Atlantic Ocean, 1773.

For two days the bark Jewel of Bristol endured high seas and gale force winds. She flew only trysails to maintain steerage. On the afternoon of the third day, the wind moderated and the sky cleared. The sea desisted its rage to assume a benign swell. After consulting charts and observing instruments, the sailors secured trysails and hoisted mains. As the helmsman brought the bow to a different point on the compass, officers and crew lifted their eyes to billowing sails and taut rigging. They heard the clean sound of the bow slicing the surface as their ship surged ahead on a powerful broad reach. Days lying battened were now repaid with leagues of progress.

Below decks, the people comprising Jewel's human cargo sensed the changes. The lift-slam, lift-slam motion that tormented them for days was replaced by a calmer left-right, left-right rhythmic sway. Wild howling subsided. The slapping of lines against bare masts ceased. They heard water flowing along the hull as the ship advanced in her journey to a promised port.

Blinking, John Beck emerged from the passageway leading to the men's berths. Lifting a hand to shield his eyes, he saw the pretty Irish woman Ellen at the rail. John minded his step as he moved across the deck toward her. His fellow passengers sprawled about. A few were seasick. Some slept. All were grateful for the chance to breathe fresh air.

Now, as John trod among the exhausted passengers to where Ellen stood, he was impressed by her strength and good health. With a gesture she invited him to stand beside her. Her bright red hair waved in the breeze like a banner. Her skin was pale; her eyes, green.

She spoke with a heavy accent, How did the men fare below in the rough weather?

Some better than others. Was it difficult for you?

Not for me. I learned to keep my rations in my belly on the trip from Dublin to Bristol. If the wind we had yesterday is all we see before Virginia, this will be an easy voyage.

I'm no sailor, he admitted. I hope we experience nothing worse than yesterday.

Ellen turned her face into the wind. Gripping the rail with both hands, she tossed her head back and shouted, Who knew the sky was so big! Or so blue!

In that moment, John resolved that Ellen, with the flaming red hair and the robust laugh, would be his wife in the New World.

- - -

Meditation/Discussion Topics

- The Scripture verse invokes a comparison between the Children of Israel entering the Promised Land and the emigration of Irish and English people to North America. How apt is this?

- What is known about social and economic conditions in Ireland and England in 1773? What were the likely reasons that John and Ellen were making the voyage?

- We are told that John admired Ellen’s strength and good health. What might she have found attractive in him?

Chapter 2 – Elizabethtown

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I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city ...

Isaiah 45:13

You have started on the sea of life

Together now as man and wife.

Your sea is calm, your sky is bright

No stormy clouds are now in sight.

Hiram Enlow

Hardin County, Kentucky, 1793.

John Beck was a builder, not a settler. He and his wife Ellen moved into new territories, bought good land, improved it, and waited for an inrush of people seeking to purchase comfort. John sold well situated land with substantial structures. In the twenty years since they left the docks at Norfolk, carrying every stitch of clothing in two small bags and all his tools in a sea chest, this pattern served them well. Most recently, they prospered by being among the first people into Lexington, Kentucky. That adventure was finished; a new one started.

Today, in the recently chartered city of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, John stepped into the street in front of his new house. His was the first structure on the street. He expected it to remain the largest until it sold in two or three years. A short walk from the planned town's square, the property would be prestigious when the county government started operations. Until that time, it was the Beck residence.

The move from Lexington five days before was uneventful. After unloading two large draft wagons of furniture, kitchen fixtures, and other personal gear, John, Ellen, their two daughters, and two sons slept in the house for the first time. The family's rooms were the entire lower level. With the move complete and the kitchen organized, Ellen said she was ready to open the upstairs.

The spacious rooms on the second level were to be rented out. Ellen and the girls would provide room and board for guests John brought in. The family intended to make a lot of money in the next two or three years.

John was engaged by county officials to superintend building the new courthouse. The government needed offices, grand open spaces, and courtrooms. A sizable crew would work for many months. John had both the skill and the vigor for the job. He would receive a handsome salary every week plus large bonuses for early completion. His most pressing task was to hire craftsmen. Stone cutters, brick layers, framing carpenters, and finish carpenters were in short supply. He sorely needed one or two good men whom he could trust.

While he was in Lexington arranging to relocate his household, the courthouse site was attended by an inexperienced crew with a drunken supervisor. They dug a trench, built a privy, and erected a small shelter. The open trench was a hazard to anyone, drunk or sober, who walked near it. The privy might collapse into it at any time. The shelter featured open sides, a canvas roof, and a dirt floor. A table fashioned from slap-dash posts and planks had already started to settle into the muddy floor. John doubted anything would remain standing after the first thunderstorm.

Upon his return from Lexington, he docked the supervisor's pay for the wasted materials and fired him. Next, he retroactively demoted the crew to laborer status and referred them to the foreman of the crew spreading gravel on the streets.

John needed skilled craftsmen to lay out the courthouse foundation and start the critical structural parts. He expected a few applicants in the first week. More within a month.

At the courthouse site, two men waited outside the tent. One might be 25 or so. The other was somewhat younger. Each carried a weathered tool chest. They were well barbered and dressed in new work clothes.

As John approached, the somewhat older looking fellow spoke, Are you the foreman?

Aye.

We need work. We're carpenters.

Are ye skilled?

That's for you to judge.

I need sawhorses.

We'll make two for you. Then we can talk more.

Leading the two applicants to a large pile of cured sawmill lumber, John gestured for them to proceed. They set their tool chests down and began a methodical selection. Every move suggested experience in the trade. Carpenters were expected to work steady once the materials were at hand. Selection of the perfect lumber for a task was never hurried.

In a few moments, several boards lay beside each tool chest. Exchanging an unspoken signal, the two opened their chests and pulled out squares and saws. Each worked with his own tools and supplies; but their motions were almost identical. John broke into a happy grin as he watched. They put on a show identifying them as master carpenters. With no wasted motion and no spoiled cuts, they built identical sawhorses. Each joint was perfect, each nail exactly placed. In a final flourish, they returned the tools to the chests and snapped the lids closed.

John lifted first one new sawhorse and then the other to confirm the joints were tight and the nails dimpled. You two boys don't look like twins, but your sawhorses do. Master carpenter wage is three bits an hour. We start one hour after daybreak and quit one hour before sunset. We stop at noon Saturday and never work on Sunday.

The two new men nodded.

John extended his hand. I'm John Beck.

The fellow who spoke first took his hand. Charles Enlow. This is my brother Jesse Enlow. After John and Charles shook hands, John extended his hand to Jesse.

Having identified by a secret handshake that his new employees were Freemason Brothers, John beamed. Brothers, I'm glad you're in town. A lodge is already organized. I trust you will be wanting to meet the other Freemasons.

Of course, Yes, Charles and Jesse answered together.

Have you a place to stay? My wife operates a boarding house.

- - -

A few hours later, Ellen Beck, wearing one of her better dresses, opened the door as John led two young men onto the veranda. Using terms she understood to mean they were members of the Masonic Order, of which John was the local Grand Master, her husband introduced them.

After introductions, John opened the subject of room and board. Charles and Jesse are staying at the rooming house for a day or so. I wanted to show them what you have and let you meet them, Ellen.

We'll be ready for guests Saturday. If you want to stay with us, I only take weekly boarders. The fare is three dollars a week for each person. You pay me every Saturday. You share a room upstairs. It will have two bunks, four dresser drawers, a wash stand and a slop jar. You'll get a big breakfast at sunup, eggs when they're available, biscuits, ham or bacon or side pork, whatever is good. I'll send you to work on time with a lunch pail. Dinner is half an hour after John comes home from the job. You wash up before the meal, as I do not allow work clothes at the dinner table.

Ellen had pondered long about the price to charge. Three dollars was high for a workman's room and board. But she would accept only top wage earners brought to her by John. Her rate was about a day's pay for a week's keep. It seemed fair.

After a moment, Charles replied, Missus Beck, can we give you our answer tomorrow? We need to talk about our plans.

Of course, she gave him a motherly smile. Please do come inside and look at the lovely house John built with just our sons and a few hired hands.

Ellen led the three men into the front room.

As they removed their caps, John spoke, Mr. Charles Enlow and Mr. Jesse Enlow, these are my daughters, Anna and Elizabeth.

The next evening when John came home from work, he delivered a message to Ellen, The Enlow boys asked me to tell you they’ll move in Saturday afternoon.

- - -

Meditation/Discussion Topics

- Between the end of Chapter 1 and the start of Chapter 2, 20 years passed. These 20 years included the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. There is no reference to the Revolution. What does this suggest?

- We are told that skilled tradesmen could prosper in Kentucky and Tennessee. What inferences can be drawn about the economic conditions?

- Charles and Jesse demonstrated their carpentry skills and defined their status in several ways. Review these. How do workers today establish their skill level?

- Ellen greeted her prospective boarders with a carefully thought out speech. What does her speech suggest about the social conventions?

Chapter 3 – Jesse

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Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief,

Psalm 31:9

Enlow Property, Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Late Spring, 1816.

Jesse Enlow, Sr. stood at the open grave surrounded by his children. Anna his wife was dead. Grief almost suffocated him.

The Enlow Family Cemetery had been fenced off years before when an infant was born dead. This ground was the highest within two or three miles. A seldom used trail followed the ridge a half mile west to the Enlow home. When she wanted solitude, Anna often visited the little grave. Now, her own casket lay in the open ground.

Jesse’s eldest daughter Synthia, seventeen, and his first son Abraham, sixteen, stood at his sides. Fifteen year old Ellen